The Middle Atlantic Professional
Newsletter Date: July 2014
The e-newsletter of the Middle Atlantic PGA Inside this issue: The Golf Season Is In Full Swing President’s Perspective: Take Time for Player Development Section Direction: Allied Golf Associations Working Together
With Professional events, junior events, Drive Chip & Putt, and other fun golf clinics… the golf season for MAPGA facilities is in full swing. We here at the MAPGA Section Office hope everyone has had a very active season so far, and continued success into the fall!
Eyes on Employment: Mentoring/ Motiviating Player Development Discussion: Let Them Know A Word from Our Allies Chapter Chat
Important Dates:
President’s Perspective: Continue Growing the Game
July 28-29
work clinic series for a local business or an after school junior golf class. Since the spring, the Get Golf Ready clinics at River Bend have produced a 10% increase in ladies golf rounds over last year. These programs work, so keep running them.
Assistant Championship August 7-10 PGA Championship August 11-13 MAPGA Professional Championship August 19 APA Stroke Play Event August 25-26 Sr. Championship, Quarter Century Championship, & Sr. Professional Championship September 2 North Chap Fall Mtg & Pro-Asst September 8 Cent Chap Fall Mtg & Pro-Asst South Chap Fall Mtg & Pro-Pro
Dear Members and Apprentices, I know we are all busy as the golf season is in full swing and I hope all of you find your facilities very active with golfers taking advantage of all your programs. This is the perfect time for you to start preparing for the fall. Please reach out in your local community and help grow this game. It’s as easy as an after
On a national level, the PGA Professional National Championship was held last month in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was exciting to see all our MAPGA professionals playing so well. Leading the way for low MAPGA professional was by The MAPGA tournament program Daniel Kinn, PGA. Way to go Dan! and Junior Tour are deep into The PGA of America has their seasons. I challenge each of announced the creation of the you to play in at least one KPMG Women’s PGA chapter, section, or local Pro-Am. Championship. This events’ Please encourage your juniors to inaugural tournament will take participate in the second half of place at Westchester Country the junior tournament schedule. Club in Rye, New York starting These entire tournaments could 2015. not be possible without our Drive Chip and Putt is in full sponsors. Please don’t forget to swing across the country. thank our Sponsors throughout the year for all their generosity to (Cont. on page 2…) sponsor events and programs in our section.
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The Middle Atlantic Professional
President’s Perspective cont.
Daniel Kinn, PGA
MAPGA Board of Directors OFFICERS President John Madden, PGA River Bend Golf & CC Vice President Matthew Schulze, PGA LPGA Kingsmill Championship
The MAPGA has 15 local qualifying sites; two sub regional’s sites and one regional final. For those who make it to the regional finals, the top finisher in each age/gender division will win a trip to the finals at next year’s Masters. Keep playing, participating and growing this game,
John Madden, PGA President of the MAPGA
Secretary J.P. Lunn, PGA Sabre Golf Honorary President John Malinowski, PGA Ocean Pines Golf & CC DIRECTORS Mark Beran, PGA Brice Busse, PGA Butch Butler, PGA Peter Gardner, PGA Lynne Hunter, PGA John Lyberger, PGA Jeff Maynor, PGA Sean Taylor, PGA Mike Thomas, PGA Josh Tremblay, PGA Andy Weissinger, PGA
Inaugural International Crown at Caves Valley The International Crown is a first-of-its-kind, biennial, global match play competition featuring teams from eight countries battling for the right to be "Crowned" the world's best golf nation. Each of the countries will be represented by four players. The inaugural tournament will debut July 22-27, 2014 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland. Card holding PGA Members and Apprentices (no spouse or family) receive complimentary access into the tournament. CLICK HERE for more on the event.
July 2014
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Section Direction: Allied Golf Associations Working Together Last
month, I attended the PGA Professional National Championship for the first time. The event was played at Grand Dunes GC (and the Members Club at The Dunes Resort) and was a fine showcase for PGA Professionals. My biggest take home from that event was how invested the Golf Channel was in making the event a success. I witnessed planning meetings with the PGA officers and tournament staff regarding the awards ceremony, placing of marketing pieces, and the many factors related to who and how many professionals make the cut. While many of our 15 MAPGA professionals played well, ultimately none of them made the top 20 to advance to the PGA Championship. I am writing this the week of the two State Opens: Maryland Open (July 14-16) and Delta Dental State Open of Virginia (July 17-19). These two events haven’t been in the same week for quite some time, so I know it will be a busy week for some of ou r members (and administrators, too!). These events are great examples of the allied golf associations working together on the local level. We assist the MSGA with
their event, and we co-own the SOVA with the VSGA. On a National level, this is seen again with events like Drive, Chip and Putt (DCP). Augusta National provides the venue and much of the funding of the event, the USGA handles administrative duties for the website and registration, and the PGA Sections (with the help of its host professionals) run the many qualifiers. I would like to publicly recognize and thank the many volunteers, whether MAPGA or from the allied associations, who help us at these events. We love doing these events, but they are very staff intensive so the volunteers help a great deal.
group advance to National next April.
Augusta
We have 153 members registered for the MAPGA Professional Championship at the Country Club of Virginia on August 11-13. The James River and Tuckahoe Creek Courses are outstanding, and will no doubt prove to be an excellent test for our players. Based on our numbers, 153 players earned us 11 spots into the 2015 PNC (plus exempt past champions DeFrancesco, Hutsell and Sullivan). With the added money and PGA Tour sponsorship, our very early estimate is a purse of $62,000.
SHOUT OUTS Congratulations to Ricky Touma, PGA of Burning Tree Club. Ricky qualified for the US Senior Open in his first try. He won a playoff at the Homestead to make it in, and then played well (78-76) despite missing the cut at Oak Tree GC in Edmond, OK.
WHAT’S NEXT? DCP qualifying moves to the subregional stage with the top three children from each age group of the local qualifiers advancing to either University of Maryland (August 7) or Belle Haven CC (August 19). The top two from each age group at those qualifiers, plus other subregionals in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, will advance to the Regional (one of 10) at River Bend CC on September 6. At River Bend, the top boy and girl from each age
Our second Section National Car Rental (NCR) Pro-Am Series event, a Pro-Scratch format, with $7500 added from NCR, and $5000 added from new local sponsor, McCrea Heating and Air Conditioning, is scheduled for September 29 at Dominion Valley CC in Haymarket. Please make plans now to attend! NCR will determine success by the number of people registered into its loyalty program, the Emerald Club. To take advantage of the many benefits offered as well as helping our overall sponsorship efforts, please register for the Emerald Club now, even if you aren’t playing in the event. Very respectfully, Jon Guhl Executive Director
MAPGA Staff (540) 720-7420 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jon Guhl, ext. 125 DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Stacey Smith, ext. 121 TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR Jeremy Greiner, PGA, ext. 124 PLAYER DEVELOPMENT Stephanie Jennings, PGA ext 116 JUNIOR GOLF DIRECTOR Bob Heintz, ext. 128 MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR Kelly Lawson, ext. 126 COMMUNICATIONS Eric Southard, ext 115
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The Middle Atlantic Professional
Eyes on Employment: Mentoring/Motivating Are
you a mentor? Are you motivating your team to be the best? The unique mentoring relationship between PGA Members, their Assistants, Apprentices and staff has always been one of the cornerstones of our business. One of the traditional roles of a Head Professional has been to train and develop their Apprentices and to help them achieve their career goals.
Don Sweeting is an Employment Consultant for the PGA of America. He can be contacted at dsweeting@pgahq.com (704) 440-8025
EMPLOYMENT CHANGES
Simplify your life and submit your employment changes electronically through the PGA's ONLINE CHANGE FORM in PGALinks. Electronic submission is fast and helps you avoid any applicable fines by reporting changes within ten days of your new status.
In addition to helping your team, effective mentoring has many benefits for you as well: -It helps you build a strong team and promotes loyalty and longevity among your staff -An apprentice who is properly trained and mentored is more productive and motivated -Professionals with reputations for effective apprenticeship programs can attract better employees -Good mentors develop a reputation in the industry as a source for qualified personnel -A proven record of hiring and training quality staff enhances the value you provide to your employer Mentoring can take on several meanings – teacher, coach, counselor, cheerleader, drill sergeant, disciplinarian, promoter, role model, and more. You can have a profound impact (either positive or negative) on shaping the future of your Apprentice – here are some ways you can be a good mentor: USE A CONSISTENT - FUTURE THINKING APPROACH It’s much easier being a mentor to someone who is eager to learn, possesses good work habits and interpersonal skills, and is dedicated to a successful career as a PGA Professional. Use your business planning from the off season to perform a motivating check-up. Take the staff away from the facility for a
celebration working dinner or breakfast to review the mid-year performance and discuss plans for the remainder of the season. Celebrate all of the success, mention a few areas for improvement and then be social. Ask for their support and share your commitment to excellence.
DEVELOP A SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP Employees can become discouraged if they don’t know what you want them to do, don’t receive training on how you want things done, and don’t get feedback on how they are doing. Give your Assistants, Apprentices and staff clearly defined responsibilities and expectations, provide ongoing training and guidance, and keep the lines of communication open with timely feedback and regular performance evaluations. PROMOTE PERSONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT Show your Assistants and Apprentices that you care by taking a sincere interest in their career development. Help build their skills and knowledge, allow them to be involved in managing the business, educate them on PGA programs available to them, and counsel them on their career goals and direction. When they are ready to begin the job search process, help them with
networking strategies, resume preparation, and interviewing skills, and be their #1 promoter. Utilize the new Job Finder ToolKit as thee resource. It is available on PGALinks. INTANGIBLES Lead by example and with a positive attitude. Create an enjoyable and stimulating work environment, empower your Assistants and Apprentices with meaningful responsibilities, encourage creativity and initiative, and challenge them to develop new ideas. Initiate staff activities outside the workplace and develop a schedule that allows them time for family, golf, leisure, etc. Perhaps in the fall season responsibilities may be reversed as an opportunity for growth. Always keep in mind that your Assistants and Apprentices are likely to adopt much of what they see in you as their role model – your values and beliefs, your professional image, how you manage your business, your attention to detail, how you interact with people and handle situations, and how you conduct yourself at work and away. It can be a challenge juggling the multiple relationships you may develop with your staff – employer/employee, teacher/ student, friend/friend, etc. However, seeing your Assistants and Apprentices climb the ladder of success as a PGA Professional makes it all worthwhile. Best wishes for 2014!
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The Middle Atlantic Professional
Player Development Discussion: Let Them Know If someone drove into your facility, walked into your building, and checked in at your counter, in which businesses would they think you are engaged? Would the customer know that you offer instruction? Would they know that you host outings? Or would they have the impression that your core business is selling shirts, golf balls and gloves?
Mike Aldrich, PGA is the Player Development Regional Manager for D.C., MD, & VA. He can be contacted at (703) 728-9033 maldrich@pgahq.com.
“Your number one source of marketing is your staff ” Mike Aldrich, PGA
REQUIRE discounting and expensive fees. Meanwhile, each of us has hundreds of people walking through our facilities every week who already do business with us and are unaware of all of the services that you offer.
Here are some easy steps that you can take to communicate your core business focus to your existing customers through onWhile you may think that it is site marketing obvious that you are also in the business of teaching all levels of golfers, take a walk through your facility with the eye of a consumer. How many times would they see a sign of your desire to teach the game? Do you have pictures of junior golfers having fun at last year’s camp? Why not display that certificate from TPI, US Kids, or your PGA Specialty Certification Signage in instruction? Display signs letting them know Golf Professionals will spend what services you offer. In a highthousands of dollars to market traffic area, create a marketing their services to people that they table with your programs and have never met. We buy photos of people enjoying them. expensive email programs to Make it easy for your golfers to capture leads and deliver slick sign up by providing schedules of messaging to our customers. We your events, take-away collateral pay for online advertising and and on-line registration tools beautiful websites describing listed on the forms. each hole. Many facilities event purchase email lists and pay-perclicks advertising, or use thirdparty marketing firms that
Take a look at this short video of a walk from the parking lot through the small clubhouse at East Potomac and through their driving range to see how many impressions of Get Golf Ready a customer would get in just over two minutes. They also display upcoming events, playing opportunities, and nextstep instructional opportunities. Not every facility can or should go to this level of signage in the clubhouse, but don’t overlook the importance of visually promoting your key businesses. If you are at a private club, find a space in your golf shop to add a communication area where members can find information about tournaments, instruction and other upcoming events. (cont. on page 7)
July 2014
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Player Development (Cont’d) Employee Activation Your number one source of marketing is your staff, especially shop assistants, instructors and bag room attendants. Each day, give each type of staff member an assignment to mention an upcoming event to your golfers. To avoid annoying repetition, assign each a unique message. For example, on Tuesday, you could assign your staff. Shop message (Tournament) – “Mr. Madden, have you thought about signing up for the One-Day Member-Guest on August 15? You and each of your guests will receive a logoed duffel bag.” Instructors (Youth Development) – “Mr. Shulze, next week we are starting another PGA Sports Academy half and full day camp? Can I provide more information about the curriculum?” Outside Operations (Demo Day) – “Mr. Lunn, have you tried the new X-Moondust Driver? On Saturday’s Demo Day, our Pros and the staff from Moondust will have a bunch of them on the range and they can fit you for one.”
Surveys Traditionally, surveys have been viewed as a way to discover what your customers think of your products and services. In today’s interactive culture, surveys are also a way to interact and connect with your customers. When sending your survey, be sure to ask for suggestions on activities and products that you are not currently offering. An example might be to ask for ideas for family-friendly tournament formats. Be sure to thank your golfers and let them know that where practical, you will implement their ideas. While we all want and need new customers to thrive, start your marketing efforts with your existing clients. They already trust and like you enough to give you some of their business; let them know what they are missing and ask them to make you their one-stop shop. If you would like to implement any of the above ideas at your club and would like additional information on driving rounds and revenue to your facility, contact Player Development Manager Mike Aldrich at 703-728-9033 or maldrich@pgahq.com
Register your facility today in PGALinks: Tee It Forward, Get Golf Ready, PGA Sports Academy
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The Middle Atlantic Professional
Central Chapter Update by President Josh Tremblay, PGA The
Upcoming Chapter Events... Northern Chapter Assistant Championship– July 28 Fall Meeting & Pro Assist– September 2
Central Chapter Assistant Championship– July 29 Fall Meeting & Pro-Assist– September 8
Southern Chapter Assistant Championship– July 29 Fall Meeting & Pro-Pro– September 8
season is flying by! We had a great Central Chapter Championship at the Piedmont Club on May 27th. Congratulations are in order for Billy Hoffman and Bob Bilbo won the Regular and Senior Division, respectively. Thanks to Page & Tuttle for sponsoring the event and to Scott Purpura and John Montgomery for hosting. On June 30th, we traveled to the Country Club of Fairfax for the Central Chapter Pro-Junior. Matt Gallagher and his staff put on a great event and the pros and juniors really enjoyed the day! Congratulations to the winning team of Geoff Montross, Isabel Hansen, Curtis Holland and George Duangmanee. Two more tournaments are on the schedule this season and they are the Central Chapter Assistant Championship at Cattail Creek on July 29th and the Central Chapter Fall Meeting and Pro-Assistant at Army/Navy Arlington on September 8th. Don't miss out on these wonderful chances to test your games, in addition to the Section Events. The Central Chapter would like to make it back-to-back-to-back Chapter Challenges this November 10th & 11th at the River Course at Kingsmill. Be sure to make the most of your playing opportunities so we can have a strong team! Lastly, it's not too late to join in on the fundraising campaign known as PGA Golf Day. Many of you can't solicit through your clubs but in today's world with Facebook and Twitter you can still surely put out a message through one of these mediums to your friends, family and members who will gladly support your cause. I'll be playing 100 holes for the third year in a row to raise money for the MAPGA Scholarship Foundation and City Dogs Rescue. Please consider joining me or if not, donate an amount equal to one lesson towards the efforts of one of your fellow MAPGA Professionals. Every little bit helps!
Visit the MAPGA Tournament Schedule on MAPGA.com for more on Section & Chapter Events
PGA’s Program Manager supported by Active Networks is your one-stop marketing source for successful player development programs. SIGN UP TODAY!!
July 2014
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Sign up for the Hole-in-One Pool Southern Chapter : Ashley Plantation Installs 15” Holes from TaylorMade Golf
Peter Gardner, PGA and the staff at Ashley Plantation Golf Club in Daleville, VA recently installed 15” hole kits on their Orchard 9 as part of TaylorMade Golf initiative to help grow the game. The ultimate goal is to reinvigorate interest in the game and TaylorMade Golf believes the 15-inch cup is one way to do so. From TaylorMade’s initial results, the average round was reduced by 45 minutes and the average score was reduced by 10 strokes. TaylorMade is also using two of its star players, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose to help promote this new idea. Ashley Plantation is one of 100 facilities in the United States to receive the 15" hole kits from Taylor Made.
Northern Chapter: Joe Plecker, PGA Brings Golf to Living Classrooms Taking advantage of the MAPGA’s player development equipment, Joe Plecker, PGA Director of Instruction at Elkridge Club, set up a near-golf experience for over 120 children at a park in Baltimore to help expand the learning environment for the Living Classrooms Foundation. This foundation has been a part of the Baltimore community since 1985 and has a mission to inspire young people to achieve their potential through hands-on education and job training. Their “learning by doing” method has opened doors for children and young adults who are struggling to succeed against terrible odds. Joe’s golf experience incorporated the inflatable dinosaur GolfZilla (pictured) as well as SNAG equipment . All MAPGA Members can borrow GolfZilla, SNAG equipment, as well as other fun inflatables, just give the Section Office a call at 540-720-7420 to schedule a date and time.
Upcoming Educational Opportunities Nov. 17-18—Nike Golf Teaching Summit (Congressional CC)
CENTRAL
FlightScope & UrCart
Click HERE for more information
NORTHERN
SOUTHERN
MISSION: The mission of the Middle Atlantic PGA is to promote growth in the game of golf, to provide ongoing education and professional development for our members, and to actively improve employment opportunities for PGA Professionals across the region.
VISION:
1 PGA Dr. Stafford, VA 22554 Phone: (540) 720-7420 Fax: (540) 720-7076 E-mail: midatl@pgahq.com
The Middle Atlantic PGA‌ a member-driven association providing leadership across the golf industry.
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