leader on the links
Bill, tell us a little bit about your background. How did you get into the sport and where has your golf career taken you?
Bill Daggett Director of Golf at Barnsley Resort
Golf really wasn’t on the radar for me until when Jack Nicklaus won the 1986 Masters, as I can remember my father’s excitement when Jack holed that famous putt on 17. We can all thank Vern Lundquist for that memorable quote of “yes sir!”. After that tournament, my father was hooked. I, on the other hand, was involved with other sports such as soccer and baseball. Growing up and being around my father, I enjoyed the game. I wasn’t any good at it, but it was fun. With school and other sports and activities, golf just wasn’t a priority until I got to high school. I tried out for the team and didn’t make it. I still played over the summers with my father and his friends and I slowly got better. When I moved to Newnan, Georgia after high school, I started to play and practice more. I was out of the seasonal North and down in the South there were more days for better play with longer summers and short winters. I attended West Georgia and considered being a part of the golf team at the University, until I found out that there was not a team. Instead, I took a job my junior year at a local public course to satisfy my playing wants and needs. It was the best job I had experienced thus far since I could play and practice as much as I wanted to, and I even had keys to the lights on the range. Sometimes I would pound balls till midnight, though I would just have to pick them up before I left since that was the deal. After college I worked for an environmental consulting firm in Atlanta, figuring that was what you did with a science degree out of school. I hated every minute of it, to the point that I would skip out early from work and head over to the old Bobby Jones course just north of downtown and play just about any chance I could. The course was close, cheap and very accessible. Between the Bobby Jones course and the old Chastain course in North Fulton, I played just about 3-4 days a week. So based upon my interest in playing and participating in small tournaments, my interest in becoming a professional grew, but I didn’t know how to start the path to get there. My father introduced me to an old pro of his in Newnan named Ted Meyer, who at the time, was a pro at Summer Grove in Newnan, Georgia. He and I talked for a while about the path to the PGA and the steps to take to become a Class A professional. The first step was to take a Playing Ability Test, or PAT, 36 holes of golf in one day, and to pass meant posting a score at or below the qualification score. I took my test at the Oaks Course in Covington, Georgia and passed on the first try, put my two weeks in at the environmental firm and within a few weeks after that, started my new career as an Assistant Professional at Planterra Club in Peachtree City, Georgia. Golf has been good to me, although it has been a difficult and challenging path. I have worked in just about every facet of the industry from grounds maintenance to administrative and everywhere in between, and I still look forward to getting out of bed and getting to the course where every day brings new challenges and rewards.
Tell us more about your PGA Certifications in General Management, Golf Operations and Teaching and Coaching. How do you feel they enhance your new role as Director of Golf? In 2004 the PGA rolled out the Certified Professional Program, a program that offered specialized career paths 22
Golf Central • Volume 22, Issue 11
