CENTRAL NEW YORK PGA
FEBRUARY 2024
PGA SHOW RECAP THE PGA MERCHANDISE SHOW WITH THE CNY PGA STAFF
SPRING INTERN MEET OUR NEW SPRING INTERN FROM SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, PEYTON PRZYGODA
NEW BRAND PGA OF AMERICA AND PGA OF AMERICA REACH FOUNDATION HAVE NEW LOGOS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE PAGE 3 PGA SHOW RECAP Recapping the 2024 PGA Merchandise Show by Joe Tesori
PAGE 4 PGA REACH CNY JLG RECEIVES GRANT FROM DICK’S HOUSE OF SPORT RYAN MCGINNIS NAMED TO GRAA TOP 100 LIST
PAGE 5 PDR CYCLE INFORMATION OFFICE CLOSINGS MEMBER CLUB INFORMATION MEMBER LINKS Membership Guide, Salesperson Directory, Website, Workday Help
PAGE 6 JR LEAGUE GOLF UPDATES DRIVE, CHIP & PUTT UPDATES
PAGE 7 MEET 2024 SPRING INTERN PGA OF AMERICA REBRAND
PGA SHOW As told by Joe Tesori
We had a great few days at the annual PGA Show with meetings, best practices, seeing old partners and creating new ones along the way. We have some great new partners for 2024 which include; StrakaLine, Lopar, Blue Tees & Branded Bills just to name a few with more on the horizon! You will begin to see their logo & presence in upcoming newsletters and tournament promotions so please be on the lookout for them! As always, our partners are integral to the success of our programs & initiatives so please be mindful with any thank you correspondence with them as it creates sustainable relationships for future years to come. We did release our tournament schedule which covers all of our programs such as professional events, junior tour, AIM championships and our foundation events. As a reminder, the registration for all of our events on our many platforms will be open for registration on March 4, 2024. We welcomed a new intern this spring from Syracuse University, Peyton Przygoda and he has been doing a great job with our foundation projects along with improving our partner proposals and tournament promotions. Thank you Peyton! Please reach out with any questions you have in regards to any tournament related questions to Dylan as he will be handling more on the tournament side in 2024 and beyond! All my best, Joe Tesori, PGA
PAGE THREE | CNY PGA
PGA REACH CNY JLG RECEIVES GRANT
Dick’s House of Sport in Johnson City awarded PGA REACH Central New York a grant of $5,000 in support of the Syracuse City PGA Jr. League program for 2024. Ryan Evans, PGA nominated the Syracuse City PGA Jr. League program last August.
“I thought the Syracuse City PGA Jr. League program would be a perfect organization to benefit from the grant,” Evans said. “PGA REACH CNY does a great job in reaching out to military and veterans through PGA HOPE but it also does a good job with the PGA Jr. League.” Thank you to Ryan for the nomination, and to Dick’s House of Sport for the grant!
MCGINNIS NAMED TO GRAA TOP 100 LIST PAGE FOUR| CNY PGA
Ryan McGinnis, PGA was recently selected by the Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) as one of its Top 100 Growth of the Game Teaching Professionals. “As a Teaching Professional my main goal is to impact those around me through the game of golf,” McGinnis said. “Having this added to my resume gives me more opportunities to achieve my goal. It also showcases the countless hours I spend helping people enjoy the game of golf.”
MEMBER CLUB
PDR CYCLE The NEW PDR cycle period is 6/16/22 - 6/15/25. Click here to see the PGA Professional Development Requirements chart for ways to earn credits. Also be on the lookout for emails from your Education Committee for education opportunities in the off season.
A BIG thank you to the 26 facilities that participated in 2023 which included (3) new clubs coming on board! This program supports multiple Junior Tours, Drive, Chip & Putt, and PGA Junior League. Your contribution is key to the success of these programs as we continue to grow the game of golf in Central New York. Stay tuned for the 2024 Member Club Program in the near future.
OFFICE CLOSINGS The office will be closed Monday February 19th in observation of Presiden’ts Day. We will reopen on February 20th at 9am!
PGA MEMBER LINKS CNY PGA Membership Directory CNY PGA Salesperson Directory Workday Home Page Workday Help Video PAGE FIVE | CNY PGA
PGA JR. LEAGUE
The 2024 Spring Season is officially beginning to form! Please contact Brittany ASAP if you wish to participate in the Spring Season! Our Player Engagement Consultant Brian Bain will be joining us on Thursday February 29th and the morning of Friday March 1. If you would like to set up an appointment, have some questions, or are a new coach interested in forming a PGA Jr. League team, please reach out to Brittany or Alan and we will get you set up with an appointment! Remember by being a coach of a Jr. League golf team you can earn 75 deferred comp points or 125 points if you have a full league of your own (24 players)! If you have any questions please reach out to Brittany at bsiechen@pgahq.com. Click here to register your facility now!
DRIVE, CHIP & PUTT
If you are interested in volunteering our assisting at qualifiers next summer please feel free to reach out at any time, and we will keep you in the loop as to where and when our qualifiers are scheduled. Please be sure to tune in to the Drive, Chip & Putt Finals on ESPN the Sunday before the Masters to see the National Championship live! Thank you for all of your help growing the game. None of this would be possible without our PGA Professional’s support!
PAGE SIX | CNY PGA
MEET PEYTON PRZYGODA Michigan native Przygoda has joined the CNY PGA staff as the Operations Assistant Intern for this spring. Przygoda is a senior majoring in sports management at the David B. Falk College of Sport Management at Syracuse University. “I am looking forward to getting an opportunity to work with such a well-known company and be a valuable asset to the CNY PGA during my time as an intern,” Przygoda said. Przygoda, 22, is a 2020 graduate of Bloomfield Hills High School (Michigan). Last summer, Przygoda interned with the company BIG (Best In Games), located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, as a Sales and Event Coordinator. He is set to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in May. Przygoda, an avid recreational golfer, would like to pursue a career in the sports world. He is interested in the sales aspect of sports as well as event management, social media, and sports operations.
PGA OF AMERICA REBRAND The PGA of America has launched their newly re-designed logo for The PGA of America as well as the PGA of America REACH Foundation. This includes a new section logo for us here in Central New York as well as a new logo for our REACH Foundation. Although we have just begun changing our look here, the PGA of America has been showcasing this new logo since the 2023 Ryder Cup in September along with our slogan “We Love this Game”. Be on the lookout for our new look on our website and social media outlets in the future! PAGE SEVEN | CNY PGA
Thank you all for reading along our newly redesigned CNY PGA Newsletter! I can not thank everyone enough for your constant efforts to grow the game. I hope everyone is surviving winter and I can not wait to catch up with everyone in the summertime! Please feel free to send me any additions or ideas that I may be missing from the newsletter, as I am always here trying to improve!
Brittany Wowelko
Inspiration of the issue
“Don’t compromise even if it hurts to be yourself” -Toby Keith