District 8 Message

Hello Iowa Golfing Community,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share some thoughts about golf and what has been happening at the PGA of America over this past golf season. Golf continues to grow in many areas of the country as we continue to draft off the 2020 pandemic season. The weather did not start off the greatest this past Spring but since early June rounds are outpacing even the 2020 season. Rounds are up 61 million since 2019 – +20% at private clubs and +12% at public facilities. I’m proud to be a PGA Professional during this growing time of golf and we are hard at work running first class championship events and player development programs. The PGA Championship was held at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, OK this past May and the event was full of spectators during the entire week. Justin Thomas was a popular winner and is the son of a PGA Professional so to see them hoist the trophy on the 18th green was special. We were also proud to see our 20 PGA Professionals from around the country compete that week and drive awareness of our PGA led programs through the media.

We continue to be a leader at the epicenter of driving the future and growth of the game through our PGA Reach Foundation programming. Two programs that continue to grow and change lives are the PGA Junior League and PGA Hope player development initiatives. Junior League is a golf team format for kids 17 and under that gives them a chance to compete in a fun team format through the Summer. We are on track to have almost 70,000 kids from across the country be part of the leagues with the National championship being held down in Arizona. The other program that is really changing lives through golf is our PGA Hope program with stands for Helping Our Patriots Everywhere. Many PGA professionals from around the country are giving clinics for our veterans and getting them out on the golf course. We will have almost 7,000 veterans participate in the clinics in 215 different locations.

This past month we opened the doors to our new National headquarters down in Frisco, TX. This will be the new home of golf for our 28,000 PGA Professionals and is truly a transformational property located in the middle of the country. PGA Frisco is a public/private partnership between the PGA of America, Omni Hotels and Resort and the city of Frisco. The 660-acre campus is a unique destination that includes: Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, with two world-class 18-hole championship golf courses, a lighted 10-hole short course, a lighted 2-acre putting course and a clubhouse. The Omni PGA Frisco Resort which will consist of 500 guest rooms and the PGA District which will feature an expansive retail and entertainment district, including an outdoor area for concerts and events. The entire property is slated to home early Spring of 2023, and we will be hosting our first championship in May which will be the Senior PGA Championship. We hope you will plan to take a trip down to this new golf destination in 2023!

Thank you for playing the game and supporting your local PGA Professional. We are here to help you enjoy the game and make it a lifetime sport. If you are considering entering the golf business or making it a second career, please reach out to us to find out more information and how to get started. I hope can get some rounds in this Fall and continue to enjoy this great game.

Sincerely,

President’s Report2023 Iowa PGA Golf Pass

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