O’Toole, Executive Committee to work on opening up the game

 VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. – Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., today was elected to serve a one-year term as the 63rd president of the United States Golf Association, which together with The R&A governs the game worldwide. The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee also took place today during the USGA’s Annual Meeting in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

As president, O’Toole, 56, assumes the leadership of the more than 300 professional staff and nearly 1,200 volunteers who serve the 119-year-old organization, and succeeds Glen D. Nager, of Washington, D.C., who served for two years as USGA president.

“It is an honor and a privilege to lead such a noble organization,” said O’Toole during remarks made at the USGA Annual Meeting. “I am excited and energized to continue my service to the Association and keenly aware of the magnitude of the profound responsibilities that accompany this role.”

“I wish to congratulate my colleagues on the Executive Committee for all they have achieved, and all they will achieve over the coming year,” O’Toole added. “I look forward to working with them, Mike Davis and his team, and our allied partners throughout the golf community to build a stronger future for the USGA and for the game.”

Under O’Toole’s leadership, the USGA will continue to focus on the core priorities that have been established in the Association’s strategic plan: to conduct the exemplary finest championships in golf, to provide worldwide excellence in governing the game, and to enhance critical services that support the game and those who play it. The USGA’s efforts and investment in these strategic areas are vital to maintaining a game that is vibrant and sustainable. Building on the USGA’s considerable efforts of the past, O’Toole challenged the Association’s volunteers and staff and the industry at large to strive for a game that is affordable, environmentally responsible, in balance with modern lifestyles, and – importantly – welcoming and accessible to all who wish to play.

“With its second century of service well underway, the USGA is striving to bring out the very best the game has to offer and to open up the game to new players and new cultures in the U.S. and throughout the world,” said O’Toole. “Making the game more accessible and more welcoming is not done merely for the benefit of feeling good, or even just doing the right thing. Opening up golf is good for the game.”

During his Annual Meeting remarks, O’Toole announced that the USGA will commit resources and energy in 2014 toward the creation of a comprehensive strategy to help open up the game to audiences that have historically been underserved by the golf industry. As part of that commitment, the USGA is formulating a task force comprising Executive Committee and staff leaders, thought leaders from across the golf industry, and thought leaders from beyond golf to identify and prioritize the best opportunities for opening up the game and enabling greater participation by minorities, women, juniors and golfers with disabilities. The goals of the strategy initiative are to identify the best practices and most impactful programs against which the USGA and the industry can leverage their considerable collective resources and influence to build a more welcoming environment in the game.

Thomas J. O’Toole Jr. has dedicated more than a quarter century in service to the USGA and the game. He has been associated with the USGA since 1988, serving as a Rules official at more than 150 USGA championships, including every U.S. Open since 1990. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Rules of Golf Committee.

O’Toole is entering his seventh year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee, three of which he served as vice president. Throughout this time, he has continued to pursue improvements to the USGA’s diverse functions as chairman of the Championship and Compensation Committees and through service on the Audit, Commercial, Handicap, International Team Selection, Management, Rules of Golf and Joint Rules of Golf Committees. As a prior chairman of the Amateur Status Committee, O’Toole played a critical role in establishing a joint code of Amateur Status with The R&A in 2012.

O’Toole’s dedication to the game also extends to the state and regional golf community. In 1988, he was elected to the Missouri Golf Association Board of Directors. In 1991, O’Toole established the St. Louis Metropolitan Amateur Championship, which allowed public and private players to compete against one another without regard to race or socio-economic background. One year later in 1992, he was the principal founder of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association (MAGA), the first association in the region to permit public clubs as members and service all golfers without discrimination. Within its first four years, the MAGA expanded its tournament schedule from men’s to women’s to junior and senior championships, and grew to 110 Member Clubs and elected the first African-American to the MAGA Board of Directors.

O’Toole is a partner in the law firm of Mickes Goldman O’Toole, LLC. He chairs the firm’s Business and Corporate Group, and his practice focuses on real estate, specializing in zoning/land use, condemnation and real estate transactions. He earned both his undergraduate degree (1979) and law degree (1985) from St. Louis University.

Added USGA Executive Director Mike Davis: “The staff and I look forward to working side-by-side with Tom and the executive committee to open up the game to more people and to pursue the work that will sustain the game for the next 100 years.”

Along with O’Toole, four members of the Executive Committee have been elected to serve as officers. They are: Daniel B. Burton, of Lititz, Pa., and Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga., as vice presidents; William L. Katz, of Chatham Township, N.J., as secretary; and Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va., as treasurer.

In addition, Ernest J. Getto, of Santa Barbara, Calif., will serve a second term as general counsel for the USGA.