History

Victoria Pan American Golf Association Chapter

In March, 1968, Raymond Saenz gathered a group of golfing friends at Riverside Municipal Golf Course with the intentions of organizing a golf club. With sixteen golfers in attendance, a golf tournament was held. Afterwards, a meeting was called to order wherein officers were elected, minutes were recorded and Raymond Saenz became the first president and founder of "The Golf Club". Along with Raymond Saenz, other charter members of the club were: Ernest Guajardo, Tony Zapata, Ambrosio Briones, Raul Flores, Jimmy Riggs, Sylvester DeLaGarza, John DeLeon, Juan Bazan, Junior Bazan, Julio Gomez, Eloy Garcia, Frank Mendez, Val Ramirez, Richard Moraida and Mike Bernal.

After holding numerous local golf outings and attending various out-of-town tournaments, Raymond Saenz decided to attend and make a proposal for admission into the National Pan American Golf Association (PAGA) at their National Meeting and Convention held in Brownsville, TX, and inquired as to their guidelines.

In May, 1969, upon having met the requirements as set out by the National PAGA, Raymond Saenz submitted his club's proposal for acceptance into the national organization. National officers and delegates were impressed with Raymond's presentation and immediately voted to accept "The Golf Club" as one of their chapters. The procedure used was for a club to present their request for admittance and then wait for approval at the next National Meeting the following year. This was the first time any club had ever been admitted as a new chapter on the same day they presented their request. From that day forward, "The Golf Club" would become known as "Victoria Pan American Golf Association".

In 1975, Victoria PAGA purchased a building on the corner of North and George Streets which was made possible when 23 of the 43 members contributed $103.50 each for a down payment. The building was remodeled and was used as a clubhouse and lounge. Revenue from the lounge was used to pay off the building in 1985.

In September, 1989, Victoria PAGA Board of Directors (Joe A. Flores, Sr., President; Sam Delgado, Vice President; Bobby Saenz, Secretary; Louis Martinez III, Treasurer; and Rudy Galvan, Tournament Director) voted to tear down the old clubhouse and build a new one. With Raymond Saenz spearheading the project, he designed a new building plan and presented these plans to a financial institution. These plans and application for a loan were readily approved. The new clubhouse building was completed in November, 1989.

Since that day in Brownsville, TX, Victoria PAGA has been represented at every National Convention & Tournament. We have traveled throughout Texas as well as many other states and treat this national event as an annual fun vacation for the entire family. We, along with our families, have established friendships that will last a lifetime. This is what we sell our prospective members, that "PAGA is golf and friendship".

1986 - Joe Flores, Jr. is Nationals Warm-Up Junior Champion in Dallas, TX.

1986 - Victor Suarez is Nationals Junior Champion in Dallas, TX.

1988 - Victoria PAGA is Nationals 7-Man Team Champions in Kansas City, KS. Team members are: Bobby Saenz, Raul Flores, Joe Flores, Sr., Sam Delgado, Raymond Saenz, Amado Vasquez, and Trini Ramos.

1988 - Joe Flores, Jr., Age 14 National Junior Champion in Kansas, City, KS.

1989 - Victoria PAGA hosts the 1989 National Winter Meeting in February. As a smaller chapter with few golf courses, Victoria PAGA could not host a National Convention & Tournament so we opted for and were selected to host a Winter Meeting. With strong leadership spearheaded by Joe A. Flores, Sr. and a membership of approximately 80 members; with the tremendous help from our Ladies Auxiliary, Victoria Chamber of Commerce and numerous merchants, the Winter Meeting was a huge success and a memorable event.

The 1989 Victoria PAGA officers were: Joe A. Flores, Sr., President; Sam Delgado, Vice President; Bobby Saenz, Secretary; Louis Martinez III, Treasurer; and Rudy Galvan, Tournament Director.

Chairmen of the various committees for the 1989 Winter Meeting were: Bobby Saenz, Louis Martinez III, Rudy Galvan, George Salinas, Joe A. Flores, Sr., Vic Serrano, Sam Delgado, Tom Tunchez, Alex Lopez, Raymond Saenz, Noe Torres, Sylvester De La Garza, Ray Morales, John Gonzalez, and Tom Escobedo.

1989 - Eddie Hernandez, Nationals 8th Flight Champion in Houston, TX.

1990 - Joe Flores, Jr., Nationals Junior Champion in Austin, TX.

1991 - Joe Flores, Jr., Nationals Junior Champion in Santa Ana, CA.

1992 - John Flores, Nationals 7th Flight Champion in San Antonio, TX. (Becomes Victoria PAGA's first national champion to win diamond ring).

1993 - Joe Flores, Jr., Nationals 2nd Flight Champion in Oklahoma City, OK.

1994 - Al "Chema" Suarez, Nationals 4th Flight Champion in Fort Worth, TX. Wins diamond ring.

1996 - Viola Saenz, Nationals Ladies Champion, First Flight in Dallas, TX.

1997 - Emily Garza, Nationals Ladies "Low-Net" Champion, Championship Flight, Corpus Christi, TX.

1998 - Viola Saenz, Nationals Ladies "Low-Net" Champion, Championship Flight in Brownsville, TX.

1999 - Victoria PAGA founder, Raymond Saenz, is inducted into National Pan American Golf Association Hall of Fame at Nationals in Kansas City, KS.

1999 - Viola Saenz, Nationals Ladies Champion, Championship Flight in Kansas City, KS.

1999 - Oscar Gonzalez, Nationals 6th Flight Champion in Kansas City, KS. Earns diamond ring.

2000 - Victoria PAGA is Nationals 7-Man Team Champions in Houston, TX. Team members are: David Clark, John Gonzalez, Eddie Gonzales, Larry Morales, Lawrence Cortez, John Rodriguez, Genaro Cortez.

2000 - Eddie Gonzales, Nationals 3rd Flight Champion in Houston, TX. Earns diamond ring.

2000 - Viola Saenz, Nationals Ladies Champion, Championship Flight in Houston, TX.

2001 - Viola Saenz is voted Most Improved National PAGA Golfer.

2003 - Viola Saenz, Nationals Ladies Champion, Championship Flight in Austin, TX. Earns diamond ring.

2003 - Jonathan Perez wins Boys (age 16-18) Division in Austin, TX..

2004 - Web Master Roger Reyes (Kyle, TX) and PAGA Secretary Sam Delgado complete www.pagavictoria.com website. Announced to Board of Directors in early March.

2004 - Jonathan Perez wins Nationals Boys (age 16-18) Division in San Antonio, TX. (Second year in a row).

2004 - Jackie Gonzales wins Nationals Girls (age 10-11) Division in San Antonio, TX.

2005 - Trevor Vega wins Nationals Boys (age 10-11) Division in Arlington, TX (Irving PAGA).

2005 - Marissa Martinez wins Nationals Girls (age 6-7) Division in Arlington, TX (Irving PAGA).

2006 - Victoria PAGA Clubhouse mortgage is paid in full during the month of June!!

2006 - John Flores, Nationals 3rd Flight Champion in Oklahoma City, OK. (Becomes Victoria PAGA's first two-time National Champion!!).