CGA Women’s Golf Summit continues to gain momentum; variety of topics help keep event fresh
By Gary Baines – 2/28/2026
DENVER — Judy Maillis has been a regular at the annual CGA Women’s Golf Summit over the years — and at the event which was its predecessor, the CWGA Annual Meeting.
And when we say she’s been a regular, we’re not exaggerating in the least.
As in, over the last decade-plus, she hasn’t missed one. Come sun, snow, cold or unseasonable warmth, she’s attended, without fail.
“I don’t know the number, but I know it’s been every one,” said Maillis, who’s been a member of the CGA board of directors since it merged with the CWGA, and of the CWGA board before that. “You know, if there’s been 15, I’ve been to 15.”
And while she gets something out of the event every time she goes, Saturday’s edition at the Denver Botanic Gardens particularly stood out.
“In my opinion, having been to every one there ever was (in recent years), this was the best one,” she said on Saturday afternoon.
The Botanic Gardens once again proved a colorful backdrop for the Women’s Summit.
It was also the most highly attended in recent years. Erin Gangloff, the CGA’s chief marketing officer and the person who spearheads the Women’s Summit, said that several attendees were last-minute drop-ins — which is unusual — bringing the total for the event to about 150.
“This has been the biggest since we came back from Covid” in 2023 following virtual-only events in 2021 and ’22, Gangloff said. “I think they love it. Hopefully we’re giving them stuff that they need to know, and they’re just inviting more people. And I think that’s great.”
While some parts of the Women’s Summit are mainstays year to year — the club roundtable where women from numerous courses around Colorado share and discuss best practices, and information about Tournament Management software (Golf Genius) — there’s several new wrinkles that set each year apart. And that was certainly the case on Saturday.
That included MSU Denver professor emeritus — and current CGA board member — Peggy O’Neill-Jones giving a keynote speech that highlighted the history of women’s golf in Colorado. Among those featured were the CWGA and some of the most consequential figures in Colorado women’s golf over the last century-plus. In fact, photos and information regarding the 28 women who have been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame were situated at each table. (O’Neill Jones is a great-great niece of 2026 CGHOF inductee Ella McLaughlin.)
Peggy O’Neill-Jones (left) and the CGA’s Erin Gangloff share a laugh during O’Neill-Jones’ historical presentation on Saturday.
Speaking of Hall of Famers, 2001 inductee Janet Ruma Moore on Saturday provided helpful sports performance coaching tips, including ones that helped the five-time CGA Women’s Stroke Play champion become one of the most successful female amateurs in the state. Also at the Summit, there was even a dermatological heads-up for golfers — who spend so much time in the sun — with Kaiser Permanente M.D. Elisa Kapler leading the session. (Note: KP is the presenting sponsor of the CGA Women’s Golf Summit.)
All in all, the topics satisfied the appetite for those who like a little variety.
“Having traveled all over the country, the CGA is truly one of the best” golf associations, said Moore, a veteran of dozens of USGA championships, in addition to CGA tournaments. “I hear stories when I’m playing with other people of how poor their associations are. I’m like, we are so fortunate and so blessed to have the leadership that we have. Ed (Mate’s) leadership and Ashley (Harrell) and Kate (Moore; referring to the CGA’s CEO, COO and managing director of rules and competitions, respectively). So for them to put on a Woman’s Summit — that speaks just to women — is remarkable. It speaks to the association and what they do. And so I can’t say enough good things about how fortunate we are to have the CGA and all the things they do for Colorado golf.”
Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Ruma Moore provided sports performance coaching tips during a Summit session.
In the final years the CWGA operated as a separate organization, because the staff size was relatively small, the volunteer leadership of the organization played a very significant role in putting together and conducting its Annual Meeting, noted Maillis, who was part of the CWGA board in those years. Now, after the event evolved into the CGA Women’s Golf Summit and the CGA staff took on the role of conducting the event, Maillis is happy with what the Summit has become, notably including the 2026 edition.
“I thought it was excellent,” she said. “I thought all three of the speakers who addressed the whole group were excellent. I learned so much from Peggy’s history of women’s golf and then more specifically, golf in Colorado. I learned a lot I did not know and was reminded of some things that I had forgotten. So I hope that Peggy and the CGA can get together so that that video (of the presentation) can be put up on the CGA website for everybody. It would be a shame if only this select group of people get to see it.”
In addition to the presentations made at the half-day Women’s Summit, another reason why the event is popular is simply the social aspect of it. A good example was seeing the enthusiasm with which the attendees responded when Moore asked them to pair off and to tell each other what they’d say to their partner if that partner was a close friend — but one in the midst of a miserable round of golf. With that, the noise level rose to a near cacophony — and there was also plenty of smiling and laughing. In fact, Moore had a tough time ending the exercise, eventually whistling to resume her presentation.
About 150 attended Saturday’s Summit, the most in recent years.
“I’m always looking to either sharpen my knowledge or get some new knowledge,” Maillis noted. “And so today I had an opportunity to sharpen my knowledge about the Rules of Folf, because I attended that breakout session. And I got some good reminders from Janet Moore about staying focused and how to do that. I think a lot of ladies here were surprised by what the dermatologist said regarding sunscreens — how often they should be reapplied — and hats and so forth. So that’s all really good information. And other final reason (I come to this event) is I just want to support women’s golf in Colorado.
“Myself and Laurie Steenrod are the only two women on the current CGA board who were also on the CWGA board. So we feel very strongly that we need to be there because we have the institutional memory of the way things used to be. … I think they have got (the CGA Women’s Golf Summit) down to something that meets the needs of a lot of different people.”
Each table on Saturday featured a picture and information on all the women who have been inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, including Christie Austin.
Mate, the CGA’s executive director for more than a quarter-century, certainly recognizes how crucial it is that the association meets the needs of its female members — as well as its entire membership.
“You know, I think that this is a signature a day for the CGA, and it’s really the coming together of so many of the great things that we stand for,” Mate said. “Khadija Haynes, who is on our board, said, ‘I get so excited to come here. I go to a lot of summits and conferences, and this is one I love.’ And that made be very happy to hear. … It’s just a wonderful way to connect with our membership.”
Saturday marked the seventh in-person Women’s Summit the CGA has hosted in the wake of its 2018 integration with the CWGA, which previously conducted the CWGA Annual Meeting. As previously noted, the 2021 and ’22 Women’s Summits were strictly virtual events given Covid safety concerns. The last four years have been back to in-person.
The event, which lasted about 4 1/2 hours overall on Saturday, was held at the Botanic Gardens for the fourth consecutive year. The Gardens have partnered with the CGA in recent years regarding environmental stewardship at the association’s CommonGround Golf Course, located at the site of the former Lowry Air Force Base, straddling Aurora and Denver.
It’s not unusual for the Rules of Golf session — here conducted by the CGA’s Kate Moore — to have a Dr. Seuss feel to it.
Asked about the importance of holding the Women’s Summit each year, Gangloff noted the value of meeting with members and club leadership from throughout the state “so that we can actually shake their hand, answer their questions. I think it’s really good for them to understand the message of the CGA. It’s more than just a handicap that we provide. We’re providing all these great outreach programs, caddie programs (etc.). And I think sometimes that gets lost. So this is our opportunity to showcase what the CGA is doing, but also for us to get to hear from them how can we do better, and what can we improve. We hear from them on the phone, or through email, but it’s nice to actually meet them in person.”
Notable: The CGA, as is normally the case, is planning some CGA Women’s Clinics for 2026. The clinics are social golf events that include three hours of instruction focusing on the mechanics and fundamentals of full swing, chipping and putting. This year’s schedule isn’t yet finalized, but when it is, it will be found by CLICKING HERE. … Meanwhile, 10 CGA Member Play Days — non-competitive one-day events at top courses across the state, for both women and men — are planned for 2026. The schedule can be FOUND HERE. … Among those in attendance at Saturday’s Women’s Summit was former CGA president Kent Moore, who like his wife Janet Ruma Moore is a Colorado Golf Hall of Fame inductee. … During the luncheon that was part of Saturday’s Women’s Summit, several attendees received prizes from the CGA — for those who lowered their USGA handicap index the most over the course of 2025, and for the golfers in attendance who took caddies through the CGA’s Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy over the last year. … Representatives from 63 CGA member clubs, including 31 club presidents, attended Saturday’s event at the Botanic Gardens.
Former CGA president Kent Moore — like his wife Janet a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer — was among Saturday’s attendees.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com