Letter from the President

Carl Alexander, PGA | President

Theron Harvey, PGA | Secretary

Chris Kenney, PGA | Treasurer

James Ondo, PGA | 1st Vice President |

Andrew Gruss, PGA | 2nd Vice President

Brian Crowell, PGA | Honorary President

Board of Directors:

Jack Druga, PGA John Guyton, PGA Rich Jones, PGA Chris Marinaro, PGA Nick Maselli, PGA Cory Muller, PGA Gary Murphy, PGA Shaun Powers, PGA John Schmoll, PGA Stuart Waack, PGA

Carl Alexander, PGA

As we come to an end of 2019 and look ahead to 2020, I am excited by the prospects of what this year will offer to our membership. As we reflect back on 2019, we can all feel proud about the Met PGA Sections accomplishments.

First and foremost, I would like to note that our success would not have been possible without the dedication of our Board and Committee Members, as well as strong leadership and hard work from our small, but mighty staff at our Section office.

We started 2019 with the PGA Championship at Bethpage. Many Met Section members came together to volunteer and help run a successful event. The Section set a new bar in Section hospitality with our Member Club and the week long events that we hosted at Bethpage.

Our own tournament season was another stand out year for Met PGA professionals. With Alex Beach winning the Professional National Championship and the National Assistants Championship he has done something that hasn’t been done before. Winning both events in the same year is an amazing accomplishment and we are proud to have Alex representing the Met Section in 2020 PGA Tour events.

With Rob Labritz earning Low Club pro honors in the PGA Championship, Mark Brown earning Shared Low Club Honors in the Senior PGA Championship, Danny Balin, Alex Beach and Jason Caron winning the PGA Cup Matches and Alex making history with his Assistant PGA Professional Championship win, the Met Section continues to lead the country as the best playing Section.

Our Educational Programs continue to offer our members a low cost, fraternal and impactful programs that can help elevate our members skills and strengthen our profession. These programs have been designed from years of experience and we are confident that our members have access to relevant educational seminars at various times of the year and in a wide range of important topics. It is important you make the time to attend our programs and contribute to the growth of the game.

Our Foundation continues to grow and we are excited to make a major impact on many people in our communities and our profession. I can remember when Rick Meskell made a call to action from the Board to raise $100,000 to help support junior golf, the First Tee and our Foundation. I’m proud to say that we exceeded our fundraising goals through your support and the programs the Section runs.

We graduated another 200 Veterans in our PGA HOPE program bringing our total graduates to over 800. These service men and women are now active golfers in our communities and living a happier and healthier life through the generous work our Section members. Thank you all who have volunteered your time and to Kelli and the entire staff who have made PGA HOPE a national program helping thousands of veterans.

Our Junior Golf Program continues to offer many opportunities for young players in the area. With over 1300 juniors signed up in our program and offering over 100 junior events to play in, our Section continues to lead the nation in growing the game. Get involved with our juniors in any way you can and help inspire a junior golfer to continue with this great game.

The Met PGA Pro-Am series continues to offer our professionals the opportunity to compete alongside their members and strengthen their relationships. Showcasing your ability to play and entertain your members during a round of golf is one of the things that sets Met Professionals apart. As experts in the game we are expected to make the time to practice, play and compete. The Lincoln Pro-Ams, the Augie and the Las Vegas Pro-Am were all excellent opportunities to take your members to some great courses and enjoy a day away from the lesson tee or golf shop.

With 955 rounds played by Assistants in 11 events throughout the season, this developmental tour has grown into a competitive tour that boast some impressive play. With five events having a winning score of 66 and one event at 65, these guys and girls are good! We should all keep working with the next generation and making sure we are giving our time and experience to help our Assistants develop into world class PGA playing professionals.

Your Section is in an excellent position to move into the future. Your Board will soon be meeting for a long-term planning session to set up our programs and events for 2020 and beyond. With golf on the rise and a strong economy, I believe we can continue to lead the industry and make a positive impact on our members, our students, our sponsors and our communities.

I hope many of you take the time to write a thank you note to our Partners and Sponsors. Without our Partners and Sponsors many of the programs and tournaments we run would not be possible. Golf is a unique sport and business and I assure you that the letter you write, the tweets and Instagram posts you tag to our sponsors, go a long way in strengthening our relationships.

Many of our strong players are down in Florida competing on the Winter Series Tour. This is a great time of year to improve your game, continue to learn new teaching skills and work on some personal goals. I can remember being Low Stroke Average winner at the end of the 1997 Winter Series and how it helped me prepare for a great season back in the Met Section. Seeing Dylan Newman winning the first two events and Josh Rackley the Third and Fourth this year shows all of us how the Met Section is about playing, teaching and leading the nation as the best all-around professionals in the county.

With the holiday season upon us I hope everyone reflects back on a great year and looks forward to a wonderful 2020. We are fortunate to be PGA Professionals and Associates and the opportunities we have are limitless. I hope you spend some time this winter working on your craft and doing something that will make your 2020 season your best year ever.

Happy Holidays!

Carl Alexander

Carl End of Year Recap Video

(Click below to watch Video)