Our competitive season is about to shift into high gear and I encourage all of you to spend a little time with the 2019 Rules of Golf. I’ve been to a PGA / USGA Seminar, taught at our October seminar, will teach Monday at the Sweet 16 and have had two conference calls with our staff ‒ and I still need a lot of work to get ready. Please make sure you have the new book and Official Guide, spend a little time in it and visit both PGA.org and USGA.org to review the excellent information provided to help you prepare for your golf but also educate your membership. A lot has changed; please prepare for the season so we don’t have to explain the changes to you after you returned an incorrect score card.
Applications went out on February 12 for both the Yamaha Player Development Grants and the Junior Funds’ Youth Player Development Grants. A total of $24,000 is available to help support YOUR programs. Our thanks to Ben Foreman of Yamaha for his continued support. The Junior Fund grants are made possible by the support of the Winco Portland Open and to all of you who contributed to the 1% Club. Applications for both are due no later than March 30.
2019 Yamaha Player Development Grants
Continuing with the theme of what does the PGA do for me – you should take advantage of three programs – the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship, Perkspot and SupportLinc.
The PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship awards scholarships to the children and grandchildren of PGA Members. A few years ago, a change was made to spread the wealth. If you have not received an award in the past, apply again! With this application, children of Section members are also applying for the Bunny Mason Scholarship – two chances to win!
https://www.pga.org/articles/pga-financial-assistance-fund-scholarship-program
Perkspot is a unique program for PGA Members, Associates and your families to receive significant discounts on products and services you use every day. It’s free, all you need to do is register. The product mix is huge and the discounts change every day.
https://www.pga.org/articles/welcome-your-pga-discount-program
And lastly, the new Member Assistance Program utilizes a service called SupportLinc to offer you support for life’s challenges. Whether it’s expert advice on a wide range of topics or counselling for a variety of situations, SupportLinc is there to help.
https://www.pga.org/articles/member-assistance-program
Drive Chip and Putt registration opens on March 5. Be sure to share the news with your junior golfers – both expert and beginners. This is a great entry into a simple competition and the kids all have a good time. Send your parents to drivechipandputt.com to register for one of the 13 Local Qualifiers in the Section.
We could not offer the full array of programs we do here in the great Northwest without our sponsors. I’m happy to report a very busy week in Orlando and we’ll be announcing a few new sponsors in the coming weeks. Right now, I’m happy to report that TCM Bank is our new affinity credit card provider offering a no annual fee card for both personal and business uses. Open to all members, associates, family members and even amateurs. There is a nice rewards program and benefit package with each card. Carry a card with the PGA logo!
Also, new to the team is Lorente. Mark Felton and Scott Nelson will bring a nice gift package to each of our new members. Our old friend Kyle Freeman, now of Under Armour, is back to support the Hudson Cup Matches. Muckleshoot Casino, Rosauers and Wildhorse Resort & Casino maintain their high levels of support for our major events. Also continuing their support is Antigua, Imperial, PlayKleen and Certifresh of the Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am. At the Pro-Assistant, Bushnell, Camelbak, Hole-In-One USA, Cutter & Buck, Sterling Cut Glass, Strideline, ProTag and PTE Golf will lend their support. The Oregon Open will see Mike Worden, Ren Weaver and Ryan Chin continuing their support. GT Golf Supplies is back for the Northwest Open. Pacific Golf & Turf and Mizuno return to the PNW Pro-Am. Sunice is also back supporting our operations. We have 17 other sponsors with contracts in front of them to finalize. Thank you all who have sent thank you letters and emails. It really helps our efforts.
I’ll be in Coeur d’ Alene on Sunday for the Inland Empire Meeting and will make it to all four of the other meetings this spring. The officers and I are there to share what’s new at the Section level and how you can capitalize on your membership. Please never hesitate to seek us out and ask questions. I hope to see you soon,
Jeff Ellison, PGA
CEO, Pacific NW Section PGA