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Middle Atlantic PGA
Vol. 1 Issue 2, November 2016
Next On The Tee... A Publication for MAPGA Assistants & Apprentices
In this Edition... Employment President’s Letter Jericho & Johnlen Junior Golf Independence Cup Team Reveal
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APA PRESIDENT’S LETTER Well here we are, just a few weeks away from the end of our golfing season. The APA has had a wonderful season and has played some wonderful golf courses this year. Just recently we had our Tour Championship at Virginia Beach National Golf Club. On Monday, Oct. 17 we played 36 holes of stroke play. Matt Summers, of Mountain Branch Golf Club, was able to shoot a two round total of 5-under to beat out Blake Brookman, of Cedar Point Country Club, by 2 strokes. Russ Dodson and his staff have been nothing but outstanding to accommodate the APA. Even after 31” of rain over the past month, his staff was able to have the golf course available for play. Based on the situation they faced, it was in wonderful condition. With the end of the season also comes the time when the APA plays the Philadelphia Assistants Organization in our annual Independence Cup. Last year the APA was defeated 21-19 at Rehoboth Beach. This year, it is the APA’s turn to host and Virginia Beach National has been gracious enough to host this great event. The 16-member team consists of three captains, the top-8 in POY points and five captain’s picks. After this year’s Tour Championship, we were able to decide the team. I am very excited to captain this team once again and have every intention of bringing the cup back to its rightful home in the Mid Atlantic! 2016 APA Independence Cup Team Bryce Adams - Dulles Golf Center Jim Bennett - Piney Branch GC Matt Decker - Chartwell G&CC Kent Graham - Army Navy CC Kelly King - The SW Golf Academy Mike Mauk - Belle Haven CC Bret Robertson - Providence GC Rupe Taylor - Keswick Club
Blake Brookman - Cedar Pointe CC Brian Dix - Univ. of Maryland GC Mike Gertzberg - 1757 GC Billy Hoffman - Westwoods CC Jimmy Kowalski - Army Navy CC Frank O’Connell - Springfield G&CC Matt Summers - Mountain Branch GC Mike Wood - Baltimore CC
Every year the APA, with support from AHEAD, awards twelve $500 scholarships to registered APA members who complete one of their levels. There are four scholarships available per level and each apprentice is only competing against those that are registered members of the APA. It is a wonderful opportunity to receive monies when we are in the off season. I can relate as I won the scholarship for each level of my apprenticeship. If you have completed one of your levels or are going to in 2016, I encourage you to sign up before the end of the year. All requirements for the scholarship can be found at MAPGA.com. Without the continued support of not only Professionals in our section, but Sales Reps that continue to sponsor the APA year in and year out, we would not be able to do the things we do. In 2016 we played some new courses and they were all wonderful.
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2016 APA Host Sites & Professionals
Magnolia Green Golf Club - Bobby Kidder Lakewood Country Club - Dave Crawmer, PGA Dominion Valley Country Club - Mason Jobin, PGA Suburban Club - Mark Helffrich, PGA Trump National D.C. - Kevin Morris, PGA Hillendale Country Club - Jason Johnson, PGA Westfields Golf Club - Dustin Moser, PGA Woodholme Country Club - Mark Beran, PGA Virginia Beach National - Russ Dodson, PGA
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Jericho &
Descending the steep hill on Hidden Creek Country C and thin beyond the other, as the two strolled side by s behind him, Johnlen Trianna had wa
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& Johnlen
Club’s fifth hole were two shadows. One stretching long side in the evening summer heat. With the sun setting aited the entire day for this moment.
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Next on the Tee “It was the best part of any of those days on the course,” Johnlen Trianna said. “I always looked forward to playing with Mom in the late afternoon and will always remember those shadows on the hill.”
championship his junior year of high school after moving to Dallas. He received offers from Division II schools, but was determined to walk-on a Division I program and chose New Mexico State.
Now a PGA Assistant at Lansdowne Resort, Johnlen says he easily played 54-holes per day as a junior in Reston, Va. No matter how long the practice, there was always time for an evening nine with his mother, Jericho.
“New Mexico had a great team,” Johnlen said. “There was one spot open for tryouts and I didn’t make it.” The head coach asked Johnlen to stick around for another year before leaving the position. Mike Dirks, the new coach, ended the tryout process, hand-picking players and ending Johnlen’s chance of joining the team.
A decade later, golf is the center of Jericho Trianna and Johnlen’s lives again. In May, the two became the only known motherson pair to attend and graduate a collegiate PGA Management Program. Neither could have imagined making golf their career, tackling classes together and working as PGA Assistants at Lansdowne Resort. For 22 years, Jericho worked at Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac before taking an early retirement to take care of her mother in El Paso. She earned a two-year Economics degree in the evenings after work, but always had a personal goal of receiving a Bachelor’s degree.
“He missed his original tryout by just one stroke,” Jericho said. “After that there were no more qualifiers. He was that close to reaching his goal of being a Division I golfer.”
“I told him let’s just do this. Let’s become PGA Professionals.”
“It wouldn’t of made a big difference in my life,” Jericho said. “I had been successful in my career, so it was just a personal goal I had always wanted to accomplish. The timing was right, so I began looking at schools and New Mexico State allowed me to pursue a degree in marketing and join the PGM program. It was a bonus Johnlen was already there.”
-Jericho Trianna
Johnlen knew he wanted to play college golf after a successful junior career and a Texas state
A lover of crime drama like “Law & Order,” Johnlen was a criminal justice and psychology major. It wasn’t until Jericho joined the PGM program he became interested. “I had absolutely no interest being a part of the program,” Johnlen said. “I did not want my life to revolve around golf, but I agreed to go to the informational meeting with her.” When Jericho met with NMSU’s Director of PGA Golf Management Pat Gavin and Program Specialist Josh Salmon, the meeting began with bit of a hiccup.
“Johnlen and I were there and Pat and Josh began their PGM program pitch, speaking directly to Johnlen,” Jericho said. “I had to stop them 20 minutes in and say ‘hey guys, this meeting is for me.’ Their jaws dropped and I must say they were pretty embarrassed.”
Next on the Tee “I just said, ‘I’m sorry. Holy smokes, I’m sorry,’” Gavin said to the Albuquerque Journal. “I’ve never had that. I’ve talked to thousands of kids with their parents, and never was the parent the one coming to the program.” Gavin didn’t know it at the time, but his mistake and subsequent pitch to Johnlen earned him two new PGM students. “I told Johnlen ‘let’s just do this,’ let’s become PGA Professionals’” Jericho said. “It didn’t make any sense he was such a good golfer and wouldn’t join the program. He’d still get his degree, but this way when he graduated he would be a PGA Professional. What more could you want?” Since Johnlen had been in school for more than a year, his class credits were close enough to Jericho’s two year degree where they became part of the same graduating class at NMSU. “We took all of our PGM classes together,” Johnlen said. “She’s incredibly smart and was a great note taker, it helped me immensely. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her. All o f the students respected her and we never had to worry about what people thought because it was never awkward.” Jericho says one of her favorite memories during the program was when she and Johnlen completed their Playing Ability Test on the same day, first try. “It was then the other students knew I was serious
Page 7 about getting this degree and we could play,” Jericho said. “It was an unusual situation going to college with your son, but it never felt that way.” During this time, Johnlen dedicated everything to becoming a PGA Professional. “I worked all the internships, every summer,” Johnlen said. “Once I knew I wanted to become a PGA Professional I put everything I had into it. I had the best partner in my mom to support me through the classes, work schedule and college life.” The duo graduated in May 2015 and Johnlen decided he wanted to return to Virginia and work for Hidden Creek. “I stayed in Las Cruces, but I understood why he wanted to go back to Virginia,” Jericho said. “This is home for him and while that job didn’t work out how he envisioned it, he’s done great things at Lansdowne.” Johnlen began as the tournament assistant before quickly becoming the tournament coordinator at the Leesburg, Va. resort. Soon after, an open position fit Jericho’s interests and the resort’s needs. Lansdowne had their first female PGA Professional on staff, just a short time after hiring her son. “Running tournaments is hectic and even now she’s still helping me keep all the ducks in a row at Lansdowne,” Johnlen said. “She’s amazing. She’s been able to keep the family together for so long, a great learner and dedicated to everything she starts.” Throughout this saga, from job changes to crosscountry moves, one thing is certain; Jericho has
Next on the Tee been the rock of the Trianna family. She’s been a clear role model, inspiration and loving mother to her son Johnlen, and two daughters, Jatonne and Shiloh. As a young teenager, Jericho didn’t have an opportunity to play golf. “As I was growing up I didn’t play because during that time, girls just didn’t play golf,” Jericho said. “It wasn’t until I didn’t have a partner for tennis that I decided to go play golf. So I got some clubs and started playing, then never stopped.” Jericho introduced golf to her children at a young age and Johnlen first swung a club soon after his second birthday. The Trianna family backyard was the ideal place for Johnlen to learn the game, complete with a putting green and bunker. “The whole family would be out there hitting balls,” Johnlen said. “I never needed motivation to play as a junior. It was such a part of my life and I never stopped playing.” Johnlen says his ultimate goal still involves competing on Tour, never wanting to stop playing. For now he’s happy with how far he and his mother have come in the golf world since their summer evenings at Hidden Creek. Two shadows on the hill, two PGA Professionals.
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JUNIOR GOLF SPOTLIGHT BY A.J. NELSON, PGA - SWINGESSENTIALS.COM The key to junior golf is to get parents involved early and often. Leverage your generational experience. Parents determine not only how much fun the junior golfers have, but according to many psychologists and recent studies, dictate how successful kids can be in golf . Also, all indications are that junior golf is on the rise. According to Jake Turtel at Fortune 500 magazine, PGA Junior League Golf has expanded from 1,500 youth participants in 2012 to 8,900 in 2013. This indicates a 490% increase. In 2014, participation doubled (18,000 kids). With this trend, more juniors will be growing up and playing at your local golf courses. But how does the golf industry keep these juniors interested and around the game of golf? The answer is parental involvement. Parents, who are defined as being a part of Generation X, have a background that is conducive to advocating for junior golf. According to Jennifer McCallum, author of “Who is Generation X?” these parents have grown up in a world without social media, and yet have adapted to it – even invented it – exquisitely. Generation X, and their use of technology is the key to making sure this junior golf trend continues. New golf applications on a cell phone or tablet keeps kids not only involved, but also interested in the game. Golf is very unique in that it has “toys”. If children play baseball, parents will often buy new shoes, bats, or gloves. But the golf industry allows so much more variety. From new hardware, like balls and clubs, to free golf apps on their cell phone to record scores and show trends, golf offers so much more. Also, kids love to see their swing on a screen next to Jordan Speith or Tiger Woods. Parents have to make sure that the environment for golf is inviting. The way to do this is through technology. The message is clear, to keep juniors in the game, simply have fun, be supportive, and incorporate all the new technological gadgets. Who knows, you may have more fun too. 1. Stephen S. Leff Rick H. Hoyle,Young Athletes’ Perceptions of Parental Support and Pressure 2. Jake Turtel, Fortune 500 3. Jennifer McCallum, Who is Generation X?
MAPGA Player Development Grant
APPLICATION
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EMPLOYMENT CENTER WITH DONALD SWEETING, PGA Fall marks the start of the season when many PGA Professionals will be turning their sights to seeking a new position and going through the job search process. Just as in every other business, candidates are responding to the challenges a more competitive job market poses. PGA Employment Consultants’ experience working with employers as well as counseling PGA job seekers has provided us a unique perspective on the factors that may go into an employer’s hiring decision. As we assist candidates, it is common and appropriate for them to focus on their resume and cover letter. However, there are many other factors, much like fitting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, to being invited to an interview and being selected over a quality field. The key element that many candidates overlook is identifying and solving the 3-4 puzzle pieces that the employer feels are absolutely critical. Just as every PGA Professional is unique, every facility is unique with its own history, DNA and culture as well as its strengths and challenges. Therefore, each will weight puzzle pieces uniquely. Below is an illustration of some fundamental components that employers may use to differing degrees in deciding who they interview, and ultimately who they hire: So, the Off Season Workout is to improve your education, skills and materials to prepare for the next opportunity. There are questions and comments for each part of the puzzle below; can you utilize PGA Resources (including me) for improvements? Resume & Cover Letter – Is your resume content targeted to the job and the facility? Is the information presented in a logical and easy to read format? Have you included specific accomplishments that are relevant to the job you are seeking? Does the cover letter connect with the employer and pique their interest? Are the cover letter and resume free of spelling and grammatical errors? Remember, the first reader of your resume is looking for a reason to exclude yours! Interview – Do you know the format for the interview and who will be interviewing you? Have you prepared for the questions you may be asked? Do you know the do’s and don’ts of interviewing? Are you prepared for a telephone, skype or in-person interview? Portfolio – Have you prepared an interview portfolio with information that illustrates your unique qualifications, targeted to the position and presented in an easy to follow format? Research – Prior to sending your resume and/or interviewing, have you researched the job so you are knowledgeable about the facility? Do you know the employer’s key issues, needs, and priorities? Expect the interview committee to sense when a candidate hasn’t done their research. Network – Have you utilized your network of contacts and references to learn about the facility, promote your candidacy, and help you get your foot in the door for an interview? While it is true in every industry, it is especially valid in golf - people interview and hire people who have developed a strong support group who are eager to promote them. Geography – Are you within the geographic region where the employer is willing to consider candidates for an interview and possible relocation? If not, what can you do to overcome this hurdle?
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Perception – In sales, there is a maxim that it is possible to overcome any buyer’s objection except the unspoken objection. As you prepare, it is wise to consider how the employer may view you and your candidacy. Does your resume and work experience create the right impression of you in the eyes of the employer, based on what they are seeking in candidates? Are you an experienced Head Professional or an up and coming Assistant? Are you perceived as a teacher, player, business oriented, strong manager, innovative promoter, etc.? Do you have a private club background, or will you be viewed as a public course professional? If the employer’s opinion of you doesn’t fit their perceived model, how can you meet that objection and change their mind? Cultural Fit – Do you fit the culture and environment of the facility, owner/GM/board, community, region, clientele, etc? If not, is this the right job for you? Education – Does your level of education match the employer’s requirements or preferences? If not, can you make up for this through your experience and a history of continuing professional education? It is more critical than ever that PGA Professionals truly are “the experts in the game and business of golf.” In addition to the above factors, most employers are also looking for experience in the following areas, based on their needs and priorities, along with evidence of quantifiable accomplishments or a proven track record: Operations / Business Management –Supervising daily operations, coordinating activities and events, managing the merchandise concession, handling business functions is more important than ever at all facility types. Customer Service – While technical skills are important, customer service and interpersonal relationships are absolutely fundamental to a Professional’s success. Staff Management – Increasingly, PGA managers are evaluated on their ability to recruit, hire, train, manage, develop, motivate, evaluate and mentor those they supervise. Finance – Developing and managing budgets, maximizing revenues, controlling costs, understanding basic accounting principles, providing financial and operational reports and recommending real time adjustments are another essential skill set. Technology – Virtually every facility values the ability to use golf operations and POS applications, Word, Excel, e-mail, database and contact management, website development and social networking sites. It is important to stay up to date. Marketing / Player Development – At almost all facility types, developing and implementing programs and activities to increase rounds, participation, memberships, customer base and create new players is necessary. Teaching / Playing – Fortunately, providing instruction programs to all skill levels, coordinating junior golf programs, playing golf with members/customers, playing competitively and Pro-Am participation is still viewed as an asset only the PGA Member provides. Don’t allow your teaching and playing ability to deteriorate and become a negative to your career as well as your enjoyment of it. Finally, think of the job search as a golf tournament. Only in this tournament there is only 1st place. Make sure that you have done everything possible to set yourself up for success including conferring with your PGA Employment Consultant. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss your own job search strategy or for assistance with any PGA employment services.
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Content & Design: Ethan Brady Thank You to the Following Contributors Brian Dix, PGA, APA President Donald Sweeting, PGA Employment Consultant A.J. Nelson, PGA SwingEssentials.com Jericho Trianna, PGA & Lansdowne Resort
Cover Photo: Dominion Valley Golf Club, Ethan Brady
Facebook.com/MAPGA Twitter.com @MAPGA_ If you are interested in submitting content to The Professional or Next On The Tee, contact Ethan Brady - ebrady@pgahq.com
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2016 MAPGA Teaching Summit
Nov.14-15, 2016 Bull Run Golf Club Registration is now open for this year’s MAPGA Teaching Summit presented by Mizuno Golf. Get ready for an interactive teaching and learning experience on the excellent practice facilities at Bull Run! It’s an event you don’t want to miss as we will be covering a lot of great subject matter over the course of two days. David Orr, Carolina Section PGA Member (Presenting Monday) – A renowned putting expert who has worked with players like Justin Rose & Hunter Mahan. Andrew Rice (Presenting Tuesday)- TrackMan University Partner & Revolution Golf Instructor who specializes in wedge play and full swing instruction. Lorin Anderson (Presenting Monday) -President and Founder of the Proponent Group who will be answering your teaching business questions. Leighann Albaugh, PGA (Presenting Monday) from Magnolia Green Golf Club Joe Plecker, PGA (Presenting Tuesday) from Elkridge Club. Bill Price, Mizuno’s Director of Club Fitting – “The Art and Science of Club Fitting/Shaft Technologies”
Register Here