The Jacksonville Area Golf Association, JAGA, has served the Northeast Florida golfing community since 1954 in many different ways. Initially called the Jacksonville Amateur Golf Association, JAGA was formed to provide a quality amateur golf championship tournament for men in Jacksonville. Later, to recognize the involvement of all golfers and their varied interests, the name was changed to Jacksonville Area Golf Association.

Through the initial years, the major thrust of activity was operating the area’s championship tournaments. From the "City Men’s Championship", the list grew with the addition of the Junior, Father-Son, Seniors, Mixed Two Ball, Handicap, and Men’s Two Ball Championships. The Handicap tournament was dropped in 1995 because of persistent low participation. All others continue to be held as annual tournaments conducted for the members of the JAGA Member Clubs.

In 1978, a scholarship program was initiated by JAGA. It started with a contribution of $26.00 from the old University CC (now a city park). A major contribution was added from the estate of Gabe Summers, a former JAGA Director. The scholarship fund has been continuously fueled by contributions from member clubs, profits from JAGA tournaments, and from individual contributions. Recipients of the scholarships are called "JAGA Scholars" and currently receive an $12,000 scholarship over a four year period. The JAGA scholarship program has provided scholarships to over 200 students with between 25 and 35 Scholars currently receiving assistance. The Fund has grown to over $300,000 through the generosity of the area’s golfing public.

That’s what JAGA is all about. . . All of the N.E. Florida golf course facilities, Military, Public, Semi-Private, and Private and their members. . . working together with our area Golf Professionals to improve the quality of our golf, and to provide a lasting legacy for our young golfers.

Each golf club is a ‘Member Club" of JAGA. Those people who belong to a Member Club are automatically individual members of JAGA. Each Member Club agrees to support the JAGA effort in several ways:

1. Provide one, two, or three members who will serve as Directors on the JAGA Board of Directors. Directors attend and participate in regular monthly meetings and provide liaison between the Member Club and the JAGA Board.

2. Provide financial support to JAGA by the payment of annual dues, and by supporting the Scholarship Fund by holding one fund-raising event annually at the Member Club.

3. Agree to host one monthly meeting, and one tournament, no more than once every two years. These events are scheduled by the JAGA Board in coordination with the Member Club Director and with the approval of the Member Club management. Host clubs will charge regular member rates for all services provided (food, carts, gift certificates, etc.) and will waive greens fees to the players for the meeting/event.

Our Purpose

1.   The purpose of the Jacksonville Area Golf Association is to promote interest and participation in the ancient and honorable game of golf by:

a.   holding monthly Director meetings which feature

                                         i.    prominent speakers from the field of golf and

                                        ii.    a round of golf on the host course

                                       iii.    discussions and interaction among golfers, golf professionals, and grounds keepers from all walks of life, and from both public, private and municipal courses.

b.   supporting events sponsored by

                                         i.    other local golf organizations like Florida State Golf Association, Northern Chapter PGA

                                        ii.    events sponsored by our member clubs

                                       iii.    privately run events

c.   supporting and coordinating with local golf professionals, their organizations and their events

d.   involving golfers of all ages and skill levels with their varied interests in the sport of golf

e.   arranging competitive tournaments and acting as a coordinator for other tournaments scheduled in the area by:

                                         i.    conducting numerous Championships and tournaments including

1.   The Senior Championship

2.   The City Amateur Championship

3.   The Junior Championship

4.   The City Match Play Championship

5.   The City Club Championship

6.   Four-ball tournaments

7.   The Father’s Day tournament

8.   Several benefit golfing events

                                        ii.    Coordinating tournament event schedules in the area by providing an online ‘Shared’ calendar available to all local major golf organizations

                                       iii.    Providing live scoring and other services to local golf organizations

f. promoting unity among the member clubs in handicapping and planning in accordance with current rules as set by the United States Golf Association.

g.   encouraging  and promoting Junior Golf.

h.   nominating and selecting candidates for scholarship awards and to insuring that the recipients maintain proper academic and moral standards during their term of study.

i.     encouraging communication among all local golf organizations, golf professionals, general managers, and greens superintendents in the area as well as the players. Annually these players and organizations are invited to joint meetings and golfing events.

 

COMMUNITY BENEFITS

●

FIFTY FOURTH YEAR/ FOUNDED IN 1954

OVER $1,300,000 HAS BEEN AWARDED TO STUDENTS SINCE 1974

PRESENTLY 27 STUDENTS ON $3000 A YEAR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FOUR YEARS

PROMOTE AND IMPROVE AMATEUR GOLF IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA

ENCOURAGE COMMUNICATION WITH GOLF PROFESSIONALS, GENERAL MANAGERS, AND GREENS SUPERINTENDENTS IN THE AREA

WEBSITE PROVIDES PERTINENT AND TIMELY INFORMATION: OFFICERS, MEETINGS, TOURNAMENTS, CONSTITUTION, BY-LAWS, SCHOLARS, AND AN AREA GOLF CALENDAR

LARGEST AND MOST ACTIVE AMATEUR GOLF ASSOCIATION IN NORTHEAST FLORIDA / 50 MEMBER CLUBS (PUBLIC, PRIVATE, SEMI-PRIVATE, MILITARY) AREA FROM LAKE CITY TO ATLANTIC OCEAN AND GAINESVILLE TO JEKYLL ISLAND ($150 DUES) END OF YEAR CONTRIBUTION TO SCHOLARSHIP FUND FROM DUES, EXCEPT FOR THAT NEEDED FOR OPERATING EXPENSES

THREE DIRECTORS FROM EACH CLUB AND GUESTS MAY ATTEND MONTHLY MEETINGS HELD AT ONE OF THE MEMBER CLUBS

CONDUCT 12 GOLF TOURNAMENTS EACH YEAR AT ONE OF OUR MEMBER CLUBS GENERATING INCOME FOR THE CLUB

MEMBERS OF EACH OF THE MEMBER CLUBS MAY PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

OTHERS MAY PLAY IF THE MEMBERS DO NOT FILL THE FIELD IN ALL OF THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

ALL VOLUNTEER HELP / NO ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES

JACKSONVILLE AREA AMATEUR GOLF TOURNAMENT INVOLVING 10 AND UNDER HANDICAPS

JACKSONVILLE AREA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

JACKSONVILLE AREA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

JACKSONVILLE AREA FATHERS DAY CHAMPIONSHIP

JACKSONVILLE AREA TWO MAN CHAMPIONSHIP (6)

BILL BLACK GOLF CLASSIC / BENEFIT JAGA SCHOLARSHIP FUND

JACKSONVILLE AREA PRO-PRESIDENT CHAMPIONSHIP

HOLD MEETINGS AND DIRECTOR GOLF TOURNAMENTS EACH MONTH (11 TIMES A YEAR) AT ONE OF THE MEMBER CLUBS GENERATING INCOME FOR THE CLUB

MEMBER CLUBS, TOURNAMENTS, CONTRIBUTIONS SUPPORT FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

GUEST SPEAKERS AT MEETINGS

RULES SEMINARS IN CONJUNCTION WITH FLORIDA STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION

JUNIOR GOLF SUPPORT: TOURNAMENTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD RECOGNITION FOR TOURNAMENT AND POINTS FOR FINISH IN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP

RECOGNITION AND LIST OF COMING EVENTS BY FLORIDA TIMES UNION