PGA REACH WNY LN Learning Center

PGA REACH WNY LONNIE NIELSEN LEARNING CENTER A SAFE PLACE WHERE MILITARY, YOUTH AND DIVERSE DEMOGRAPHICS LEARN HARD WORK, INTEGRITY, RESPECT AND HONESTY THROUGH THE GAME OF GOLF

Positively Impacting Lives Through Golf

WNYPGA Overview

About the Western New York PGA/PGA REACH WNY 

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Approximately 300 PGA Professionals and PGA Associates serving at over 110 golf facilities across the region.

Section geographically covers twenty-one counties throughout Buffalo, Rochester and Northwest Pennsylvania.

Also operates PGA REACH WNY Foundation, a 501 c(3) that supports robust junior programs, veterans and diverse populations.

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Close affiliation with PGA of America as well as clubs and professionals that help us to create custom partnerships.

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Homesite is at Glen Oak Golf Course located in East Amherst, NY which is one of the most affluential towns in Erie County.

Table of Contents WNYPGA Overview

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PGA Section

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PGA REACH WNY

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Pillar Videos

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Community Impact

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Learning Center Vision

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Legacy

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Western NY PGA Section C/O Glen Oak Golf Course 711 Smith Road East Amherst, NY 14051 Phone: 716-626-7095 Steven Bartkowski Executive Director

WWW.WNYPGA.COM

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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Three Pillars

PGA HOPE VIDEO

PGA WORKS VIDEO

PGA JUNIOR LEAGUE VIDEO

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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Community Impact Pro-Am Charitable Contributions Similar to the PGA Tour, the Western New York Section focuses on giving back to the community through tournaments. Each year WNYPGA Professionals conduct and compete in thirteen Pro-Am Tournaments throughout the summer. In total, these Pro-Am events raise just under $300,000 for local charities.

Smiling FORE Life Program Each year PGA Professionals give their time to visit kids in the Oishei and Golisano Children’s Hospitals. The golf professionals spend a few hours each visit teaching the kids the game of golf. The program allows for the kids to forget about their illness for short periods of time and use the game of golf to smile.

Special Olympics WNY Names Glen Oak as Training Center

Special Olympics New York announced that the Glen Oak Golf Course in East Amherst, NY will be the official training center of its Athlete Golf Program, providing use of the course, equipment and PGA-certified coaches for the program. With access being a major barrier for golf, the PGA will now be able to provide that to these athletes. The PGA has raised enough funds to introduce golf to over 40 athletes over the past few years.

PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) The program includes a working partnership with VA Hospitals, introducing veterans to the sport of golf, golf instruction, playing opportunities and social events – using golf as an activity to assist veterans with their progress in rehab along with helping them to assimilate and mainstream with their families and into their communities and into life. In 2019, we we sent a Veteran to a week at Congressional, all expenses paid, for the Inaugural HOPE Ambassador Program, giving him new purpose.

PGA Junior League PGA Jr. League is a fun, social and inclusive opportunity for boys and girls to learn and enjoy the game of golf. Much like other recreational league sports, participants wear numbered jerseys and play on teams with their friends. Each year the PGA REACH WNY Foundation sponsors a local First Tee of WNY Team who otherwise may have not have had the opportunity to compete for financial reasons. There are close to 600 kids in this program!

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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How We Got to This Solution THE PROBLEMS 22 Veterans Commit Suicide Every Day Our veterans are struggling to assimilate back into our society and become employed. PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), that is conducted by WNYPGA Professionals, is working hard to change that statistic. However, our 6-8 week HOPE Programs don’t offer a year round safe haven through golf. Vets need a place year round that they can have access to hone their skills on and off the course.

Golf is Hard and Expensive for Youth Golf seems to get harder and more expensive every year. Many of our blue collar youth in Western New York don’t have the means to play or even be introduced to the game of golf that we all know is a game that can be played for a lifetime. There is no true facility that offers this first taste of golf for the vast majority of our Western NY youth.

Barriers for Executive Women and Golf From PGA of America research it was discovered that women are one of the fastest growing off-course golfer demographics with 41% of off-course golfers being females. Despite this number, women are still not being invited to business golf rounds due to lack of comfort on the course. This is severely limiting professional growth throughout their careers. There is no place that allows women to truly get comfortable on-course.

The Golf Workforce is Decreasing All across the Western New York Section, PGA (Buffalo, Rochester and Erie) our golf courses are struggling to identify up and coming Assistant PGA Professionals and superintendents. There is no true on-site training ground for these careers.

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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Learning Center Vision

THE SOLUTION & VISION The ultimate vision of PGA REACH WNY Learning Center is to truly make an impact in our local veteran community. It is a fact that 22 Veterans commit suicide a day and we want to end this stat. As veterans learn that playing golf is possible, no matter what their disability, they regain their personal pride of accomplishment, of control, of success—even if it’s just a putt. As they gain confidence on the course, they find themselves surrounded by others who have been there and care. The PGA REACH WNY Center will be designed as a place of rehabilitation, with the needs of the disabled and underserved being first priority.

Above you can view the renderings of a 6-hole short course and short game facility that we worked with C.W. Architecture LLC out of Michigan to design. You can also view a rendering of an indoor learning center concept that we worked with an industry leading simulator company to create for us.

These would be the first of their kind nationally and we have the goal of creating one in Buffalo, Rochester and Erie.

These are fully operated by our Veteran community under supervision of PGA Professionals, give first priority of play to youth, military and diverse individuals and are training grounds for future PGA Professionals and superintendents.

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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Learning Center Vision

IMPACT PGA REACH WNY Foundation reaches numerous charitable organizations across the region. This project will not solely benefit our specific benefactors but we truly want to make this available to all of the below. Golf is a game that teaches so many life lessons but has many barriers to access. With this site, there will no longer be those barriers. 

Over 150 PGA HOPE Veterans struggling with PTSD and their families

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Over 1300 Juniors in the WNYPGA Junior Tour and PGA Junior League

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Over 40 Special Olympics Athletes

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Rochester Inner City public schools

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Over 900 First Tee of WNY Kids

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Golisano Children's Hospital Kids Cancer Patients

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Women owned corporations

A PLACE TO PLAY, LEARN AND WORK Not only do we envision this place to be a place to play golf but more importantly we see it as a place that offers employment to our vets and learning experiences to our juniors. The goal is to have the entire facility run and maintained by veterans, juniors and diverse individuals to help them gain employment and access to the golf industry and the values that it teaches.

www.wnypga.com | 716-626-7095

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Reach of the Learning Center Legacy The Western New York PGA Section and PGA REACH WNY Foundation are both not-for-profit entities that rely on partners to help fulfill our mission of growing the game of golf and positively impacting lives around the community.

The footprint of the Western New York PGA Section includes: 

300 PGA Professionals and their families

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20,000 amateur golfers spread over the 110 PGA Facilities

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1300 Junior Golfers and their Families

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150 Veterans and their families.

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Over 110 Golf Facilities

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All of our community partners—Special Olympics WNY, Bunkers for Baghdad, United Way Women United, The First Tee of WNY, Oishei and Golisano Children's Hospital

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The PGA of America and its 29,000 PGA Golf Professionals

New York Counties: Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Stueben, Livingston, Wyoming, Yates, Ontario, Orleans, Genesee, Monroe, Schuyler, Wayne, Seneca For Additional Information Contact: Steven Bartkowski WNYPGA Executive Director sbartkowski@pgahq.com (716) 313-2943

Pennsylvania Counties: Erie, Warren, McKean, Potter, Tioga

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