PGA of America Opens Golf Central Office

Here comes the PGA of America. 

The organization is returning to its roots in Westchester by opening a satellite office in Elmsford this fall. The office will be at "Golf Central" on Knollwood Road, which houses the headquarters of both the Metropolitan PGA Section and the Metropolitan Golf Association as well as the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association, the Westchester Golf Association, the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association, and the Hudson Valley Golf Course Superintendents Association (did I miss anybody?).

Kevin Ring, The PGA of America’s chief marketing officer, will relocate to the area to head the office, which will be helpful as the organization gets ready for its Centennial Celebration in 2016 and 98th PGA Championship to be held that year at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.  The office will also be used to build deeper PR, marketing, and communications relationships in the NY media market.

Robert White, a club pro and entrepreneur at Wykagyl CountryClub in New Rochelle, became the PGA’s first president at a meeting of leading pros and amateurs called by Rodman Wanamaker, son of the department store founder, to organize the group at the Hotel Martinique, now the Radisson Martinique, in Manhattan. Wanamaker donated the namesake trophy awarded to the winner of the PGA Championship each year. The inaugural PGA Championship was played in 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville.

 

“We are very excited about establishing a foothold in the New York metropolitan area, near the birthplace of The PGA of America,” said PGA CEO Pete Bevacqua. “New York holds a key to our future and a special link to our storied past. As we drive forward towards our centennial in 2016, the region will play a major role in telling the story of the first 100 years of The PGA and what the next 100 have in store for our association.”

Welcome home!

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Drive, Chip, and Putt Your Way To Augusta

Get 'em while they're young. That's the idea behind the creation of the Drive, Chip, and Putt Championship announced yesterday by the Masters Tournament Foundation, United States Golf Association (USGA) and The PGA of America. The free, nationwide junior skills competition will be held throughout the US during the next year and conclude at Augusta National Golf Club in 2014. If you want to enter, though, now is the time. The deadline is April 30, 2013.

Participants in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship will advance through local and regional qualifiers conducted around the country. Competitors will be boys and girls ages 7-15 who will compete in separate divisions in four age categories. The regional champions in each of the boys and girls divisions from the four age categories will advance to the finals to be held at Augusta National the Sunday before the Masters Tournament, April 6, 2014. The Championship finals will be produced and broadcast by Golf Channel.

“Generations of players have been inspired by the dream of sinking a winning putt on the 18th green at Augusta National,” said Billy Payne, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament Foundation. “Now an exciting opportunity exists to make that dream a reality. I am confident that our collective efforts with the USGA and The PGA of America will showcase the talents of kids who already play this game and motivate others to give the sport a try.”

Said Glen Nager, President of the USGA: “Among our many responsibilities as a governing body is finding creative ways to make the game more accessible to our nation’s young people. The Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is an exciting new opportunity to fulfill this role, and together with our partners at the Masters Tournament Foundation and The PGA of America we look forward to leading its long-term success.”

“The game of golf is built on several fundamental skills, which our 27,000 PGA Professionals around the country teach players of all ages every day,” said Ted Bishop, President of The PGA of America. “The ability to successfully drive, chip and putt a golf ball are some of the basics to the enjoyment of the sport, and we believe this competition will motivate young players to work hard, practice these principle skills and learn to make golf a game of a lifetime.”

Local qualifying events will take place at courses in 19 states and Washington, D.C. In total, local qualifiers will provide more than 17,000 opportunities to compete. An extensive network of PGA Professionals and USGA professional staff and volunteers will conduct these competitions around the country.  Regional qualifying will be conducted at courses in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas (2), Virginia and Washington.

For more information about the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, including official rules, qualifying sites or to register, please visit www.DriveChipandPutt.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

John Kennedy Honored With PGA Patriot Award

John Kennedy Jr., Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club, was honored by the PGA of America this week with the 2012 Patriot Award, which recognizes a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States of America. Kennedy established a foundation for supporting men and women of the military along with an affiliation with the VA to help instruct disabled veterans. He's the fourth recipient of the award, which was first presented in 2008.

Kennedy established Golfers in Support of the Troops Foundation in 2008, which has raised more than $90,000 over a four-year period to distribute more than 20,000 articles of clothing to U.S. troops and their families. Clothing was sent to Baghdad, Iraq, Fort Benning, Ga., Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Fort Drum, N.Y. Kennedy contributed 50 percent of the clothing that he purchased for his own golf shop.

In addition to Westchester Country Club serving as a strong supporter of Patriot Golf Day since the initiative began in 2007, it also has supported Kennedy’s efforts to build an alliance between the New York VA Hospital Prosthetics Device Department and 2010 Patriot Award recipient Jim Estes of Olney, Md., founder of the Salute Military Golf Association. Together with 2011 Patriot Award recipient John Hines, the group is working to expand training of PGA Professionals to give golf instruction to disabled veterans.

“I think that certainly anyone growing up in America should have great appreciation for those who serve our country in uniform,” said Kennedy. “I have great respect for those that served and have served and the sacrifices they have made. It is a great feeling that by our efforts such as Golfers in Support of the Troops that we may help our veterans and particularly their families. Additionally, we have built a relationship with the New York VA Hospital to help spread training of PGA Professionals to encourage more disabled veterans to have the opportunity to learn and play golf. It gives those who have been in hospitals, sometimes for months, something positive for which to look forward. If I can succeed in this project, then more around the country can follow.”

Kennedy has been a PGA member since 1976. In 2010, he became the third member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to be named a recipient of the Horton Smith Award, which recognizes an individual PGA member for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education. Kennedy also was the 1997 Metropolitan PGA Golf Professional of the Year; and recipient of the 2005 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award; the 1985, ’88 and 2009 Section Horton Smith Award; and the 1983, ’91 Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private Facilities.
Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Breed, Alexander, Kennedy Honored by PGA

Thee outstanding members of the Metropolitan Section of the PGA will be honored at the PGA of America Awards in January. They are Michael Breed, popular Golf Channel personality and head professional at Sunningdale, who was named PGA Teacher of the Year, Carl Alexander, head pro at The Golf Club of Purchase, who will receive the Horton Smith Award, and John Kennedy, Jr., Director of Golf at Westchester Country Club, who will be honored with the Patriot Award. Here's what the PGA press release said about them:

MICHAEL BREED - PGA Teacher of the Year

Michael Breed of Greenwich, Conn., whose telegenic instruction skills through his signature Golf Channel program, "The Golf Fix," has motivated countless viewers to enjoy the game, has been named the recipient of the 2012 PGA Teacher of the Year Award.

Breed, 50, is in his 12th season as PGA head professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, N.Y. He follows Michael Hebron (1991) of St. James, N.Y., as the only Metropolitan PGA members to receive The PGA of America's highest honor for a golf instructor.

A native of Greenwich, Conn., Breed began his athletic career in baseball as a shortstop, and was introduced to golf at age 13 by his father.

Breed is a 1985 graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., where he was a standout player for the Yellow Jackets, and was a 2004 inductee into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Breed declared professional in 1985, and made a bid in 1991 to earn a berth on the former Ben Hogan (now Web.com Tour). Breed was a PGA assistant professional at Augusta (Ga.) National Golf Club from 1989 through 1992, before serving as assistant from 1992 to 1995, for former PGA Professional National Champion Darrell Kestner at Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, N.Y. In 1994, Breed competed in the Greater Hartford Open on the PGA Tour.

Breed made his venture into golf broadcasting at Golf Channel in 1999, appearing on numerous "Golf Academy Live" programs as both a guest instructor and host. He has served as an on-course reporter for the former Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour events, and as a guest on such Golf Channel programs as "Viewer's Forum" and "Golf Central." Breed also contributed numerous golf tips for CBS, Turner Sports, and Cablevision.

In 2009, Breed was selected to host "The Golf Fix," elevating it into one of golf's most popular instruction programs on cable television. He also serves as host instructor for Golf Channel's "Big Break Academy."

Breed's broadcasting venture, he said, would not have been possible without the support of his home facility, Sunningdale Country Club, where he has been PGA head professional since 2001.

Breed served from 2005 to 2010 on the Metropolitan PGA Board of Directors and is in his second term on the national PGA Instruction Committee. A past chair of the Metropolitan PGA Education Committee, Breed won two Ely Callaway Awards in 2010 and 2011, recognizing individuals earning the most service hour credits for education recertification. He was the 2000 and 2009 Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year, and recipient of the Section's 2006 and '07 Horton Smith Award for contributions to PGA education.

For more than a decade, Breed has served as a Titleist Leadership Advisory Staff member and is among Golf Digest's Top 50 instructors in the U.S., and since 2003 has been listed as a top 100 instructor by GOLF Magazine. Breed's worldwide travels include trips to Canada and China to promote PGA education and has appeared before more than 15 PGA Sections nationwide.

Breed has coached 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel, and past Tour winners Chris Smith and Joe Ogilvie. His current students include five-time Web.com Tour winner Darron Stiles, Ron Whitaker and LPGA winner Meghan Francella.

CARL ALEXANDER – Horton Smith Award 

Carl Alexander of Bedford, N.Y., whose leadership within the Metropolitan PGA Section resulted in showcasing both model programs and inspiring new audiences to the game, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Horton Smith Award for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education.

Alexander, 46, is PGA director of golf at The Golf Club of Purchase (N.Y.), and a 16-year member of The PGA of America. He is the fourth member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to receive the Horton Smith Award, which was established in 1965, and named for the late PGA Past President and inaugural Masters Champion.

Born in New York City, Alexander is the son of renowned golf photographer Jules Alexander, and attended Rollins College in Orlando, Fla., before transferring to the University of Arizona. He turned professional in 1992, and joined the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf staff in Orlando, Fla. In 1997, Alexander accepted a teaching and assistant professional position at Pine Hollow Country Club in East Norwich, N.Y. In 1999, he was recruited to join GlenArbor Golf Club in Bedford Hills, N.Y., as PGA head professional to help build the new private golf club.

In 2005, Alexander joined The Golf Club of Purchase, where he has built successful teaching programs, and managed a first-class golf club with high-end services. Throughout his career, Alexander has hired and trained many assistants, several of whom have gone on to their own head professional positions in the Metropolitan PGA Section.

Alexander was introduced to golf at age 6, encouraged to join his neighborhood friends, and would take his first formal lessons from then-Westchester Country Club assistant professional Jim McLean, who went on to become one of the country's most celebrated instructors and the 1994 PGA Teacher of the Year.

Since 2003, Alexander has served as a member of the Metropolitan PGA Board of Directors; was Section vice president from 2007 to 2011; and has been a member of the Section Education Committee since 2004, and chair of the committee since 2009. He also is co-chair of the Section Communications and Public Relations Committee, serving in those capacities since 2008.

Alexander was the 2006 Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year and the 2010 Section Horton Smith Award recipient, and the 2000 Westchester Golf Association Player of the Year.

Among Alexander's endeavors of the past several years include teaming with LPGA Tour player Jane Blalock and other LPGA Tour professionals for a women's executive golf clinic; and developing a junior golf program at The Golf Club of Purchase, which pairs junior golfers for clinics, contests, and on-course competition with professional staff.

In 2009, Alexander met with and recruited Stuart Levine, formerly of Dale Carnegie, and together they developed a leadership and governance program for the Metropolitan PGA Educational Programs and the Board. In 2010, Stuart Levine was one of several keynote speakers at the Met PGA Spring Educational Forum along with Barry Hyde of the USGA and PGA Chief Executive Officer Joe Steranka. The PGA of America's Education Department later created four regional educational conferences and teamed with Stuart Levine & Associates to create the Power of Fundamentals Executive Program.

Alexander later served on the committee to develop the Met PGA Head Professional Handbook, which featured more than 400 pages of materials and outlines designed to help professionals in every phase of their operations, business, and personal development. Alexander created the Teaching Center at Purchase, a year-round state-of-the-art facility offered to players of all skill levels.

JOHN KENNEDY JR. – Patriot Award 

John Kennedy Jr. of New Canaan, Conn., whose leadership within the Metropolitan PGA Section extended to establishing a foundation for supporting the men and women of the military along with affiliation with the VA to help instruct disabled veterans, has been named the recipient of the 2012 Patriot Award.

First presented in 2008, the Patriot Award honors a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected the United States of America.

The 61-year-old Kennedy is in his 22nd year as PGA head professional at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., and is a 36-year member of The PGA of America. He is the second Metropolitan PGA Section member to receive the Patriot Award, following John Hines of Calverton, N.Y., in 2011.

Kennedy established Golfers in Support of the Troops Foundation in 2008, which has raised more than $90,000 over a four-year period to distribute more than 20,000 articles of clothing to U.S. troops and their families. Clothing was sent to Baghdad, Iraq; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Fort Drum, N.Y. Kennedy contributed 50 percent of the clothing that he purchased for his own golf shop.

In addition to Westchester Country Club serving as a strong supporter of Patriot Golf Day since the initiative began in 2007, it also has supported Kennedy's efforts to build an alliance between the New York VA Hospital Prosthetics Device Department and 2010 Patriot Award recipient Jim Estes of Olney, Md., founder of the Salute Military Golf Association. Together with 2011 Patriot Award recipient John Hines, the group are working to expand training of PGA Professionals to give golf instruction to disabled veterans.

Born in Fairfield, Conn., Kennedy graduated from Fairfield University in 1972 and turned professional that year. He was elected to PGA membership in 1976, during which time he was an assistant professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. In 2010, he became the third member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to be named a recipient of the national Horton Smith Award, which recognizes an individual PGA member for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education.

Kennedy also was the 1997 Metropolitan PGA Golf Professional of the Year; and recipient of the 2005 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award; the 1985, '88 and 2009 Section Horton Smith Award; and the 1983 and '91 Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private Facilities.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Bensel Notches Back-To-Back Wins At PGA Assistant Championship

Century Country Club's Frank Bensel laid down a scorching final round six-under-par 66 to grab the trophy for the 2011 Callaway Golf PGA Assistant Championship this last weekend. Bensel's come-from-behind win also made him only the second player to hoist the trophy two years in a row. The Purchase, NY, assistant pro also won the tournament in 2010.

At the beginning of the final round, Bensel was eight big strokes off the pace in a tie for 24th. Then he poured it on in a round that saw an eagle and five birdies to post a 283 total, a stroke ahead of a group of six players that included Aaron Clark of Springfield, MO, Scott Berliner of Albany, NY, Jamie Broce of Clayton, IN, Tyler Hitchcock of Orlando, FL, Ryan Sikora of Greensburg, PA, and Richard Terga of Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The tournament was played at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, FL.

Bensel's win earned him a coveted spot in the 45th PGA Professional National Championship at Bayonet and Black Horse in Seaside, CA, next June, and a $9,000 first-place check. It makes him the fourth player in Championship history to win more than one title. He joins Darrell Kestner (1982, '87), Jim Schuman (1996, '97) and Kyle Flinton (2002, '03, '05) in the small group with multiple titles.

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.

Barclay's Promotes NJ And NY Charities

New Jersey and New York charities will join in TICKETS Fore CHARITY as part of the promotional effort of The Barclays, the first event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, which will feature 125 of the top players on TOUR, Aug. 23-28 at Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J.

Through TICKETS Fore CHARITY, The Barclays gives 501(c)(3) organizations the opportunity to promote tournament tickets to benefit their organization. Best of all, 100 percent of the net proceeds from the ticket sales – net proceeds exclude tax or processing fees – go to charity: 75 percent to the charity promoting the tickets; and 25 percent to The First Tee of Metropolitan New York. The First Tee is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation aimed at positively impacting the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and education programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf.

“This is an incredible opportunity to raise unlimited funds for the participating charity and there are absolutely no costs to the organization,” said The Barclays Executive Director Peter Mele. “Fans will get to witness the very best the PGA TOUR has to offer and generate revenue for charities in New York and New Jersey during a time when these organizations need our help more than ever. We’d like to invite charities throughout the area to join us in enhancing and enriching our local communities by participating in TICKETS Fore CHARITY.”

In 2010, the second year of the program, $150,000 was generated for local charities, and the tournament has set a goal of $200,000 for 2011. As of today, 55 charities have officially signed up to participate in the program.

The ticket available through TICKETS Fore CHARITY is a weekly grounds ticket available for just $50, normally priced at $100. This is a grounds ticket for each day of the tournament from Tuesday August 23-Sunday August 28. Tickets can now be purchased on behalf of your charity of choice by visiting www.buytfc.com. Non-profit organizations interested in participating in the program should contact Dan Chelel at The Barclays tournament office at danielchelel@pgatourhq.com or 201-444-5356.

The PGA TOUR, its players and tournaments support more than 3,000 charities. These local and national organizations work in a range of areas affecting the lives of millions in the communities where we live and play. In 2010, The Barclays donated $1 million to local charities, bringing the total amount raised since 1967 to more than $37 million.

The Barclays has been a part of the PGA TOUR schedule since 1967 when Jack Nicklaus won the inaugural event at Westchester Country Club. Since that time, some of the greatest players in the game have earned the title including World Golf Hall of Famers Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd, Seve Ballesteros, Hale Irwin, Curtis Strange and the new defending champion, Matt Kuchar, 2010 winner of The Barclays. Many of the world’s current top players have won the event as well, including two-time champions Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia, and four-time champion Vijay Singh. As the first of four playoff events, The Barclays plays a leading role in the FedExCup, the season-long competition that is the centerpiece of the PGA TOUR season. In 2011, The Barclays will be held at Plainfield Country Club in Edison New Jersey, on August 23-28. For tournament information visit www.thebarclaysgolf.com.

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, hiring, firing, and motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.

Rob Labritz Tops Met PGA Section

Rob Labritz has been crowned “Player of the Year” by the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Section of the PGA. Labritz, the Director of Golf at Bedford, NY's GlenArbor Golf Club won the singular honor with a stellar season of competition against a group of what are arguably the strongest group of club pros in the country's 41 PGA Sections.

Labritz racked up victories at the New York State Open at Bethpage Black, won the US Open Local Qualifying Round, and the Metropolitan Head Professional Championship, and had top finishes at the Metropolitan Open (third place) and the New England Open (fifth place). He clinched the title with a solo second place finish in the Treiber Memorial.

“This win is a product of hard work and dedication. I’ve been working for it all year long. Day after day, I spent countless hours at GlenArbor’s Short Game Center practicing every possible shot from within 125 yards of the pin, chipping and putting. I am very fortunate to have access to such incredible facilities.”

Labritz and the GlenArbor Short Game Center was featured in an article I wrote a couple of years ago for Westchester Magazine.

Labritz was also named 2008 Westchester PGA Player of the Year, earning this title for the third time in six years.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo

Radio Daze with Brian Crowell

I had some fun recently visiting with Brian Crowell and his partner in crime Mark Jeffers on the Clubhouse Report, their weekly golf/sports/whatever talk show on WFAS Radio. The Hartsdale, NY, station is at AM 1230.

While I was officially there to plug my novel Heart of Diamonds, we also talked about all sorts of golf, including the FedEx Cup, the Ryder Cup, and the LPGA's controversial but never-adopted policy to require players to demonstrate English proficiency. Click to hear an mp3 excerpt from the program.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo