Nebraska PGA January 2015 Newsletter by David Honnens

MIKE ANTONIO, PGA

Mike Antonio, PGA, Director of Golf at Happy Hollow Club Named 2014 Nebraska Section PGA “Golf Professional of the Year” LINCOLN, Neb.—Mike Antonio, PGA, Director of Golf at Happy Hollow Club, was selected for the Section’s highest honor bestowed on a PGA Member as the 2014 Nebraska PGA Golf Professional of the Year. Antonio was elected to membership into the PGA of America in September of 1984. Antonio’s professional career began at Council Bluffs Country Club, then to Happy Hollow Club, Norfolk Country Club and back to Happy Hollow Club where he has served as the Director of Golf since 2001. Antonio was the 1990 Nebraska Section PGA Champion and runner-up in 1993, 1994 and 2002. He has also teamed up with numerous of his Assistant Professionals to capture the Pro-Assistance Championship seven times. In addition to his stellar playing career Antonio has been recognized as the Merchandiser of the Year – Private in 1999, the Horton Smith winner in 2009 and recently in 2010 Happy Hollow Club was recognized as the Facility of the Year in the Nebraska Section PGA. Antonio’s contributions to the Nebraska Section PGA span four decades and during this time frame he has served on the Junior Golf Committee, Education Committee, Player Development Committee, Finance Committee, Scholarship Committee, Tournament Committee and an at large member of the Section Board of Directors. As an officer of the Section, Antonio was very instrumental in establishing a Section investment policy that diversified the Section portfolio and resulted in considerable growth since 2010. Happy Hollow Club is also the host site for the largest Pro-Am of the year in Nebraska that benefits the Nebraska Section PGA Foundation. Antonio also played a vital role in the 2013 U.S. Open Junior Golf experience at Omaha Country Club that featured over 90 PGA Members

volunteering over 300 hours of instruction to over 1,400 youth during this major championship. As President of the Nebraska Section PGA, Antonio’s desire to see the next generation of golfers come to the game is evident in the Nebraska Section PGA establishing a charitable arm through the Nebraska Section PGA Foundation which he currently resides as the President. Since the launch of this foundation, over 8,000 youth have been introduced to golf through the Golf N Schools program. In 2014, this foundation featured over 70 PGA Professionals volunteering over 450 hours to Golf N Schools, Neighborhood Golf, Boys & Girls Clubs and TEAM Golf. Antonio embodies the PGA of America’s mission in establishing and elevating the standards of the profession and growing interest and participation in the game of golf and this latest achievement solidifies these accomplishments. The Nebraska Section PGA is a non-for-profit organization comprised of approximately 220 PGA Members and 37 Apprentices who strive to promote the enjoyment and growth of the game of golf. Nebraska Section PGA encompasses the entire State of Nebraska, western fifth of Iowa and a small portion of South Dakota including Dakota Dunes and Yankton. The Section office is located in Lincoln, NE and acts as a resource for local and national golf information for the golf professional and amateur player alike. Our members are often referred to as “Club Professionals”, not to be mistaken as PGA Tour Professionals. Each Nebraska Section PGA professional serves as an expert in the ever-changing business of golf. They are the leading expert players and teachers, skilled business managers, community leaders, and superior merchandisers who have dedicated their careers to the local delivery of these services.

NEBRASKA SECTION PGA SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS Golf Professional of the Year - Mike Antonio, PGA – Happy Hollow Club Assistant Golf Professional of the Year - Jeff Henry, PGA – The Country Club of Lincoln Facility of the Year - ArborLinks – Jeff Porter, PGA Horton Smith - Tom Hearn, PGA – PGA TOUR Junior Golf Leader - Adam Coates, PGA – Spencer Golf & Country Club Merchandiser of the Year – Private - Dawn Neujahr, PGA – Champions Run Merchandiser of the Year – Public - Denis Vontz, PGA – Highlands Golf Course Salesperson of the Year - Mike Long – adidas/Ashworth Teacher of the Year - James Sieckmann, PGA – Shadow Ridge Country Club Bill Strausbaugh - Joe Canny, PGA – Nebraska Section PGA Player Development - James Kinney, PGA – GolfTEC – Omaha

NEBRASKA SECTION PGA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR FOR 2014

Shane Zywiec, PGA Player of the Year

Jim White, PGA, MP Sr. Player of the Year

Ryan Vermeer Asst. Player of the Year

the Nebraska PGA Spring Meeting Monday, March 23, 2015 Country Club of Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Our Condolences on the Passing ofâ&#x20AC;Ś. Brad Kai, PGA A member in our Nebraska Section PGA family, Brad Lee Kai, PGA, 59 of Lincoln passed away on Saturday, January 3, 2015 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born June 4, 1955 to Clair and Marcella Kai. Brad was married to his wife Vicki for 38 years and together they had one daughter, Kaci. Brad was a 26 year member of The PGA of America having served at Seward Country Club, Iron Eagle Golf Course and was employed with the City of Lincoln as the Player Development Coordinator at the time of his passing.

In addition to Bradâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love for the game of golf, he was a dedicated, loving, sharp and witty Husband, Father, Papa, Son, Brother, and so much more to everyone who met him. He will be greatly missed. Brad is survived by his wife Vicki, daughter Kaci and husband Derek, Grandchildren Claire and Reed Johnson. Mother Marcella Kai, Sister(s) and Brother (s) in Law(s): Nedra (Jerry) Dickey, Nancy (DW) Duhachek. Sister(s) and Brother(s) in Law(s): Sherry (Dave) Fitzpatrick, Marilyn (Jay) Oxton, Lori (Jim) Rausch. Nieces, Nephews and a host of friends. Memorial services were held on Friday, January 9th at First Lutheran Church.

Michael Brown, PGA Michael George Lewis Brown spent his 33 years pursuing his dreams. He was born in Colorado in 1981 to Angela Bishop Brown and George Michael Brown. From the beginning he was a Broncos' fan and that remained constant throughout his life. An avid golfer since childhood he aspired to become a PGA Member. Michael was elected to PGA Membership in 2011 while serving Pacific Springs Golf Course. He got to work in the field he loved at a variety of establishments ending up at Olive Branch Country Club in Olive Branch, MS as the PGA Head Professional. He graduated high school in Englewood, CO and got his degree from Ottawa University in Kansas in 2007. While in college he met the girl of those dreams and married Andrea Wieseler Brown in 2008. They were blessed to become the parents of two remarkable little boys in 2010. The

twins inherited their Dad's fighting spirit and loved visiting him at the course. Enjoying his friends and family was one of Michael's favorite things from cheering on his favorite sports teams, to bowling, to playing in the park with the boys. A result of his traveling and "never met a stranger" personality he leaves an impression with friends and family from coast to coast. Michael's survived by his loving wife Andrea, precious boys John and Deekan, his parents, and Grandparents. He'll also be missed by a large extended family of nieces nephews and cousins. If you would like to send cards or condolences to his family, please send cards to their home at: 5857 Michaelson Dr, Olive Branch, MS 38654. Please keep the Brown family in your thoughts and prayers in the days and weeks to come.

EMPLOYMENT CORNER ARE YOU READY? I recently attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando and was fortunate to visit with some of you who attended. Some of you attended an Education Seminar I conducted with a fellow colleague, Ken Ferrell, PGA. The title of the seminar was, “Career Fitness for the 21st Century”. I enjoy conducting seminars and my goal when doing them is to hopefully leave enough of an impression that evokes some type of change in behavior, attitude or day to day activities by those in attendance. Change is kind of a threatening word to some of us. Our comfort level in how we do our jobs is typically about routine and following a preordained or predetermined way of doing something. The change I am going to get you to think about today is relatively simple. This change is going to revolve around the word ACCOMPLISHMENTS! The career fitness you are hopefully establishing should and must be tied to this word. This isn’t necessarily about trying to accomplish something new and exciting every day. Rather, this is about keeping track or remembering by documenting these accomplishments. Each one of us is sometimes our own worst enemy. We are taught to be humble, to not “brag”, and to let our successes speak for themselves. You all accomplish so much on a daily basis! But you know what? Does the board, your boss, the person in charge always notice? We have developed a tool for your use to help you with these accomplishments and a way to track them. I want you to go to pgalinks.com, sign in, highlight the Employment page, go to the middle of the page where there is a heading “PGA Employment Department”. Scroll down and highlight “Employer Communication Planning”. Within this document very close to the top, you will see some blue letters which say “Click Here”. I am asking you, no imploring you, to highlight this and start the process of change with the “Executive Summary Report”. This is a 30 day recap or a weekly recap and can be changed or revised in whatever way you desire to fit your needs. ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE??

Bruce Lubach, PGA, is the PGA of America Employment Consultant for the Colorado, Iowa, Midwest, Minnesota and Nebraska Sections. He can be reached at: blubach@pgahq.com or (402) 261-3604.

Measure Your Impact in 2015 In the coming months as you begin to plan your player development and league schedule make sure to put tracking measures in place. In 2015 you will want to capture key metrics such as rounds played, incremental revenue generated and the like as they relate to your various programs. Being able to quantify your impact shows employers or board the value you bring to the facility. This can lead to job security and increased compensation. Figuring out how to measure incremental revenue generated can be daunting and difficult. Luckily The PGA of America has developed a great new tool which allows you to easily and professionally track and report the impact at your clubs. This tool is the Revenue Scorecard and available now on PGA.org. This editable PDF shows the total yearly incremental revenue through your instructional programming. The core components of the Revenue Scorecard are junior instruction and adult instruction along with key instructions for daily fee/municipal clubs or private facilities. You simply work through the document, entering what information you do have to generate a professional report specific to your course. This document can be edited throughout the season so I would recommend saving a copy on your desktop to edit throughout the year for easy tracking and reporting at the end of the season. You can find this document as well as read best practices from PGA Professionals using the Revenue Scorecard by clicking here. Having tracked player development programming through excel and golf software I would strongly recommend this new PGA Member benefit. It is the easiest and most professional way I have found so far and free for use to PGA Professionals and Apprentices such as yourselves. If you have any questions or would like additional support in using the Revenue Scorecard please reach out Nebraska PGAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Player Development Coordinator, Joe Canny, PGA at (402) 730-8364 or jcanny@pgahq.com. Nebraska Section PGA | 610 J Street, Ste 10 | Lincoln, NE 68508 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

MEMBER SERVICES Member services continue during the winter months at the Country Club of Lincoln. Each off season the golf professional staff takes a complete club inventory of each of our member’s golf bags that utilize club storage at CCL. Each member’s clubs are reviewed and recommendations are made for such things as club repairs, condition of their grips, missing clubs, shaft name labels and any other items that may need attention. Members’ are then sent the list of recommendations along with the price to complete any recommendations that are made. This also gives the golf shop, as well as the member, an accurate description of their current golf equipment. This process also generates some revenue for the golf shop during a slow sales portion of the season! Jeff Henry PGA Golf Professional Country Club of Lincoln Lincoln, NE 68502 (Office) 402-423-2271

Did you know that throughout our nation’s history, all of our Presidents have issued Executive Orders during their terms of office? Our early Presidents (from George Washington through Zachary Taylor) issued only one or two Executive Orders per year. Thereafter, our Presidents issued Executive Orders more frequently, with Franklin D. Roosevelt (pictured to the right) being the most prolific, averaging 307 Executive Orders per year. A couple of significant Executive Orders are Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and FDR’s creation of the Works Progress Administration that put more than 8.5 million Americans back to work at the height of the Great Depression. In this quiz, it seems that some of our more notable golfing Presidents have issued golf-related Executive Orders. You, as Congress, must either “approve” or “veto” these Executive Orders based on whether or not they comply with the current Rules of Golf. 1. William H. Taft orders that a player may deem his ball unplayable on the putting green. 2. Woodrow Wilson decrees that a player may obtain free relief when his ball is in a burrowing animal hole in a water hazard. 3. FDR instructs that, in foursomes match play, if a player plays, when his partner should have played, the side may correct the error. 4. Dwight D. Eisenhower commands that a player may continue to play with a ball that is visibly cracked. 5. John F. Kennedy orders that a player may take relief from casual water when his ball is in a puddle on a concrete cart path. 6. Gerald Ford mandates that a ball played from anywhere on the golf course may strike the flagstick in the hole. 7. George H. Bush dictates that the hole must be 4½ inches in diameter. 8. Bill Clinton orders that a player may practice pitching shots near the teeing ground of the next hole to be played. 9. George W. Bush declares that a stipulated round may consist of only six (6) holes. 10. Barack Obama decides that a legal hole location may be as close as twelve inches (12”) from the edge of the putting green. Answers: 1. Approve Rule 28 [Ball Unplayable] indicates that the player may deem his ball unplayable at any place on the course, except when the ball is in a water hazard. 2. 2. Veto Rule 25-1b [Abnormal Ground Conditions] says that the player may take relief from interference by an abnormal ground condition, except when the ball is in a water hazard. 3. Veto Rule 29-2 [Threesomes and Foursomes – Match Play] states, “If a player plays when his partner should have played, his side loses the hole.” 4. Approve Rule 5-3 [Ball Unfit for Play] states, in part, “If it is determined that the ball has become unfit for play ….the player may substitute another ball ….” [Emphasis added] 5. Approve In this case, the player may take relief from either the casual water under Rule 25-1b [Abnormal Ground Conditions] or the cart path under Rule 24-2b [Immovable Obstruction]. 6. Veto Rule 17-3c [Ball Striking Flagstick or Attendant] advises that the player’s ball must not strike the flagstick in the hole, unattended, when the stroke has been made on the putting green. 7. Veto By Definition, the hole must be 4¼ inches (108 mm) in diameter. 8. Veto Rule 7-2 [Practice – During Round] indicates that putting and chipping are the only types of strokes that a player may practice between the play of two holes. 9. Approve By Definition, the number of holes in a stipulated round is 18 unless a smaller number is authorized by the Committee. 10. Approve There are no Rules regarding hole locations, so there is no such thing as an "illegal" hole location per the USGA. Nebraska Section PGA | 610 J Street, Ste 10 | Lincoln, NE 68508 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

State of the Game to debut Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 8 pm ET. NEW YORK – SiriusXM announced today that Pete Bevacqua, the PGA of America’s Chief Executive Officer, will host a new show on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (Sirius channel 208, XM channel 93). State of the Game will make its live debut on Wednesday, January 28, at 8:00 pm ET and air monthly throughout the year. Bevacqua and co-host Brian Katrek will discuss the world of golf, focusing on the important role that the PGA of America and PGA Professionals play in growing the game and putting on some of the world’s most high-profile championships. They will also examine the health and growth of the game in the U.S. and abroad. Bevacqua and Katrek will talk with PGA Professionals, industry leaders and other special guests, and will take calls from listeners around the country. “This show is another example of a great partner in SiriusXM providing us with a platform to showcase the impact of PGA Professionals in delivering the game to millions of golfers each day,” said Bevacqua. Click here to continue reading.

America. The five-year agreement features National serving as the Official Rental Car of the PGA Championship and Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid; an Official Partner of the 2016 and 2018 Ryder Cups; Title Sponsor of the National Car Rental PGA Assistant Championship and Founding Partner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. As an Official Partner of the PGA of America, National joins a select group of companies that provide significant, broad-based support of the Association, its Championships and membership programs. National also plans to continue its support of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America, created to “improve lives through golf” through its three pillars of Youth, Military and Diversity/Inclusion. “Since 2012, National Car Rental has supported our most cherished spectator championships and has played a key role in celebrating the work of PGA Professionals nationwide while helping us grow the game of golf at the local level,” said Pete Bevacqua, PGA of America Chief Executive Officer. “We are very pleased to continue our partnership with National, whose commitment to personalized service reflects one of the most trusted brands in the transportation industry.” Click here to continue reading.

PGA Professionals are able to go to PGA.org (or click here) and take the 2015 PGA Golf Online registration for a 2015 Professional Compensation Survey, which seeks data from 2014. The survey will be live through March PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshop is now open. You 23rd to earn MSR credit, provided the maximum MSR requirement has not been met. All can register via phone. active PGA Professionals (except A-3s) are asked to More information participate in this confidential survey. The annual PGA Compensation Survey is the industry standard for providing invaluable data on golf professional compensation levels.  Provides key information to ensure PGA Professionals are employed at the correct As an official Partner, National joins a select group compensation level of companies that provide significant, broad-based  • Better understand your compensation support of the Association, its Championships and compared to other PGA Professionals membership programs.  • Helps you know current compensation levels and employee benefits ST. LOUIS - National Car Rental and the PGA of  • Determines which factors (region, facility type, America today announced the renewal of their etc.) are most likely to affect earnings partnership at the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show, extending National’s designation as an Official Results from previous years are available online now Partner and the Official Rental Car of the PGA of on PGA.org. Nebraska Section PGA | 610 J Street, Ste 10 | Lincoln, NE 68508 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

Rob Brown, PGA 2/1 Michael Ten Eyck, PGA 2/3 Bentley Benson, PGA 2/8 Sid Holtmeier, PGA 2/12 Christopher Hartman 2/16 Jacob Pribnow, PGA 2/16 Brian Radebaugh 2/16 Nickolas Muller, PGA 2/20 Brett Mayo, PGA 2/24 Steve Boveia, PGA 2/25 Scott Holly, PGA 2/25 Ron Gunia, PGA 2/26 Robert Saffer, PGA 2/26

STAFF David Honnens, PGA Executive Director dhonnens@pgahq.com

Sean Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill, PGA Tournament Director soneill@pgahq.com

Joe Canny, PGA Junior Golf Director/ Player Development Coordinator jcanny@pgahq.com

Renee Tyson Operations Manager rtyson@pgahq.com