The concept of the Michiana Senior Golf Association (MSGA) was born in the spring of 1998 when Bob Brady received his 1998 schedule from the Indiana State Seniors Golf Association (ISSGA). Bob, a member of the ISSGA for many years, noted that again there were few tournaments to be played in Northern Indiana. This issue, along with the fact that the ISSGA had a long waiting list for membership, had been a topic of discussion among Bob and his friends for many years.

It was under these circumstances that he began to think seriously about creating a similar organization whose territory would include Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The area was noted for many high quality private, resort and public golf courses, a requirement to attract the type of membership required to launch a successful organization.

With the help of John Pavlos, plans were made to launch the organization for the 1999 season. Five additional Board members were recruited to make up the first Board of Directors. Those were Ed Kuehl, Dick Trout, Joe Deming, Richard Gosswiller and Chris Condes. John Pavlos was elected President and Bob Brady Secretary-Treasurer and Director of Golf. 

Seven tournaments were held in 1999 with the inaugural event at Bent Oak G.C. in Elkhart, IN. Through word of mouth and the efforts of Board members, membership grew to 125 by the end of the season.

In 2000, the schedule was increased to eight events, and in 2001, a Pro-Am event was added to the schedule for a total of nine events. A computer was purchased to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the scoring at each event.

In 2002, the MSGA website was first set up to communicate with the membership and visitors, and in 2003, the MSGA engaged an outside handicap service, Handicomp, Inc. to provide USGA recognized handicaps for members who were not affiliated with a golf club. For 2003, the schedule included nine events, but the Pro-Am event was replaced with a Two-Man, Two-Day Best Ball Match Play Championship played in August each year. This MSGA Championship has continued each year since 2003.

At the beginning of 2008, the Board appointed Bill Murray as the new Director of Golf. Bill was a retired PGA Professional and brought significant experience to the organization in setting up and managing MSGA events. Bob Brady continued in the capacity of Secretary-Treasurer. For 2008, an additional event was added to bring the total to ten. After the season, the Board engaged Catalyst Marketing Innovations, LLC to redesign and host the website.

Prior to the 2009 season, John Pavlos, co-founder of the MSGA died unexpectedly. The Board honored his memory by naming the first event each year, the John Pavlos Memorial Classic and naming the permanent MSGA Championship trophy, the John Pavlos Memorial trophy.

For the 2009 season, the Board established the Brady Cup to provide a year-long competition for members. Points are awarded for participation, awards won and recruiting new members.  

Prior to the 2012 season, Bruce Fisher was appointed to the position of Secretary-Treasurer replacing Bob Brady who retired as Secretary-Treasurer but remained a Director.

Beginning with the 2014 season, an additional flight was added for higher handicap players who choose to play from the forward tees at Individual Medal Play events. Any member whose age plus handicap index equaled 95+ could choose to play in the flight.

At the end of 2014, Bob Brady retired from the Board after sixteen years of service. His vision, guidance and leadership were greatly appreciated by the Board. Bob was honored by being appointed Director Emeritus.

Beginning with the 2020 season, the Board expanded the rules for those players who choose to play from the forward tees by lowering the limitation for age plus handicap index to 85+. This resulted in two flights for players playing the forward tees and three flights for players playing from the regular tees. Also in 2020, the World Handicap System (WHS) was established to include handicap systems from around the world including USGA systems at private and public golf courses. Beginning in 2021, players were required to have a WHS handicap to play in MSGA tournaments. The handicap system for players not affiliated with a golf course was replaced by the MSGA/Blue Golf system that uses the WHS system so all scoring conforms to USGA rules.

At the end of 2021, Bill Murray as Director of Golf, Michelle Murray as Administrative Assistant and Bruce Fisher as Secretary-Treasurer retired. With their passion and hard work for the organization, each made great contributions over the years. The Board appointed Tom Spartz as Director of Golf, Tim Holmes as Secretary and Mike Kinsey as Treasurer for the 2022 season.

For the 2023 season, the MSGA began using Blue Golf software for tournament registrations, payments, etc. and online scoring including automatically posting scores for players. Also, for 2023 tournaments were set up with three sets of tees to better match the golfing and distance abilities of members. Players were allowed to choose their tee preference which included two flights for each.

In the years that the MSGA has existed, membership has grown from 125 in 1999 to a high of 210 in 2005. Over the MSGA’s 26 years, 922 players have been members of the organization. The current membership of 135 is below the all-time high but above the 130 for 2023. Event participation for 2024 was 92 up 5 from the 2023 average of 87 for individual tournaments.