Minnesota Golf Foundation Hires Managing Director

MGA

The Minnesota Golf Foundation (MGF), the charitable arm of the Minnesota Golf Association (MGA), announced the hiring of Matt Magers, 52, of Mahtomedi, Minn., May 1, as its Managing Director. Magers will be responsible for the daily operational and fundraising efforts of the foundation.

“I am delighted having Matt Magers coming on board as Managing Director of the Minnesota Golf Foundation,” said Tom Smith, president of the MGF, adding, “Matt’s background and qualifications bring a great opportunity for the future growth of the Foundation. I look forward to working with Matt, our Board members, and our associates at the MGA to achieve our future success.”

A Minnesota native, Magers grew up on the northeast side of Minneapolis and is a graduate of Totino Grace High School. He earned a Communications & Sports Management degree from the University of Minnesota. He was introduced to the golf industry through summer jobs on the grounds crew at Midland Hills Country Club and the Fox Hollow GC golf shop. He also interned with the MGA. Upon graduation, he pursued his passion for a career in golf.

After his internship with the MGA, Magers was hired as the assistant tournament director and was later promoted to a new position, as newly created regional affairs director. In 1999, he moved to California’s Central Coast to join the Northern California Golf Association in Pebble Beach, where he rose to associate executive director.

In 2009, Mager’s career shifted into the philanthropic world when he joined the Stevenson School of Pebble Beach and Carmel, Calif., as the school’s first major gifts officer. He returned to Minnesota in 2012, continuing his work in philanthropy for the University of Minnesota, Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota, Mounds Park Academy, and most recently with Northern Star Scouting as the Major Gifts & Planned Giving Director.

Magers is involved in the community as a coach and board member of the Mahtomedi Basketball Association, board member-elect with St. Paul Rotary, and is a volunteer with the MGA. He is a former board member of the Carmel Youth Center and a past associate board member with the Minnesota Chapter of the Positive Coaching Alliance. He is also a founding member of the Mahtomedi Community Equity Alliance.

Magers resides in Mahtomedi with his wife, Stephanie, and three children.

About the Minnesota Golf Foundation
The mission of the Minnesota Golf Foundation is to provide a vision for the future of the game by supporting programs and initiatives that enhance the golfer experience, drive participation among youth, beginners and disabled golfers, endeavor to make the game more sustainable, and foster educational and experiential opportunities for children and young adults who are interested in golf and who represent the game’s future in Minnesota. 
 
The Minnesota Golf Foundation (MGF) is the charitable affiliate of the Minnesota Golf Association. The MGF is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation and contributions are tax-deductible. It assists the golf industry in Minnesota by providing charitable support for two scholarship programs, the Evans Scholars Program and the MGF Women's Scholarship, and by administration of the Minnesota Youth on Course Program. 

About the MGA
Established in 1901, with the formation by seven golf clubs to organize the state’s most prestigious and storied golf championship, the MGA Amateur Championship, the Minnesota Golf Association is today the governing body over amateur golf in the state, responsible for administering the Rules of Golf and committed to upholding and promoting the game of golf and its values for all golfers in Minnesota.
 
The MGA conducts 23 major amateur championships and 14 USGA qualifying events each year. Thanks to the support of its member clubs and associate members and the efforts of its volunteers and staff, the MGA provides a variety of services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, an online golf news and information resource, www.mngolf.org, and an official publication, Minnesota Golfer magazine, which benefit all golfers throughout Minnesota.