Nebraska PGA September 2013 Newsletter by David Honnens

Tony Pesavento, PGA Vice President Candidate

Justin Arlt, PGA Secretary Candidate

Nathan Kalin, PGA Secretary Candidate

Mark Mattingly, PGA Secretary Candidate

Inside this issue: 2013 Merchandise Show/Education and Fall Meeting Pg. 4 Partner Message from SNAG Golf Pg. 8 New Creative Resource Center for PGA Members & Apprentices Pgs. 9-10 Nebraska Section PGA | 8700 Executive Woods Dr., Ste 100 | Lincoln, NE 68512 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

2013 Nebraska Section PGA Fall Elections October 14, 2013 Champions Run

Candidate for Vice President

Tony Pesavento, PGA Omaha Country Club Read Tony's Letter Candidates for Secretary

Justin Arlt, PGA Dakota Dunes Country Club Read Justin's Letter

Nathan Kalin, PGA Fremont Country Club Read Nathan's Letter

Mark Mattingly, PGA Landscapes Golf Group Read Mark's Letter

During the election, if there are fewer than two nominees for any one office at any one time, oral nominations will be accepted from the floor. In the case of candidates for Secretary, oral nominations from the floor will not be accepted for this office during the election process. If you are unable to attend the meeting, absentee ballot information will be emailed out to eligible PGA Members on Friday, September 27th. Please contact the Section Office to obtain an absentee ballot: 402-489-7760 or nebraska@pgahq.com

2013 Merchandise Show/Education and Fall Meeting October 13-14, 2013 Champions Run Omaha, NE The 2013 Nebraska PGA Fall Merchandise Show/Education Seminar and Fall Meeting is just around the corner and we are looking forward to seeing you there! Schedule of Events Sunday, October 13: Merchandise Show/Education Seminar  9:00 am - 4:30 pm - Merchandise Show 2 MSR  10:00 am - 11:00 am "The PGA Professional Report--Your Future??" PGA of America Employment Consultant - Bruce Lubach, PGA 1 MSR Credit  11:45 am - 12:45 pm - Buffet Lunch  1:00 pm - 2:30 pm - "How to Create Instructional Synergy Through a Branded Learning Center" PGA of America Player Development National Manager - Rich Richeson, PGA 2 MSR Credits  3:30 pm - 4:30 pm - "Enhancing Your Facility's Reach Through ACTIVE Works" PGA of America Player Development National Manager - Rich Richeson, PGA Player Development Coordinator - Joe Canny, PGA 1 MSR Credit  4:30 pm - 6:00 pm - Appreciation Reception $25.00 Registration Fee for Sunday events includes Buffet Lunch Monday, October 14: Fall Business Meeting  8:30 am - 12:00 pm 4 MSR Credits $35.00 Registration Fee includes Continental Breakfast and Buffet Lunch Presented by:

Education & Merchandise Show Registration

Fall Meeting Registration

Spend less time in the back office and more time interacting with customers by taking advantage of PGA Pro-Motion PGA Pro-Motion is the area of PGA Links which provides communications, marketing and public relations resources that can help you grow your business and the game of golf. PGA Pro-Motion also encompasses the new Creative Resource Center where you can find templates that allow you to customize them for your business or chose from professional materials created for you. The four key areas of this website include the already mentioned Creative Resource Center, Best Practices, Custom Sample Letters and Custom Media Materials. This month we are going to look at each of these valuable member benefits and how they can impact your business. Creative Resource Center At the PGA Creative Resource Center you can customize and download professionally designed marketing materials for your facility. Here you can create print materials for magazines, brochures, flyers, posters and cart cards. Other items you can customize include: 

Email Templates For newsletters and promote specific programs/offers

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Web Banners For your website and web advertising

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Videos For public service announcements, golf shop, cart computers and TV commercials

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Radio Ads

Includes national radio advertisements you can download for use The above resources can be broken down by program type to find the one that fits your need. Materials for programs such as Get Golf Ready, PGA Sports Academy, TEE IT FORWARD can be found along with generic templates for flyers, cart signs and more. Click on the hyperlinks above to view instructional videos on how to use each category.

#1 - Email Newsletter Create your own 4-story newsletter. We'll even provide you with two stories each week from PGA.com.

#2 - Group Lesson Flyer Create & print your own flyers. A great look and easy to produce.

#3 - Cart Tee Time Signs Upload your tee times for the day and the site will provide you with signs for each cart

#4 - One Story Email Need to send a quick email? This template is great looking way to get your message across.

Best Practices The Best Practices section of PGA-Promotion is where you go to take your programs and facility to the next level. PGA Professionals and Industry Leaders nationwide are sharing their best practices on a variety of marketing topics. You too can upload your own best practices to share your success stories with fellow PGA Professionals on PGA Pro-Motion. Watch industry experts share their knowledge on marketing topics ranging from social media to government relations. Some favorites include “Generating Media Exposure for Your Facility” from award winning public relations firm Alday Communications, LLC and “Advertising Tips” from the PGA News Bureau. Custom Sample Letters This is an area of PGA Pro-Motion that I know has saved me countless hours and helped me generate additional revenue. Writing requests for sponsorships, pitch letters to local media and donation letters is difficult. It is even harder starting from scratch as I have spent numerous hours staring at a blank page trying to figure out how to start. The Custom Sample Letters on PGA Pro-Motion has made my life easy by sharing pre-written documents which allow me to reach out to potential sponsors, send pitch letters to new media contacts and more. Documents are in Word so are easily changed and almost all just require me to insert my name and operation. Sample Letters include: 

Sponsor Letters

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Sponsor Golf Hole

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Sponsor Materials

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Congratulatory Letter

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Equipment Donation Letter  Retirement Letter 

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Pitch Letter Special Awards Letter

Custom Media Materials Today the average family has less time and money for recreational activities while the amount of recreational programs has increased. Golf 2.0 teaches us many things, one of the most important being that the way customers shop has changed and we need to go out and get them. If your facility and programs are going to compete with 5k races, select team sports and other non-golf programming you need to market your facility, yourself and programs to the masses. Writing press releases and media alerts is a great way to do this. The issue is it can be time consuming and difficult. PGA Pro-Motion has solved that issue by creating custom media materials where you can simply insert your club’s information and click send! PGA Pro-Motion has over 25 customizable documents for:  Education  Bios 

Media Advisories

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News Releases

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Tournaments

So next time you have a junior clinic, win a Nebraska Section Award, hire a new staff member or more and would like to get the word out; visit the Custom Media Materials page on PGA Pro-Motion. PGA Pro-Motion is truly a great PGA member benefit which can save you and your team time and money the remainder of this season and going forward. I hope you will take advantage of this wonderful tool and remember that you can always reach out to Joe Canny, Nebraska PGA Player Development Coordinator with any questions.

Since football season is here and since three of the sections I cover have a professional team, this phrase is used by broadcasters when teams have no choice but to respond in a positive manner when faced with a game- deciding situation. It’s GO TIME!! You either succeed or fail and the 25 second clock doesn’t allow you to wait to make a decision because you are out of time outs. What play do I call? Do I kick the field goal or go for the first down? Do I play a prevent defense or go after the quarterback with the hope of sacking him? Big -time coaches making big -time decisions with the game on the line with the hope that their “big -time” player (s) will make a play! Not life or death (??) but the drama played out surely gives the most rabid of fan a chance to voice their approval or disapproval with what happens on that one play. For some of us, GO TIME has been happening all spring, summer and fall. How you produce, how you manage the business of golf relative to revenue and expenses and bottom line results, make the end of the year an interesting proposition. As you assess and determine what worked and what did not and how you want to have your GO TIME evaluated, what have you implemented for this to occur? Are you waiting on the sideline for your employer or decision- maker to tell you how the year went? Is it already fourth down and you are possibly having to punt? I sure hope that is not the case! Be proactive! Show your value and be the quarterback who has called the plays and documented what plays worked and what plays did not work. Analyze your “playbook” and determine your plan of action for 2014 and more importantly, tell your story for 2013. The planning and implementation of that plan will contribute to the success or failure for the upcoming year. What are you doing or what have you already done? Tell your story, quantify success/results and make it happen. The PGA Professional Report can assist you. It’s definitely GO TIME!

Bruce Lubach, PGA Employment Consultant Bruce Lubach, PGA, is the PGA of America Employment Consultant for the sections of Iowa, Midwest, Minnesota and Nebraska. He can be reached at 402.261.3604 or blubach@pgahq.com.

Omaha, NE – Extreme heat temperatures and windy conditions did not deter Billy Keane, Apprentice Professional of Sioux City Country Club from capturing his first Nebraska Section PGA event at the E-Z-GO Facilities Championship at Shadow Ridge Country Club. Keane’s round was slowed with a double bogey six on #11 but he fought back with birdies on #12 and #16 to secure a one-under-par 71. Closely on his heels was a familiar name, Jim White, PGA Mater Professional who finished at evenpar 72. White hit an errant tee shot on #12 that resulted in a double-bogey seven but he bounced back with a birdie on #18 to finish one back of Keane. In the team division it was a shoot-out for who would capture the annual E-Z-GO Facilities Championship. The team of Mike Antonio, PGA of Happy Hollow Club and his amateur partners, Fred Aman, Jason Abboud and Dick Frandeen posted a winning total of 14-under-par to win the second annual E-Z-GO

Facilities Championship. Antonio and Aman helped secure this victory by both players birding #18. Finishing two strokes back at 12-under-par was the team of Ryan Vermeer, Apprentice Professional of Oak Hills Country Club and his amateur team of Vinnie Krikac, Seth Gutz and Matt Davison. Also at 12-under-par was the team of Shane Zywiec, PGA of Highlands Golf Course and his amateur team of Tony Merksick, Rich McLaughlin and Dan Ott. Special thanks to our “Presenting Sponsor,” Miller and Sons and sales representative, Randy Prince. We also appreciate the support of Vinnie Krikac State Farm Insurance Agency and Commercial Investment Properties for their continued support. Lastly, to the great staff of Shadow Ridge Country Club led by Gary Gabrielson, PGA General Manager and outstanding course conditions from course superintendent, Mary Boyle and her staff.

Lincoln, NE- The Nebraska PGA was at Firethorn Golf Club for the Club Car/TaylorMade/adidas/Ashworth Pro-3Am. Nineteen four person teams that were comprised of one Nebraska Section professional and three amateurs were challenged with high temperatures, high winds and a very difficult layout. The team of Jim White, PGA MP of West Nine and Learning Center, Jon Bruning, Matt Davison and Charlie Huff finished at 15-under-par and captured the team division in the two net format. Shane Zywiec, PGA of Highlands Golf Course and Ryan Vermeer of Oak Hills Country Club finished tied for first place in the professional division after finishing at one-over-par. Zywiec played his last three holes two-under-par to set the pace for the tournament. Vermeer had three birdies on his round, but his score was offset with three bogeys. Jim White, PGA MP captured the Senior Professional Division after finishing at three-over-par. The Nebraska PGA would like to thank all of today’s sponsors; Nebraska Golf and Turf (Club Car), TaylorMade/adidas/Ashworth, Omaha Steaks, CIP and Vinnie Krikac State Farm Insurance Agency. Nebraska Section PGA | 8700 Executive Woods Dr., Ste 100 | Lincoln, NE 68512 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

Columbusâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;NE, Ryan Dillon of New River, AZ started his round off with an opening bogey on his first hole then went on to make six birdies and capture the 2013 Nebraska Open presented by Wells Fargo. First round co-leader John Hurley of Spring, TX made an eagle on the par four #12 to take the solo lead at 12-under-par. Bogies on holes #13 and #14 slowed Hurley down and finished the tournament at 10-under-par and in second place. Dillon trailed the leaders most of the day until back to back birdies on holes #12 and #13 propelled him with striking distance of Hurley. Dillon followed up with birdies on the par five #15 hole and made a great putt on #18 for birdie to secure the victory. Opening round co-leader, Scott Gutschewski of Elkhorn, NE finished tied for third after posting an even-par 71. Some other highlights of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s action included Paul Mohr of Scottsbluff fired a one-under-par 70 to capture the low amateur title. Mohr edged out Creighton Prep Senior Ben

Maschka of Omaha, NE by three strokes who shot two-over-par 73 on the day. Jim White, PGA Master Professional of Lincoln, NE posted a one-over-par 72 to capture the Senior Professional Division with a three round total of three-under-par 210 total. Finishing one stroke back at two-under-par 211 was Brian Fogt of Wildwood, MO. The Wells Fargo Nebraska Open is endorsed and operated by the Nebraska Section of the PGA and the Nebraska Golf Association and coordinated by Nebraska Public Power District. The proceeds are donated to the Nebraska Community College Foundation, which awards scholarships to hundreds of Nebraska students in need attending five community colleges in the state. These colleges include Central Community College, Columbus, Hastings & Grand Island; Southeast Community College; Lincoln, Milford & Beatrice; Northeast Community College, Norfolk; Mid-Plains Community College, North Platte & McCook; and Western Nebraska Community College, Sidney & Scottsbluff.

Tom Johnson of Champions Run and his amateur team comprised of Richard Dinsmore, Kevin Kusleika and John Chudy played some fantastic golf to capture the team title at 14 under-par. Johnson played one of his best rounds of the year as he navigated through the tough conditions to shoot a three-over-par 75. Jim White, PGA Master Professional of The West Nine and Learning Center took home the Senior Professional Division with a five-over-par 77. The Nebraska Section PGA would like to thank Healthcare Information Systems representatives, Tom Walker and Roger Heedum for sponsoring this great event. Health Care Information Systems (HCIS) provides a comprehensive purchasing program for long term care facilities. With over 500 clients in twelve states, HCIS also offers Medicare Part A and B, claims management, nurse consulting and consultant dietician services. To learn more please visit www.hcis-mbs.com. Nebraska Section PGA | 8700 Executive Woods Dr., Ste 100 | Lincoln, NE 68512 | Ph: (402) 489-7760 | Fx: (402) 489-1785 | www.nebraskapga.com

Omaha, NE- Jon Petersen, PGA captured his third Yamaha Match Play Championship by defeating Ted DiGiacomo, PGA one up in the final match at Tiburon Golf Club. Petersen had several tough matches along the way and the final match proved to be no different. Petersen was dormie two but a great birdie by DiGiacomo on their 17th hole forced the final hole. However, the two shared pars on the final hole and Petersen was able to hoist the Yamaha Match Play Championship trophy for the third time in nine years. Petersen’s road to the finals wasn’t an easy one and included matches against Alex Carper, Mark Stava, and Nick Wanderscheid. Petersen got to the finals after defeating, 2012 Player of the Year, Shane Zywiec, PGA 6&5. Zywiec eventually went on to defeat Tony Baranowski for third place five and four. The Nebraska PGA would like to thank Yamaha for their continued support of the Nebraska PGA

Beatrice, NE- The familiar team of Jon Petersen, PGA and Jim White, PGA MP captured their fourth All Star Pro Golf Team Championship at Beatrice Country Club. Petersen and White finished at 18-under-par which was good enough for a one shot victory over the team of Bryan Hughett, PGA and Greg Neujahr, PGA in the 36-hole championship. Petersen and White set the pace early with a seven-under-par 65 in the morning best ball format but were forced to keep up their good play with several teams one shot back. The team of Hughett and Neujahr gave them a great run by shooting a nine-under-par 61 in the second round scramble; however, Petersen and White matched their 61 with their own to capture the Championship. The defending champions of Kyle Schellpeper and Ryan Vermeer gave a valiant effort to defend their title but came up three shot’s short after finishing at 15-under-par and in a three way tie for third with the team of Ted DiGiacomo, PGA and Shane Zywiec, PGA and the team of Mike Cornell, PGA and Mike Schuchart, PGA. The Nebraska PGA would like to thank the staff and members of Beatrice Country Club for playing host to this Championship. Lastly, the Nebraska PGA would like to give a special thank you to All Star Pro Golf who supported this event and the Nebraska PGA throughout the year.

Updates between 08/22 - 09/27

October Birthdays

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

Thomas Harmon, PGA Tournament Director tharmon@pgahq.com

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

Renee Tyson Administrative Assistant rtyson@pgahq.com