JAN 2020 | VOL 12 ISSUE 1
2020 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP BOOKLET & PROGRAM UPDATES The Oddball Imaging Studio Monthly
MAY 28TH 10:00 AM WEBINAR
AGENDA Welcome, Opening Remarks and Special Recognitions Report of the President - Karl Bublitz, PGA Report of the Vice President - Scott Kirkwood, PGA Recognition of Deceased & Newly Elected Members - Scott Kirkwood, PGA South Florida PGA Foundation Report - Tom Wildenhaus, PGA Report of the Executive Director - Geoff Lofstead Report of the District 13 Director - Mark VanDyck, PGA Career Consultant - Kathy Grayson Old Business New Business
Resolution Officer Election Oath of Office Open Forum
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REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT Karl Bublitz, PGA
My Fellow Members and Associates,
As I enter my second year as your President, I am happy to report that many of our goals and initiatives we as officers set fourth to accomplish over the past year have come to fruition and we look forward to continuing to support our members as we move forward through 2020. Today, I take a moment to reflect upon the great successes we had in 2019 while providing you all with an update as it relates to the pandemic and how it has and continues to alter all of our operations the past six weeks. Both the Foundation and Section were profitable in 2019, with increases in participation in programming across the board. Highlights included a record setting year in purse payouts and GolfPass sales, another Habitat for Humanity home build completed (in Puerto Rico), and extreme growth within the Foundation PGA HOPE program. None of which would be possible with the support of you, our members and associates who participate in and support all of our programs annually. New in 2019, our education program was altered drastically under the leadership of our new Chair, Marty Hall. Different from years past, a series of programs were offered over the summer months providing members in each Chapter an opportunity to receive the same program Section wide. Topics focused on were career development, bridging the generational gap, building a strong team and more. Again, this year our goal will be to provide a series of programs to help you, the member, continue to grow and enhance your skillset in the industry. Other programs that saw continued success in 2019, were our junior golf tours. This year, much of this looks different due to COVID-19 and the pause the pandemic has caused to many of our operations including all Section programming. Fortunately, due to the leadership of Geoff Lofstead and support of his team, we have confidence that budgets can be met due to additional junior golf events being administered during the summer months, the strength of the relationships staff have with Section partners and added value incentives being provided to the GolfPass members. As noted above, in January, with the help of our Island Chapter professionals, we were able to dedicate our eighth home to Habitat for Humanity (in Puerto Rico). This build put us just past the halfway point to building 14 homes within the boundaries of the Section. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic our ninth home build project set to take place in Charlotte county has been placed on hold until next summer. In addition to our Habitat project, all Smiling Fore Life visits have been paused until further notice, and the Foundations two largest fundraising events were canceled. Plans to conduct new Foundation fund raising events are in the works.
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In addition to Section operations, I would be remiss if I did not recognize and thank our career consultant, Kathy Grayson, for all of her efforts within our Section. In partnership with Geoff Lofstead, employment in our Section is in good hands. Both of them continue to play a key role in ensuring PGA professionals are hired at our facilities when vacancies arise, along with enhancing those positions from a compensation standpoint. Kathy is also an expert in helping our members with their resumes, coaching them on interviews and guiding them through their career path. I can say without hesitation that this is the area I have seen the most positive growth and potential benefit going forward for our Membership in our Section! In closing, I would like to thank all of our committee leaders and those who participated on those committees. Your involvement no matter how large or small makes a difference and allows our Section to be better. I personally look forward to continuing to serve as your President and hope to see you out on the course very soon! Stay well,
Karl Bublitz, PGA The Seagate Clubs - General Manager South Florida PGA, President
SECTION SNAPSHOT
200 Associates
1,656 Members
365 Facilities
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REPORT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT Scott Kirkwood, PGA
2019 was a good year for the Section financially. The following areas will give you a good overall look at the Section’s financial position:OPERATIONSThe Section finished 2018 with $154,080 more than it spent and earned $86,313 in investments resulting in an overall increase in net assets of $240,393. FOUNDATION The Foundation realized revenues of $774,395 and expenses of $718,538. The Foundation’s investments earned $36,554 which resulted in an overall increase in net assets of $92,411. BALANCE SHEET On our Statement of Financial Position, we show both a Short Term Investment line and a more long term line titled Loan Receivable. The Short Term Investment is the money we have with Raymond James, and this performed quite well for both the Foundation and the Section in 2019. The Loan Receivable line is the money we have invested with the PGA of America section investment program Both investments made nice gains in 2019.
In addition, we approved the 2020 budget, which is comprised of a positive variance of $55,040 from Section operations and a negative variance in Foundation business of $13,861 for a consolidated net gain of $41,179. As we all know these were planned and budgeted numbers in advance of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Section and Foundation boards have been working with staff to eliminate expenses where appropriate in an effort to mitigate the losses caused by this pandemic. The Section and the Foundation came into this situation with a very healthy balance sheet and cash flow and expect to come out of this in very good shape. A hiring freeze was placed on the one vacant staff position as well as one of the summer interns. In addition, the Foundation has postponed the planned Habitat build until next year in an effort to save on that budgeted expense. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of assistance in any way. Respectfully submitted,
Scott Kirkwood, PGA Ocean Reef Club - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Vice President
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DECEASED MEMBERS June 2019 - May 2020
Danny Boswell, PGA Steve Hodgkins, PGA Larry Padula, PGA Rick Paonessa, PGA Al Johnston, PGA Al Chandler, PGA Ken Burnette, PGA Tim Gaadt, PGA Shawn Hedley, PGA Dan Wood, PGA
Davie, FL Delray Beach, FL Naples, FL Vero Beach, FL Scottsville, VA Port St. Lucie, FL Avon Park, FL Naples, FL Estero, FL Port St. Lucie, FL
8/7/19 8/23/19 9/3/19 9/3/19 11/28/19 12/1/19 1/1/20 2/7/20 3/24/20 5/7/20
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NEWLY ELECTED MEMBERS June 2019 - May 2020 Michael Abbenante, PGA Justin Ahasic, PGA Justin Ahasic, PGA Michael Abbenante, PGA Max Bosco, PGA Abby Brennan, PGA Olin Browne, PGA Rafael Campos, PGA Timothy Casey, PGA Dan Cordaro, PGA Eric Costa, PGA Zach Creed, PGA Megan Crews, PGA Andrew Dallanegra, PGA Alex Derksen, PGA Chris Didio, PGA Michael Dodson, PGA JoAnna Ehret, PGA Nick Ellis, PGA Mitchell Ellis, PGA Isabella Flack, PGA Mike Franke, PGA Mariana Gottret, PGA Lexie Hayward, PGA Brian Herring, PGA Jeff Hesse, PGA Zach Hill, PGA Alex Holt, PGA Scott Hughes, PGA Alex Jacobsen, PGA Clint Jones, PGA Joseph Journey, PGA John Lento, PGA Matthew Licata, PGA Benjamin Loughlin, PGA Guy Mancini, PGA Jeremy Mangine, PGA Ethan Means, PGA Sasha Medina, PGA Marc Miller, PGA Matthew Miller, PGA Clara Milligan, PGA Chris Morell, PGA Joe Newell, PGA Miles Nixon, PGA Nicholas Nuzzo, PGA Nick Pace, PGA Thor Parrish, PGA Carly Peters, PGA Alex Piorkowski, PGA Nicholas Prunty, PGA Avery Radunz, PGA Matthew Reglin, PGA Joe Reh, PGA Tyler Riesen, PGA Benjamin Schemmel, PGA Kyle Schulte, PGA Graham Sell, PGA Adam Sermo, PGA Chris Singiser, PGA Jonathan Smith, PGA Darren Smith, PGA Jenny Suh, PGA Anthony Swinford, PGA Ben Taylor, PGA Kyle Trautwein, PGA Robert Vaughn, PGA Kristoffer Ventura, PGA Ryan Webb, PGA Keith Weidemoyer, PGA Matthew Wolff, PGA
A-8 A-9 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-3 A-3 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-13 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-11 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-17 A-8 A-8 A-6 A-6 A-8 A-13 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-6 A-8 A-8 A-8 A-3 A-8 A-24 A-3 A-8 A-8 A-3
The Dunes Golf & Tennis Club Synergy Golf Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club Club Med Sandpiper Jonathan' s Landing Golf Club Pelican' s Nest Golf Club PGA Tour PGA Tour Bonita National Golf & Country Club Quail West Golf and Country Club West Bay Club Parfect Swing Crown Colony Golf & Country Club Parkland Golf and Country Club Wyndemere Country Club The Club At Ibis Quail Creek Country Club PGA of America Nat'l Office Headquarters LaPlaya Golf Club Loblolly Country Club of Florida BallenIsles Country Club Riviera Country Club Lago Mar Country Club Don Law @ Osprey Pointe Old Palm Golf Club Olde Hickory Golf & Country Club Kensington Golf & Country Club Forest Glen Golf & Country Club Everglades Club Palmetto Golf Course All Golf @ CB Smith Park The Club at Renaissance Rotonda Golf & Country Club The Palms Course Riviera Country Club Mariner Sands Country Club Royal Palm Golf Club Wycliffe Golf & Country Club Dorado Beach Resort and Club Vasari Country Club JW Marriott Marco Island - Hammock Bay Golf & CC Fort Lauderdale Country Club Heritage Bay Golf and CC PGA Golf Club Crown Colony Golf & Country Club Quail West Golf and Country Club Ocean Reef Club Quail Creek Country Club Mariner Sands Country Club Calusa Pines Golf Club Shadow Wood Country Club Grey Oaks Country Club Everglades Club Indian River Club Estero Country Club At The Vines Stoneybrook Golf Club River Hall Country Club Bay Colony Golf Club The Dye Preserve Forest Glen Golf & Country Club Mike Richards Golf Academy Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club The Dye Preserve Grey Oaks Country Club PGA Tour Audubon Country Club Golf Life Navigators PGA Tour Old Palm Golf Club Kensington Golf & Country Club PGA Tour
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SFPGA FOUNDATION REPORT Tom Wildenhaus, PGA
I sincerely hope that you and your families are safe and healthy, as well as adjusting to our new way of life, dealing with the COVID-19 virus. As I look back on 2019 Foundation programing, I am deeply proud of the men and women who run and operate our Foundation. Geoff Lofstead, Meredith Schuler, Michelle Goda, Ellen Breighner, Matt Youngblood and Phillip Manceri, have all represented our Foundation with the utmost professionalism and dedication to our program participants. Equally as proud of all the PGA Members who volunteer to participate in all of the Foundation activities. Thank you very much for making our vision come to fruition. We welcomed a new Junior Chairperson in Lee Stroever and have benefited from his involvement already. We look forward to a time when we can get all of our Jr. Players back on the course. In 2019, all of the Foundation programs saw tremendous growth and provided positive benefits for our communities. Our PGA HOPE, Smiling for Life, Habitat for Humanity, Scholarship, Junior Golf and general gifting have made a lasting impact on the lives of the participants. 2019 was a banner year for our Foundation, so much so, we gained national recognition. The PGA of America recognized the South Florida PGA / Foundation as the 2019 Herb Graffis Award winner. This is such an honor for the dedicated Men and Women, PGA members who volunteer for each of our programs. This award has strengthened the Foundation Board’s commitment to reach deeper into the communities of the Section and change lives through the game of golf. This COVID-19 virus has impacted every part of our lives, including the Foundation activities. All programing has been suspended on March 14, 2020 and we are hoping to resume come the 1st of June. In an effort to stay connected with, and support our program participants, we have developed a series of programs allowing us to remain committed to our mission while we are all apart. PGA HOPE has gone virtual! Our team at Section Headquarters has created a Facebook page for our Veterans to connect with each other and with our team. Our PGA HOPE instructors have developed practice tips for our participants to work on from home. These videos help keep the Veterans busy and active. In addition to the videos, we have also created a phone chain were the Veterans check in with each other.
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Our talented Smiling for Life Coaches, made up of PGA Members, have stayed connected with their young patients by creating videos containing, stretches, drills and practice routines that are played in their rooms. The Section Junior Golf Staff, consisting of Ellen, Matt and Phillip are staying connected with our Junior Players through video chats and weekly emails from local PGA Jr. Golf Leaders, providing tips and drill they can do at home. We have also engaged the Junior Players to write encouraging letters to the care givers at our Smiling for Life facilities. I’m excited to share with you today that your Foundation will be awarding a scholarship this summer to one deserving student as they prepare for college. We are able to offer this 4-year, $20,000 scholarship, because of the generosity of our supporters. It is important, that even in these uncertain times, we continue to support the young people in our communities and their pursuit of higher education. We are very grateful for all those that help us bring life to our ideas. As you can see, your award-winning Foundation has been using our “quarantine time” well. On behalf of my fellow Board members, we extend our sincere thanks to all of the PGA Members, staff, volunteers and donors that support our Foundation, in some many different ways. Sincerely,
Tom Wildenhaus, PGA Olde Florida Golf Club - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Foundation President
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REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Geoff Lofstead
The South Florida Section PGA experienced another year of growth in 2019 in both programs and finances. As has been the case for several years, the golf season was very busy for all of you until the week of March 9th when everything changed. Some of you maintained and incredibly busy season with very modified operations while others were closed by local order or decision by your individual facility. The impact has been far reaching and every single one of us has been impacted in some way. We certainly feel golf has the ability to come out of this crisis in a better position than most any other sport. Our game has so many of the requirements of social distancing built into playing a game outdoors without contact. We will and we have had to change the way we administer the game but it has provided that needed distraction and recreational outlet that so many have been looking forward to over the past few months. Financially the Section experienced another good year in 2019. Our Section business benefits greatly from our location in that it allows us to conduct a very successful GolfPass program which has experienced nine consecutive year over year records. In addition, the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Champions, and Korn Ferry Tours are very active in our area during the winter months allowing us to generate additional revenue through the conducting of qualifying competitions. Our relationship with the tour stops in south Florida is critical to so many of the programs we operate and we thank all of them for their great partnership and support of golf in south Florida. The Foundation continues to offer programming that is having a positive impact within countless communities throughout the section. We have decided to postpone what would have been our 9th home built for Habitat for Humanity. We will now build our 9th home in 2021. Junior Golf is poised to see significant participation once we begin conducting events again. We have added the Links Tour along with our normal three competitive tours (Prep, Challenge, and Championship) and expect all events to operate near capacity the remainder of the year. While PGA Junior league has cancelled the post season portion we still expect this form of team golf to be very successful for PGA members throughout the section. This program is continuing to provide young golfers with a great environment to learn the game while also providing our PGA members with the opportunity to generate additional revenue. The South Florida PGA GolfPass program set another record year of sales in 2019 and had gotten off to a great start in 2020 until Covid 19. I am pleased hat in recent weeks it have begun to see an uptick in sales as more of our participating facilities begin accepting the GolfPass after delaying the start due to high demand and restrictive guest policies. This program continues to be vital to the section but is also a great source of revenue for our facilities. The Section tournament program has been put on hold due to Covid 19. We know it will not be possible to reschedule all of the events we have lost this year, but our goal is to
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conduct as many events as possible. We will continue to adjust our operations, so we can administer our events in a safe and responsible manner. We also know that it will be nearly impossible to avoid conflicts with some national and regional events due to the compressed nature of rescheduling events. We will elect a new Secretary at the annual meeting and we are very fortunate to have two great PGA members in Paul Clivio and Bela Nagy running for office. The winner of this election will serve the final year of the Secretary term that was vacated by Neil Lockie when he accepted a position in the Northern Texas section in December. I would like to thank Ellen Breighner, Kelly Ciccarello, Michelle Goda, Brett Graf, Jackie Hobson, Meredith Schuler, Joe Sheehan, Dominic Smith, and Matthew Youngblood for their extremely dedicated service to the Section. This group continues to raise the bar for many of our programs and services, consistently demonstrating their willingness to do more than is expected of them. It is a great treat to go to work alongside a group of all-stars that care very deeply for the job they do every day! In closing, I would like to thank the membership, board of directors, and officers of the section for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Executive Director. Respectfully Submitted ,
Geoff Lofstead Executive Director South Florida PGA
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ISLAND CHAPTER REPORT A s s i s t a n E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r - M e r e d i t h S c h u le r T h e c u r r e n t I s l a n d C h a p t e r o ffi c e r s fo r 2 0 1 9 a r e : Tony Loyola, President, Carts4you, Inc. Jose Rodriguez, Vice-President, Ft. Buchannan Golf Club Alberto Rios, Secretary, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort
Our board will continue until the end of year 2020 when elections will take place. Year 2019 was very successful for our Island Chapter. The following community outreach programs were completed: 1. PGA HOPE – held at Ft. Buchannan Golf Club under the direction of Jose Rodriguez, PGA. Golf professionals Alberto Rios and Chip Koehlke completed the training program to be able to teach golf to local veterans. The program started on Monday, September 23rd lasting 6 consecutive weeks and ending with their graduation on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11th, 2019. 2. Habitat for Humanity – was completed in Loiza, Puerto Rico. $50k was secured for this project with Habitat For Humanity Puerto Rico Chapter. Our local golf professionals with the assistance of volunteers from schools and local businesses participated in the rebuilding of the house. The family that benefited from the house is Luis Anthony Ortiz, his wife and son. The dedication and delivery of keys was on Thursday, January 30th. 3. Alliance with the Puerto Rico Department of Education – this program opens the opportunity of teaching golf to kids in our local public school system. We signed the alliance with the Secretary of the department on August 26. The program started in 14 schools in the 7 regions of the island. Equipment from Short Golf was purchased with the financial donation from South Florida Section and given to the Physical Education teachers at the selected schools. A training day was scheduled for the teachers who were given teaching materials in a USB drive as well as undergoing a golf clinic that included short game and long game teaching. US Kids also donated equipment that is used by our golf professionals to offer one clinic per school at a local driving range each year. 4. PGA Island Chapter Inter-Club Series – this was created to substitute our traditional Pro-Am in previous years. A total of six events were completed starting on June 28 under a Aggregate Team Net Stableford format with winners per event and a final Series Club Winner who keeps the Trophy for the year. 5. Liberty Cable Pro-Am – Was held on November 20-22 with a Professional Event held on the 20th where the golf professionals play for the purse. The traditional ProAm is held on the 21st with our local professionals playing with the sponsors of the event. There was also a set of golf clinics was scheduled for ladies from Liberty Cablevision which wanted to participate in this year’s event. This event generated $3,750 in sponsorship money for the PGA Island Chapter. 6. Agro Open Event – was held on December 6-8 at Wyndham Grand Riomar. This event is directed towards our Caribbean Superintendents, landscapers, equipment techs, spray techs and other professionals in the industry. The event includes Educational Seminars on the 6th, followed by a cocktail event that evening for sponsors and superintendents. Then a Pro-Sup-Am event is held on Sunday followed by luncheon and awards. The Chapter
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assisted in the formation of the Caribbean Golf Course Superintendents Association which was signed and confirmed during the GCSAA Show earlier this year. Since 2018 a closer relationship was created with the local Superintendents who now have the responsibility of organizing the Educational Seminars part of the event. Now the monies collected from this event is divided between the PGA Island Chapter and the Caribbean Golf Course Superintendents Association. This year a total of $4,444.03 was generated for both entities after a donation was also made to a fellow industry worker diagnosed with cancer. Our efforts have been directed at community outreach programs to put our Chapter in a better position to gain sponsors that can donate money to continue increasing our opportunities to create awareness of the PGA brand and our local professionals. Our Chapter developed in 2017 with the help of all local PGA professionals a Vision and Mission statement that falls in line with the PGA’s so that we are continuously being guided by them.
VISION OF THE ISLAND CHAPTER The vision of the PGA Island Chapter is to act as the leading golf entity in the territories we serve, contributing to the overall growth and awareness of the game of golf by impacting our golf facilities and communities using the expertise of our PGA professionals.
MISSION OF THE PGA ISLAND CHAPTER The mission of the PGA Island Chapter is to create awareness of the PGA professional and its brand in the territories we serve by providing continuing education to its membership, conducting golf tournaments and events, and providing community work that contribute to the growth of the game of golf. Our current membership is of 16 golf professionals, including Sasha Medina who earned her PGA Class A card this year and Anibal Lugo in the associate program.
Regards,
Tony Loyola, PGA Carts 4 U Manager Island Chapter President
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SOUTHERN CHAPTER REPORT Shane Warrier, PGA
Hello Chapter Professionals and Associates, Welcome back. I am sure that we have all been saying that to the patrons of our facilities the past few weeks. Welcome back and congratulations on leading our communities into what is being termed a “New Normal”. Thank you to everyone for following the lead of our Section, and for providing responses to the best practices surveys. As golf is at the forefront of the much needed reopening, we hope that all of you are able to enjoy the upcoming tournament schedule that Adam Scrimenti put together. Thank you to all the facilities that have agreed to open your doors to the Chapter Professionals. This year’s awards committee has been establish, thank you to Brett Martin and the other committee members for your commitment to the Chapter. We anticipate the nomination forms to go out sometime in June. The PGA Jr. League season has been canceled, however, leagues may still be offered and competitions run into December. Another new exciting initiative is the Family Cup, which may provide a way for families to safely return to the golf course. Hopefully we will be able to administer both of the initiative at our facilities and continue to promote junior golf. MSR Cycles have been extended one year. Please make sure that you are utilizing all the material at PGA.ORG to ensure that you complete the required education and service points. Lastly, please continue to be safe. Safe for yourself and your families. Safe for your staff. And, safe for the residents of Miami Dade, Broward, and Monroe Counties whose lives we touch each day. Thank you,
Shane Warriner Shane Warriner, PGA Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Southern Chapter President
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SOUTHEAST CHAPTER REPORT Paul Clivio, PGA
Dear Fellow PGA Members and Associates, I know these past few months have been very difficult for a lot of PGA members with courses being shut down and some clubs letting professionals go due to the closures. These are unpresented times but we will overcome them and get everyone back to work soon. Clubs are now up and running with some restrictions set forth by the Palm Beach County Executive Orders and Florida’s Phase One. It is only a matter of time before we enter Phase Two and shortly after Phase Three and get our clubs back to normal. Today we are still not able to hold our Chapter events but that too is just around the corner. We have a great schedule set for the rest of the season and will make adjustments as needed once we are given the okay to move forward and based on the restrictions from the state and county. I also want to thank all of our partners who have committed partnerships to the chapter to help raise the purses for each event and help make our golf season so successful. We also include lunch at most of our tournaments so the Professionals have a chance to build comradery with one another and to recognize the winners of each event. Thanks to all of our partners who help make this happen: Bushnell, Callaway, Can-Am, Cleveland/Srixon, EZ-GO, ForeTees, Northwestern Mutual, Oakley, Prestwick Group, Taylor-Made, Titleist/Footjoy, and The Club Fix. Special Thank you To Global Golf for creating the Global Golf series and finale. Without all of the support from our partners we wouldn’t be able to have the success we do. I want to thank Geoff Lofstead, Meredith Schuler, and the entire section staff for everything they do to help out with all chapter matters. They are the best in the business. And to Jeff Goudouze, who is now in his 20th season with the chapter. This is my last letter I will write as your Chapter President and I want to thank you for allowing me to serve on this Board for the last six years. It has been a great experience working with past president Rich Waage, and more recently with VP Jeff Waber, Secretary Ben Bauer, and the other 13 professionals who volunteered their time to the chapter and serve on one of the various committees. Together we have helped raise the tournaments and the brand of our chapter through various events. I know that you guys will all continue to raise the bar and make this chapter stronger. Congratulations to Paul Crespo who was recently elected as the next Secretary on the Chapter Board and to Shawn Costello who was elected to the Member at Large position. I look forward to seeing all of you out on the links this summer, and again, thank you for letting me serve you over this past 6 years. Regards,
Paul Clivio, PGA St. Andrews Country Club - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Southeast Chapter President
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SOUTHWEST CHAPTER REPORT Nathan Groce, PGA
Dear PGA Professionals and Associates, In these uncertain and ever-changing times, it is my hope that you are all doing well and navigating through this unusual situation we are all encountering. Our lives and our businesses have certainly changed dramatically in the last couple of months. But I know with the quality of the PGA Professionals and Associates we have in this Chapter, we will make it through, and we will be better after going through this experience. With that stated, Chapter business does continue to go on with the understanding that changes can happen at any given time. I have been in conversation with both the Section Staff and our Chapter Board to put some plans into place. Our goal is to do as much as we can for the Chapter knowing that this summer can be very truncated and there are going to be limitations in what we are able to accomplish. There are many avenues we are considering as it relates to our tournament schedule – including adding the Senior and/or Assistant’s group to a regular Chapter event. As we know when we are going to be able to have events, we will communicate where we will have events and how they will be administered. The same goes for any educational opportunities presented to the Chapter. Our Chapter Board is working for you as mentioned above and I want to make sure that they are all recognized – especially considering that we have new Chairs over certain Committees. Please note the Board Members: Jeff Nixon – Vice –President Matt Oakley – Secretary Bill Harley – Honorary Past President David Weiss and Tony Osborn – Tournament Co-Chairs Dan Cordaro and Sean O’Donnell – Assistant’s Group Co–Chairs Perry Smith – Senior Group Chairperson Justin DeFont – Awards Committee Chairperson Please reach out to these gentlemen when you have the chance and thank them for their service to the Chapter. Finally, please know that I am available for your thoughts, ideas, and concerns – regarding both the Chapter and the Section. I will certainly do my best for this Chapter and I look forward to providing a voice to the Section on behalf of our Chapter. I can be reached at ngroce@golfclubatpalmira.org or at 239-444-4898. And I will be reaching out to you all as information is received and decisions are made.
Warm Regards,
Nathan Groce, PGA Palmira Golf Club - Head Golf Professional South Florida PGA Southwest Chapter President
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SPECIAL AWARDS COMMITTEE REPORT Casey Brozek, PGA
1. 2019 Section Special Award Winners Golf Professional of the Year Teacher of the Year Bill Strausbaugh Horton Smith Patriot Award Assistant Golf Professional of the Year Youth Player Development Player Development Merchandiser of the Year, Public Merchandiser of the Year, Private Merchandiser of the Year, Resort Salesperson of the Year Omega Player of the Year Omega Senior Player of the Year
Don Meadows, PGA Gayle Leslie, PGA Paul Clivio, PGA Jim McLean, PGA Dave McNulty, PGA Sean McGuinness, PGA Bela Nagy, PGA Nick Cupper, PGA Casey Mitchell, PGA JR Friend, PGA Holly Taylor, PGA Dwight Rogers Justin Bertsch, PGA Mark Mielke, PGA
2. 2020 Special Awards Committee Members Special Awards Chairperson Casey Brozek, PGA Southwest Chapter Chairperson Justin DeFont, PGA Southwest Chapter Representative Jon Buddenhagen, PGA Southern Chapter Chairperson Brett Martin, PGA Southern Chapter Representative Shawn Gifford, PGA Southeast Chapter Chairperson Shawn Costello, PGA Southeast Chapter Representative Sean McDermott, PGA Island Chapter Chairperson Jose Rodriguez, PGA 2018 Golf Professional of the Year Ken McMaster, PGA 2019 Golf Professional of the Year Don Meadows, PGA 3. 2020 National Finalists Golf Professional of the Year Teacher of the Year Horton Smith Award Deacon Palmer Award Youth Player Development Merchandiser of the Year – Private Merchandiser of the Year – Public Merchandiser of the Year – Resort
Tom Wildenhaus, PGA Warren Bottke, PGA Jim McLean, PGA James Muir, PGA Bill Scott, PGA JR Friend, PGA Bela Nagy, PGA Holly Taylor, PGA
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NOTE: All applications, as well as the Section’s Herb Graffis Award will be submitted in May. Winners will be announced in August. 4. Timeline Section April 15th May 29th June 1st June 10th June 12th June 29th July 2nd July 2nd
July 3rd July 24th July 27th Aug 17th Aug 26th
Oct 29th Nov 10th National Late Dec Feb 21 Early Apr Mid May
for 2020 Special Awards
Launch Nomination Form Deadline for Nominations Initial applications distributed to nominees Deadline for submission of Initial applications Initial applications sent to Awards Committee for review Ranking due files back to the Section office from the Awards Committee Awards Committee conference call to determine finalists Immediately following the call, all finalist and those not moving forward will be notified via email (under the signature of the Awards Chairperson) from Section Staff Final applications distributed to selected candidates Deadline for submission of final applications Applications distributed to the Awards Committee for review Ranking files due back to the Section office from the Awards Committee Awards Committee meeting (morning) at the Section Office to select recipients on - Section President to notify all award recipients. All others will be notified via letter (under the signature of the Awards Chairperson) and email from Section staff Call to select the national nominees for 2020 PGA of America awards Annual Awards & Hall of Fame Dinner Nominations Forms to Sections Deadline for Initial Applications tentatively Applications sent to Finalist Deadline for Final Applications
5. Annual Awards and Hall of Fame Night scheduled for November.
Respectfully Submitted,
Casey Brozek, PGA Quail West Country Club - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Awards Chairperson
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EDUCATION CHAIR REPORT Martha Hall, PGA
Dear South Florida PGA Members and Associates: Last year’s summer education series was a tremendous success. Post event survey results demonstrated that attendees were extremely pleased the with quality of the topics and presenters. We are excited to build on this success with this coming summer’s offerings which focus on both management and teaching & coaching topics to meet our membership’s diverse professional development needs. We are also continuing our commitment to offering the seminars on both coasts to make the education accessible to all. Consideration for virtual presentations will be given if necessitated by the ever evolving COVID-19 situation. However, we are remaining optimistic, at this time, that we will be able to convene together with proper precautions in place. Full event details, registration, and program updates for the following events can be found on the SFPGA website by clicking on the education header. 2020 Summer Education Series: Leadership Panel – Industry 360 June 30th- Quail West Country Club July 1st- Country Club of Mirasol Health & Wellness July 29th-Mizner Country Club July 20th-TBA- Naples/Fort Myers area
Teaching Symposium September 1st and 2nd- Bonita Bay Club Featuring: Jason Baile, John Bierkan and Jim McLean
Human Resources & Diversity September 16th- The Club at Ibis September 17th- The Club at Mediterra A special thank you to Meredith Schuler and the following Section Education Committee Members for their assistance with the development, promotion and execution of this summer’s education program. Chris Duquette Paul Fitzpatrick
Sean Kicker Megan Padua
Nolan Rheam Dan Terlescki
Mike Valicenti
I also encourage members to pursue the PGA’s Specialized Program this coming month. Course access is free through June 30, 2020! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have questions or feedback regarding the SFPGA education program: mhall@fgcu.edu | 239-590-7694.
Sincerely,
Martha Hall, PGA Florida Gulf Coast University - Assistant Director of PGA Golf Management Education Chair Report
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JUNIOR GOLF REPORT Lee Stroever, PGA
Fellow SFPGA Professionals and Associates, I hope this finds you and your families healthy and in good spirits as we make our way through this challenging time. While PGA Professionals throughout the SFPGA have been affected differently, hopefully we can all come out of this with a greater appreciation for the things that mean the most to us. We also find ourselves in an enviable position of being able to offer a respite to our members and guests who will be excited to visit our facilities and see our smiling faces. It has been a pleasure serving as the Section’s Junior Golf Committee Chairperson for the past year. For someone who is from South Florida and grew up learning the game here, it really does mean a lot to be involved with the next generation of golfers in this area. There are several key items under the Junior Golf umbrella in which to report on, but it is important to first recognize the SFPGA Junior Golf Staff, partners and all Section PGA Professionals who have been involved with building our Junior Golf operations to such great heights. We are fortunate to have one of the best Junior Golf programs in the country and it is due to their tremendous efforts. Junior golf is an extremely important part of our business as it is our best way of creating future golfers, club members, and customers. If this pipeline is properly developed, future SFPGA Professionals will be able to enjoy even greater opportunities than us. Thank you to those involved with supporting this investment in our future. Newly Formed SFPGA Junior Golf Committee With junior golf serving as the Section’s primary growth of the game program, having a profound impact on our youth and our local Professionals and facilities who teach and have our juniors as their members, our leaders found it appropriate to create an entire Junior Golf Committee. This committee will help guide the direction of junior golf in our area while offering support to Section staff where needed. We are delighted to have such a strong group of PGA Professionals serving on this committee. In general, they either specialize in coaching junior golfers on a daily basis or they are in a position to offer influence in securing event venues, and/or PGA volunteers 2019 - 2020 Junior Golf Committee Members Louie Bartoletti Nick Cupper Bill Scott John Calabria John Moscoso Lee Stroever Bobby Conway Bela Nagy Bob Usher
Eric Veilleux
This committee has already met several times and is working hard on fulfilling the mission of keeping costs low while providing first-class quality golf to the youth of South Florida. We strive to provide opportunities to those juniors who possess the potential skill and aspirations to compete at the high school or collegiate level, in addition to those who are new to the game. The South Florida PGA Junior Tours and PGA Junior League are committed to bringing first-
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class quality golf to juniors in the South Florida Section of the PGA of America. Simply put, we aim to provide any South Florida junior with access to the game of golf. The Journey (our programming) One of the reasons why junior golf has grown so positively in our Section is because we offer programming for those ages 6 through college. At any age, or ability, within this range there is a corresponding SFPGA golf program in which to participate. We call this ladder like system where a junior can graduate from one SFPGA program to the next “The Journey”. The concept being that we have a program for children of any age and that they can stay within our programs from beginning the game all the way through college. This positions our PGA Professionals and facilities favorably as we can keep juniors in the programs at our respective Clubs for years to come. With recent facility closures and stay-at-home orders issued throughout South Florida due to COVID-19, we have expectedly experienced a decrease in Junior Golf participation. At the time of writing, here are our counts: Total Junior Tour Membership – 610 (604- May 12, 2019) Championship Tour – 124 Challenge Tour - 184 Prep Tour – 144 Links Tour - 115 (new 2020) Drive, Chip and Putt – season cancelled due to COVID-19 PGA Junior League – 247 (slightly down from 2019, members not included in the overall Junior Tour membership count) Legends Tour – will launch June 1st – new 2020 – eligibility ages 19-23 – created in lieu of Drive, Chip and Putt and PGA Junior League
Team Golf / PGA Junior League Golf Change Team Golf has been a part of the SFGPA Junior Golf offerings for the past 7 years. Until recently, the program has enjoyed steady growth while providing beginning junior golfers an entry level opportunity to learn the game. Over the past several years, our National PGA leaders have promoted a similar program, PGA Junior League. Junior League has grown exponentially during this time period and is now the most recognizable competitive junior golf option in this space. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that national promotion efforts will continue to drive children to PGA Junior League, the SFPGA staff and Junior Golf Committee decided to discontinue Team Golf. We are now focusing all of our resources into PGA Junior League and hope that our SFPGA Professionals will support this program. Partners The success that our Junior Golf programs have enjoyed could not be possible without the support of our partners. A huge thanks to our presenting partner The Honda Classic and supporting partners the Boca Raton Championship, Don Law Golf Academy, Florida Golf License Plate Program, Junior Golf Hub, Mirasol Fun Group, Nike Golf Camps, OGIO, Tee Times Magazine, Titleist all who have been so generous in their support of Junior Golf in South Florida. Their backing allows us to create quality events at great facilities run by an exceptional team of staff.
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In closing, it has been a pleasure serving alongside the other Junior Golf Committee members. We will do our best to help the continued growth of junior golf in South Florida. This is an important and endless pursuit and we welcome the involvement and support from the rest of our SFPGA Professionals and Associates.
Respectfully submitted,
Lee Stroever Lee Stroever, PGA Emerald Dunes Club - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Junior Golf Chairperson
5
JUNIOR MAJORS
610
MEMBERS Year to Date
45+ JR EVENTS to be held in 2020
2
HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
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MEMBERSHIP OUTREACH COMMITTEE REPORT Ken McMaster, PGA
The Membership Outreach Program will aim to add a Mentoring Program component later this summer. Key areas of focus to include Golf Operations, Teaching & Coaching, General Management and Resume/Interview Preparation. If you are interested in becoming a resource for fellow PGA Members and Associates, please contact me. Additionally, most of us have recently become familiar with Zoom-type meetings; we plan on utilizing this type of platform to engage recently elected members as a new element in an already-established orientation process. The intention is such that committee members and staff will more directly engage new PGA Members and encourage them to engage with each other. The desired outcome, by sharing Chapter, Section and Foundation information, is to promote deeper involvement in PGA activities. Our aim remains to foster a collegial culture within the Section with a focus on educating our members and attention to employment. Respectfully,
Ken McMaster, PGA Miromar Lakes Golf Club - General Manager South Florida PGA Awards Committee Chairperson
Where to find Member's Milestone Markers Head to sfpgagolf.com
Scroll over PGA Professionals
Click on Milestone Markers under PGA Professionals
Find all Newly Elected Members & Milestones of our members' careers
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TOURNAMENTS REPORT Jeff Waber, PGA
Fellow PGA Members and Associates, Special thank you to Geoff, Meredith, Brett Graf, Dominic Smith & Ellen. for keeping us all updated with City, County and State mandates during these unprecedented times. Understanding this challenging environment with a pandemic covering the globe, we are patiently waiting to see how our part of the country rolls out of this lock down. Many events have been postponed and Make sure to visit the section website to view the edited 2020 summer tournament schedule. The Blue Golf APP is available and ready for iOS and droid operating systems. I strongly encourage you to download today, from the PGA Member directory to the sign-up keys, it’s a wonderful tool. Global Golf Sales and the South Florida PGA are excited to announce the highly successful 2020 Global Golf Sales Cup and summer long program promoting participation in Chapter and Section events. The program will enter its ninth year in 2020, furthering its mission to give all professionals an opportunity to enjoy Chapter and Section events and compete on a level playing field at the season ending Global Golf Sales Cup. There will be eight (8) qualifying tournaments in which each player will receive participation points for playing. After the eight qualifying events, the top 104 PGA Professionals who have accumulated the most participation points for the year will qualify into the 2020 Global Golf Sales Cup October 5th at St. Andrews CC. Each player in the field for the season ending event will be assigned a quota based on stroke average with committee input. Special thank you to Steve Sponder and his continued loyalty & sponsorship to the South Florida Section. We are very happy to continue our PGA relationship with Omega. Omega continues to partner with us on the Player of the Year points race for 2020. The top 10 finishers on the Player of the Year points list and Senior Player of the Year points list at the end of the year will share in the $6,000 ($4,000 Sr payout). We are also very excited Old Course at Broken Sound (host) and Bocaire CC, will host the 2020 Section Championship / SFPGA Professional Championship September 22nd-24th. We are expecting a record field at this central location and record purse for the event. Please take note the sign-up deadline is closer to the event this year. I look forward to seeing more of our Section members competing in the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park this August in California. Be safe this summer, communicate with your peers and we can help keep all of our Facilities open and operating in a safe manner. Sincerely,
Jeffrey J. Waber, PGA Broken Sound - The Old Course - Director of Golf South Florida PGA Tournament Chair SFPGA 2020 Annual Meeting | page 41
SENIORS REPORT Jerry Impellittiere, PGA
Our Senior Schedule came to an abrupt halt, amidst the craziness of COVID-19. Both the Florida Senior Championship Open and the PGA Senior Championship were cancelled. We remain hopeful that the remainder of our Tournaments will be re-scheduled. Please watch for the weekly SFPGA Email Blasts to learn the latest news.
2019 RE-CAP TOURNAMENT TechnoGym Fort Lauderdale Open South Florida PGA Senior Open Senior Pro-Pro CC of Coral Spring Tournament Series #1 E-Z-GO South Florida Open Junior-Senior Senior-Super-Senior Senior Section Championship Tournament Series #2 Naples Beach Club Hotel Senior Open
WINNER Roger Kennedy, Jr. Roger Kennedy, Jr. Chris Dachisen, Larry Bowman David Dell Jerry Tucker Mark Mielke & Patrick Rada Roger Jr. & Roger Sr. Kennedy David Dell Alan Morin Guy Boros
Congratulations to Captain Gary Benoit and The Senior Challenge Cup Team for their victory over North Florida: South Florida – 19.5 North Florida – 10.5 A special Thank You to the Senior Committee Members: Mike Gray John Haines Rick Whitfield Fred Harkness Tim Miller Victor Tortoricci Sincerely,
Jerry Impellittiere Jerry Impellittiere, PGA Monarch Country Club - Teaching Professional South Florida PGA Senior Chairperson
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DISTRICT 13 DIRECTOR REPORT Mark VanDyck, PGA
Dear Section Members and Associates, First and foremost, I hope that you all are staying healthy and safe during these very unprecedented times. Please know that the PGA of America Officers, Board, and Staff are doing everything they possibly can for you, the PGA Member and Associate. Whether you are reopening your facilities or need financial assistance, please refer to www.pga.org for all you need to know regarding your next steps. I begin my report with the specifics of the resources available to you, as well as a full up-to-speed review since the beginning of the year. COVID-19 RESOURCES We spearheaded the Golf Emergency Relief Fund to provide short-term financial assistance to workers in the golf industry facing significant financial hardship, including those suffering as a result of COVID-19. This relief effort was initiated with a lead pledge by us. The effort is being supported by many and industry companies and associations are contributing as well. The fund is providing grants to PGA/industry professionals, inclusive of golf association members, employees of local/state golf associations, caddies and certain professionals playing on developmental tours to help offset financial hardships, such as living and medical expenses.
Information on the second phase of the relief fund will be available after the grants from the first phase have all been processed. Phase 2 will have a longer application process and distribute grants of up to $3,500 as reviewed and approved by E4E. Individuals receiving grants through the first phase will be eligible to apply for grants in the second phase but the maximum amount an individual can receive in aggregate from the first and second phase is $3,500. As communities begin to re-open, golf can offer an outdoor recreational experience that provides many health and wellness benefits. The Allied Golf Organizations, in alignment with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), have developed a comprehensive plan that allows golf to be played responsibly while observing recommended social distancing guidelines. Back2Golf is based on the operational recommendations in “Guidelines Opening Up America Again” published by the White House and the CDC. It includes a specific, three-phased approach to golf that aligns with the broader plan to re-open the economy. Each phase includes operational protocols when it comes to social distancing, the sanitation of physical facilities, and the health of you and your staff. It is available to all PGA Members and Associates at www.pga.org. With regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is extremely important that all PGA Members and Associates stay current with CDC and state and local health officials’ guidance daily. As the information surrounding Coronavirus continues to evolve, we wanted to provide a central
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location that you and your facilities can use to find the latest and most up-to-date information from the PGA of America and our golf industry partners. I must say that CEO Seth Waugh and the entire staff at HQ has really stepped up across the board with communication, transparency, and being available to the PGA Member and Associate. While we know that things vary across the 41 Sections and from facility to facility, we believe the resources page provides useful information and tools for any PGA Professional, regardless of their role or location. CHAMPIONSHIPS UPDATE The 2020 PGA Championship would have been this past week but as we all know, it has been rescheduled for August 6-9 at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. We are confident that the event should happen but will need to decide in the next week on spectators being able to attend and at what capacity.
The 2020 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship that was to be held May 19-24 at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, MI has been cancelled due to the stay as home order issued by the state. Unfortunately, we could not find a date to postpone it to. The 2020 KMPG Women’s PGA Championship that was originally scheduled for June 23-28 at Aronomink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA (near Philadelphia) will now be contested the week of October 6-11. The 2020 PGA Professional Championship that was to be held on April 19-22 has been rescheduled for July 19-22 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, provided it is safe and responsible to do so at that time. As with this and all our events, we will continue to work with public health officials at the national, state and county levels through the week of the Championship. We are very hopeful that the 2020 PPC will be played as currently scheduled. The health and safety of PGA Members, volunteers, rules officials and staff remain the top priority. The 2020 Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships have been canceled due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19 and the challenges of operating 41 Section Championship events starting in May and having to be completed by the end of June. Despite the cancellation of the 2020 Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships on the national level, the 41 PGA Sections still have an opportunity to conduct their own Section Boys and Girls Junior PGA Championships when it is responsible to do so, based on the guidance of applicable state and local authorities— and without concern of being tied to a qualification deadline. As a result, each Section’s Junior PGA Championship can be scheduled for later in the year, if necessary. PGA FRISCO As you all know, HQ is moving to the city of Frisco, where it will have a 600-acre, mixed-use development, that when it opens in 2022, will include two championship golf courses, a short course, and practice areas totaling 45 holes; a clubhouse; as well as a 500-room Omni Hotel and a 127,000 square foot conference center. We have broken ground on the courses and construction with the timeline of opening on target. COO Darrell Crall has command of the entire project.
I was able to view a virtual walkthrough of the property and building and I can tell you that it will be truly the “center of all things golf” once completed. Frisco will fulfill every need for the
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Association as well as creating a very bright and positive atmosphere to allow staff to flourish. Through technical certifications and environmental awareness, this building will be much more efficient…led lighting, outside fresh air working space, glass walls, solar orientation, and updated ADA regulations are all corporate responsibilities In the construction process. The WOW of the person walking into this building is going to be memorable and will allow us to tell our story and mission. PGA Frisco will become home to national player development and coaching programs. Included will be a world-class Education Center designed for both the professional development of PGA Golf Professionals and player development. The Center will feature state-of-the-art classrooms and teaching facilities connected to the courses and practice areas. Additionally, numerous member championships, PGA Jr. League Championships, two PGA Championships, two KPMG Women’s PGA Championships, two KitchenAid Senior PGA Championships, and potentially a Ryder Cup will be held in Frisco. OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:
DEFFERED COMPENSATION UPDATE: CEO Seth Waugh continues to update the Board on this stating that legally this is moving in the right direction. A couple of things need to be addressed and the process is taking longer than expected. I can tell you that we are very optimistic about getting it…this will definitely be a game changer to the current and future members of our Association. USGA DISTANCE STUDY DISCUSSION: with regards to the distance report the USGA sent in February the sense is that the majority will want no change or very minimal-for the elite golfer only. President Suzy Whaley and CEO Seth Waugh sent you-results are now being compiled and hopefully you should have some good data as to what the Association thinks about this topic. We need to be very careful here everyone…do we tell our golfers that we are going to make the game hard again? I would think not…this is a very delicate debate. Our Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh is working with the USGA with respect to the ball and MOI. These areas of interest are going to be examined and announced this week. They will also be discussing the continued use of forward tees. PARTNERSHIP UPDATE: Chief Commercial Officer Jeff Price and Chief Revenue Officer Kevin Ring updated the Board on partnerships. The four levels of partnership are the Ryder Cup, PGA Majors, PGA Frisco, and PGA Reach. When we go to a company like AIG we say this is what the PGA of America can do for you. Kevin oversees this for us, getting sponsorships and partnerships. The monies coming in from our partners are funding the Association, Sections, and green grass. Member benefits through PGA Perkspot have all partners involved. You need to take advantage of this benefit as there are many discounts and benefits available to PGA members. Just a quick summary of the benefit…264 members have enjoyed over $185,000 in discounts through Perkspot. National Car Rental confirmed and renewed as the title sponsor for PGA Junior League. With ESPN having live coverage of the Junior League Finals, this bodes well for both parties. With the event in San Francisco, prime time slots bode well for the Association as we expect much more viewers than before. ESPN will also be broadcasting from the SportsCenter studios, with Scott VanPelt leading that charge. We are very excited about the broader audience ESPN brings. SFPGA 2020 Annual Meeting | page 45
GOVERNANCE UPDATE: Based on this unprecedented time, with ever evolving changes, the Officers’ Committee and Board of Directors have made the following determinations: Playing Ability Test Qualifying Score – While PATs are currently not being conducted, individuals may temporarily submit verification of a handicap index of ten or less, to satisfy the PAT Qualifying Score in order to register as an Associate. This is commensurate with the current parameters of the Qualifying Score, listed in the chart on this page. All individuals who enter in this manner will still need to eventually fully pass the Playing Ability Test to elect into PGA Membership. Playing Ability Test Validity – As PSI testing centers are currently closed, individuals who cannot test out of the PQ Level in order to register as an Associate will have their eight year PAT validity extended until such time reasonable to test out and register. Qualifying Level – Anyone who has a current open Qualifying Level will have six months added to their start date. Anyone who has completed the Qualifying Level and has an open Qualifier Eligible, will have that date extended by six months. Individuals purchasing the Qualifying Level now will be given a nine (9) month window to complete. PGA Golf Management University Students – PGA Education Staff will work with the Universities directly regarding any needed accommodations within the Criteria and Standards. Candidate Election Guidelines – The requirement that a Candidate have a nomination and two seconds by August 1, 2020, in order to receive funding from the PGA of America, will be modified to September 1, 2020. June Core Committee Meetings and PGA Special Awards/Merchandiser of the Year Committee Meetings– The planned June Chicago Committee meetings will not be held in person. Committee Chairs and Committee Members should plan on these meetings being held virtually, on the date scheduled. Boundary Modifications – The PGA Board of Directors adopted the following procedures regarding boundary changes for both Modification requests from 1 – 10 PGA-staffed facilities as well as Modification requests from more than 10 PGA-staffed facilities, and/or large geographical areas. New Sections Eligibility – The Governance Task Force recommended the Board modify the minimum number of Members needed to petition to from a new Section. The Board made the following change: A charter may be granted by the Board of Directors to a Section only upon the organization of not less than 450 Master Professionals and Class “A” Members (as defined by the Membership Matters). Code of Ethics – The PGA Board of Directors agreed with the Board of Control that time served, as opposed to the sentence, is a more accurate gauge of the severity of a felony conviction. Section Tournament Policy – The Board of Directors modified the definition of minor and major penalty for Section Tournament offenses related to minor and major penalties, providing Sections more flexibility with minor penalties. PGA CHAMPIONSHIP COVERAGE: This is the first year of ESPN replacing Turner for our PGA Championship coverage. Between ESPN and ESPN+, there will be over 300 hours of coverage. Skycam, 4D replay, and coverage on the range from CBS Sports Network will all be new this year. What is really exciting for the Association is that we will be highlighting the PGA Coaching Platform during the entire week-stressing the importance of all members and associates to get pga.coach certified.
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We will also highlight the 20 PGA members who qualify for the event on ESPN…they will promote the underdog story and have a “feel good” message about our members competing and our Association as a whole. PGA.COM UPDATE: Jeff Price gave the Board a great review of what is going on with PGA.com. We have just officially announced the new PGA.com, coaching profiles, and the 2020 roadmap for our members and associates. Coaching profiles are targeted for launch so that we can take advantage of the attention on the PGA Championship. There are now a new set of business tools available to all the certified coaches starting in June. If you have not yet gotten ADM certified, please go online and do it so that you can take advantage of this great platform especially designed to enhance and increase your value as a PGA Member both for your facility and just as important, for yourself! PGA.com is now internal and maintained by the PGA of America. Participation here and with the B2B marketplace will connect you with the industry “best in class” tools to maximize your valuethis is launching in the fall. The digital objectives are simple: Enable stronger economic value for PGA member and their facilities Enhance our overall value of PGA major championships and improve consumer experience Create an “open table” if you will for the golf experience that better connects PGA Professionals with consumers on their golf journey. ADM certification is not just for teachers and coaches but for all PGA Members-Directors of Golf, Head Golf Professional, and General Managers will all benefit from being certified. We all as PGA members need to know the ADM model so that we can tell parents and aspiring golfers how we mentor and coach everyone of every age and ability. MEMBER DUES UPDATE: While we can’t waive dues payments, understanding the challenges facing our Members and in close cooperation with our Sections, please be aware of the revamped procedures that extend the Section and National dues payment deadline from the normal date of June 30th, until October 31, 2020. Additionally, you have the option to pay all at once, or pay in two installments; the Section portion only and the National and insurance portions only, provided dues are paid in full by October 31, 2020. UPDATE ON THE PGA CENTER FOR GOLF LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE: Over the past two years, we have informed you of the ongoing plan to centralize our Port St. Lucie, Florida golf operations. Club-led coaching and instructional programs will be transferred to PGA Golf Club, which will allow all staff from the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance to be positioned at PGA Golf Club. This includes PGA Jr. League, PGA HOPE, private instruction, clinics, club fitting and more. Once the PGA Center for Golf Learning and Performance property is sold, we plan to update and renovate the driving range facility at PGA Golf Club to make it a world-class experience. PGA SECRETARY ELECTION UPDATE: The first two Super Regionals for National Secretary were held in Atlanta back in February. There are four candidates running: District 2 Director Tom Henderson of theMet Section, District 8 Director Dave Schneider, Former District 14 Director Don Rea of the Southwest Section, and former District 10 Kelly Williams from Kentucky Section. On your behalf, your Section Officers have formerly seconded Don Rea for Secretary. Unfortunately, Super Regionals #3 and #4 were not able to be held in March so they are currently postponed.
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The candidates are now reaching out to all National Delegates for support. This will all culminate on election day which will take place at the 103rd Annual Meeting in Hartford, CT on Friday, October 30th. In closing I would like to leave you with a message of just how important you are. It is you, the PGA professional that is the most revered person in the game much like the way doctors, teachers, and sports coaches are in our communities. What we do every day is a noble profession because we are always serving. My job is to communicate what we as an Association are doing nationally so that you can perform at your very best. Please reach out to me if you have any questions regarding National affairs. It truly is a privilege to serve our great Section as your District Director. Thank you,
Mark VanDyck, PGA Fort Lauderdale Country Club - Director of Golf District 13 Director, PGA of America
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CAREER CONSULTANT REPORT Kathy Grayson
First and foremost, I hope all of you are well and safe. We are facing unprecedented times and find ourselves having to flexible and creative with how we conduct business – and it changes daily. Our Career Services team has a virtual meeting every other day to keep updated on what is happening in our respective sections and how we can best assist you as well as our PGA Members and Associates. Please know that I am here to help in any way possible and I am fielding calls 24/7. Reminder: SupportLinc Member Assistance Program (MAP) The PGA of America is deeply committed to the health and well-being of its members and understands that everyone needs extra support from friends and extended family at some point in time. If you need help related to this health-crisis please access SupportLinc under Member Benefits on PGA.org. SupportLinc is a company-sponsored resource that helps you effectively manage life’s challenges confidentially and is free to PGA Members and staff. Transfer to Reserve Membership As a reminder, Members who have lost their jobs and are no longer eligibly working have the option to transfer to Reserve status immediately instead of waiting out the grace period. Career Services Department National Update Transitioned team into 4 Regions – (Kathy now serving southern portion of North Florida in addition to South Florida) Member Interactions Total 2020 Member Interactions – 8,022 up 9% Covid 19 Interactions (March 16 to May 1) – 2415 unique member interactions, 1435 related to COVID - 74% increase YTD Employers/Jobs Total employer contacts up +11% NPR Score from Employer Survey – 94/100 Total jobs posted down -13% Total advanced searches up +11% - (South Florida leads the number of Advanced Searches) Compensation 511 management positions filled – overall compensation up 8% GM up +11% DOG up +7.4% HP up +5.5% Advanced Searches up +16% Education via Google Meet & Zoom Conducted 45 workshops since March 16th with over 7000 attendees. Developing future quarterly workshops for delivery across all Sections
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PGA.org Our IT team at PGA HQ is continually refining PGA.org and I encourage every PGA Professional to check it daily for updates on Covid-19, Jobs, Education, and Membership issues. CareerLinks – transition to PGA.org In the next 60 days, we will be fully transitioned away from CareerLinks. ALL management, Nonmanagement, and Executive/Advanced Searches will be posted on PGA.org.
Call to Action: Career Services needs every PGA Professional to access their account on PGA.org and fill out their new job preferences which is quick and easy. Once your preferences are submitted and we are fully transitioned, you will begin receiving notifications of employment opportunities based upon these preferences. Section Employment Update Upcoming/Current PGA Executive Searches Wilderness Club, Naples, FL – Director of Golf Addison Reserve Country Club, Delray Beach, FL – Co-Head Professional Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club, Palm Beach, FL – General Manager 2020 New Hires Nathan Groce, Head Golf Professional - Palmira Golf & Country Club, Bonita Springs, FL David Kent, PGA General Manager- Crown Colony Golf & Country Club, Fort Myers, FL TBD – Director of Golf - Delray Dunes Golf & Country Club, Boynton Beach, FL Billy Ashford, Co-Head Professional – Boca Lago Golf Course, South Florida Unemployed Currently 31 unemployed PGA Professionals.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathy Grayson Career Consultant, PGA of America
50
THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS
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THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTING PARTNERS
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Thank you for attending!