HOUSTON, TEXAS | Glen D. Nager, of
Washington, D.C., has been elected
to serve a one-year term as the 62nd
president of the United States Golf
Association. The election of officers
and the 15-member USGA Executive
Committee also took place during the
USGA’s Annual Meeting over the weekend in Houston.
As president, Nager, 53, assumes
the leadership of the 300-plus professional staff and nearly 1,200 volunteers
of the USGA, which together with the
R&A governs the game worldwide.
USGA’s leadership, reach and engagement amid increasingly complex issues
facing golf: stagnant participation; the
challenges of financial and environmental sustainability; the game’s glo-balization; and the need to make golf
more welcoming to a diverse audience.
The chair of the Issues and Appeals
practice at Jones Day and a partner
in the global law firm’s Washington,
D.C., office, Nager is an expert litigator who has argued 13 cases before the
U.S. Supreme Court. A graduate of the
University of Texas and Stanford Law
“It is a privilege to serve the game of golf ... I look
forward to working with the USGA’s professional
staff and dedicated volunteers in meeting the
challenges that the game faces.” - Glen D. Nager
“It is a privilege to serve the game
of golf,” said Nager. “I look forward to
working with the USGA’s professional
staff and dedicated volunteers in meet-
ing the challenges that the game faces.”
Nager, a Houston native, will con-
tinue to focus on the USGA’s mission of
sustainability and service to the game
that has been emphasized by his pre-
decessor, Jim Hyler, of Raleigh, N.C.
Nager, a self-described recreational
golfer, hopes to expand upon the
School, Nager served as a clerk for re-
tired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day
O’Connor, who helped foster his passion
for golf. A single-digit handicapper who
only took up the game in his 30s, Nager
became a USGA volunteer in 2006, when
he was named the Association’s general
counsel. He has enjoyed a rapid ascent
at the USGA, serving numerous impor-
tant roles. Most recently, Nager was
first vice-president and chairman of the
Rules of Golf, Commercial and
Compensation committees.
The USGA recorded an operating
profit, or surplus, in 2012. But Nager
sounded very cautious when speaking
to finances.
“For us to succeed, the USGA will
have to find more financial resources,
so that it can pay for these important
sustainability initiatives. The USGA is
currently financially stable and strong:
We have a substantial reserve to pro-
tect us against litigation and unfore-
seen events; and we are fortunate to
have a prestigious national champion-
ship that generates substantial finan-
cial resources for us. But we frankly
cannot place undue financial stress on
the U.S. Open experience if we are to
maintain its integrity and reputation.
And our recent championship history
shows, not surprisingly, that we are not
immune from the economic challenges
that the entire world is facing.”
his work on past U.S. Opens and from
his service as chair of the board at
Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
But I knew him as a mentor and as my
closest friend. He introduced me to the
game. Indeed, it was Andy who encour-
aged me to become active in the USGA.
Andy’s passion for the game – and his
demonstration of the values underly-
ing it – are most clearly illustrated by
my memory of his walking fast up the
fairways of Caves Valley Golf Club last
year in 95-degree heat three days after
a chemotherapy treatment. It is for
Andy and others like him – people who
so love the game of golf – that we must
work to sustain the game.”
Nager closed his remarks with a
touching tribute to his late friend Andy
Kramer, who lost his battle with cancer
last summer.
