The Landings Club To Host 2011 USGA Women's State Team Championship

Far Hills, N.J. (Aug. 31) – The Palmetto Course at The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga., will host the 2011 USGA Women’s State Team Championship, to be contested Oct. 4-6.

The Landings Club will host its first USGA championship in 2011. (Courtesy of The Landings Club).

“It’s an honor to host a USGA championship as part of The Landings Club’s giving back to the golf community,” said Bill Bayfield, co-general chairman of the championship. “The club has wanted to host a USGA championship for a long time, so our members are extremely excited about this opportunity.”

Designed by Arthur Hills and opened in 1982, the Palmetto Course is one of the club’s six 18-hole layouts on Skidaway Island near Savannah. Considered the most difficult of the six courses, the Palmetto Course requires length off the tee and a deft iron game to manage the course’s well-bunkered, undulating greens.

The Landings Club has conducted U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur sectional qualifying seven times, including on the Palmetto Course this year. The club has also hosted a number of Georgia State Golf Association events, including the Senior Championship (1987, 1989, 2002 and 2008) and the Junior Championship (2000 and 2006). The 2010 GSGA Amateur Championship will be played on the club’s Deer Creek Course.

Hosting the 2011 USGA Women’s State Team Championship is of particular significance to The Landings Club because of its ties to women’s golf. The Landings Women’s Golf Association and the club’s Ladies Nine-Hole Golf Association are two of the largest women’s golf associations in the U.S.

The USGA Men’s and Women’s State Team Championships grew out of the celebration of the USGA centennial in 1995 and have since been held biennially. The championships are open to players from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. State associations may choose their teams – composed of three amateur, non-college golfers – by any method.

The 2009 USGA Women’s State Team Championship at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind., begins tomorrow, Sept. 1,and runs through Thursday, Sept. 3.

Since their inception in 1995, the USGA Men’s and Women’s State Team Championships have been held in the same years. Following this year’s championships, the USGA Men’s State Team Championship will be conducted in even-numbered years, and the USGA Women’s State Team Championship will be conducted in odd-numbered years.

About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in the USA and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the world’s golfers and golf courses. The Association’s most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. Ten USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, provides expert course maintenance consultations, funds research for better turf and a better environment, maintains a Handicap System, celebrates the history of the game, and administers an ongoing “For the Good of the Game” grants program, which has allocated more than $65 million over 13 years to successful programs that bring the game’s values to youths from disadvantaged backgrounds and people with disabilities. For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.