Sovay Wins Senior Players' Championship; Rosauers, Oregon Open, Assistant Championship and PNW Junior PGA Championship entries available; PROfile: Jim Colliflower

President's Report

Greg Manley, PGA

Honoring our Exceptional Professionals

On April 28^th the bi-annual Hall of Fame Ceremony, a combined effort between the PNWPGA and the PNGA, was held at Fircrest Golf Club. This was the fourth joint Hall of Fame ceremony held between the two local governing bodies of golf. This evening celebrated five individuals who have distinguished themselves through their playing accomplishments and contributions to the game in the Northwest. The two PNWPGA inductees have served us all with great integrity, always putting the badge and the PGA Professional before their careers. They are Roger Wallace and Les Blakely, both who have been involved in their association for many years.

Roger and Les have inspired me throughout my career. They are the models of who we are and what we do. I encourage all of your to read the bios of these two outstanding professionals. Be inspired and find ways that you, too, can give back to this great game and our association. I’ve said it for a very long time and I’ll say it again, no matter how much you give back you will receive even more in return.

Congratulations to Roger and Les and thank you for making the PGA better for my fellow Professionals and myself.

Sincerely,

Greg Manley, PGA

President, PNWPGA

CEO's Report

Jeff Ellison, PGA

Friday night, April 28, we inducted Les Blakley and Roger Wallace into the Pacific Northwest Section Hall of Fame. The joint ceremony with the Pacific Northwest Golf Association also saw the induction of Mike Davis (yes our Mike Davis), Jackie Little and the late Ruth Jessen into the PNGA Hall of Fame. This was our fourth joint induction ceremony and it was a nice evening celebrating the very best in Northwest Golf. Congratulations to all.

Thank you all for supporting our effort to develop comprehensive data on professional compensation through the PGA Compensation Survey. Thanks to all of you, we hit the 76% mark in participation, second among all sections. Your efforts will help you and your fellow golf professionals in your quest to elevate your position. Please utilize our PGA Employment Consultant in the process.

We are in the middle of championship season here in the Section. With four events behind us, we now have entries out for the Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational, Oregon Open Invitational, and the 30^th Anniversary Rosauers Open Invitational. Meridian Valley will again host the Muckleshoot, Oregon returns to the Harbottle-designed Juniper Golf Club, the Rosauers is once again at Indian Canyon, and the Assistant Professional Championship will be held at Willamette Valley CC.

Entries will soon be out for our member championships – the PGA Professional Championship (PPC) and the Senior PPC. Look for e-mails from National on these important championships during the month of May. You may remember the universal deadline was replaced last year with a normal entry close date. For that reason, there will not be a late entry process for these three championships. Be sure you enter on time! One real benefit is no longer entering all these events the same month that your dues are due!

PGA Junior League is the single best National initiative in my 30-year PGA career. If you are not hosting a team, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity to build relationships with junior golfers, earn the respect of their parents and most importantly develop additional revenue for your facility and yourself. Visit with a Junior League champion in your chapter – Monte Koch, Dominic Marconi, Jason Aichele, Derek Siesser or Cameron Milton – they can help you get started. For the record, Cameron started out to host 4 teams this year in little ole’ Polson, Montana and ended up with 71 players! That’s Player Development, folks.

The Section will host 11 Drive Chip and Putt Local Qualifiers in 2017. This free program is for every kid of every ability. Parents love this program as it’s a 60-minute trip to the course. Think our local kids can’t make it to Augusta? Think again! Of the eight kids from our region in Augusta last month, five came through a Section Local Qualifier.

The grant committees are happy to announce they received a record number of requests for support this year. In all, we received requests for $53,000 in support of your Player Development initiatives. The requests were very creative and well presented. The committee worked hard to spread the money around and support the most professionals possible. In the end, we distributed $14,000 under the Yamaha Player Development Grant program and another $10,000 through the Pacific Northwest PGA Junior Golf Fund. Thanks to our friends at Yamaha and donors to the Junior Fund we were able to help grow the game! We look forward to great things from our recipients.

We continue to work with National on our PCI Compliance process. One result of this process is the cessation of receiving entries with credit card information written on them. Credit cards will only be taken through our online process or via a swipe terminal on site. We are finalizing a few things to make this process even better for you.

The PGA of America will be sending dues bills shortly. Please remember your dues are due and payable no later than June 30. If you have an email in the system, your bill will only come electronically. Don’t wait for a paper invoice, it’s not coming.

Your chapter staff is very busy right now going full-speed with your pro-ams. Help them out by utilizing the benefits of ForeTees to add, move or cancel your tee times and please take a few minutes to ensure the data you enter through Open Registration is complete and placed in the correct fields. While it may be inconvenient for you to collect accurate data on three amateurs, consider that your staff has 150 to worry about. Please help them out.

Let’s count on a little more sunshine in May as you play, teach and promote this great game.

Jeff Ellison, PGA

Pros on the Move

by Michelle Parish - Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes

Daniel L. McCleery (B-8) - from Central Oregon Indoor Golf to Glaze Meadow/Black Butte Ranch

Matthew A. Montecucco, PGA (A-8) - from Fort Steilacoom GC to Lake Spanaway GC

Andrew Reehl, PGA (A-8) - from Elk Ridge G C to Quail Valley GC

Zachary S. Robertson (B-8) - from Olympia C&GC to Capitol City GC

Andrew C. Shaub (B-8) - from Plateau Club to Sand Point CC
Jacob D. Wilson, PGA (A-1) - from Hamilton GC to Highlands GC

Bradley J. Young (B-8) - from OGA GC to Astoria G&CC

New Apprentices

Casey J. Brown (B-1) - Lewiston G&CC

Geoffrey J. Orwiler (B-8) - Bear Creek CC

Newly Elected Members

Kevin J. Anderson, PGA (A-1) - Apple Tree GC

Nicholas A.B. Pollock, PGA (A-8) - Seattle GC

Robert J. Stiles, PGA (A-8) - Battle Creek GC

Transfers OUT of the Section

Justin B. Mills, PGA - from Illahe Hills CC to Rocky Mountain

Transfers IN to the Section

Sean P. Lanyi, PGA (A-14) to Royal Oaks CC from S. California

Austin W. Westphal (B-8) to Avondale G&TC from S. California

Mark J. Atchison, PGA (A-14) to Riverside G&CC from Southwest

Douglas W. Bodey, PGA (A-8) to Pumpkin Ridge - Witch Hollow from Carolinas

Kathy Gildersleeve-Jensen, PGA (A-14) to Indian Canyon GC from Southwest

Colin M. McMahon, PGA (A-8) to The Creek at Qualchan from S. California

Jon A. Treglown, PGA (LM) to unaffiliated from S. Florida

Juhyun Yu (B-8) to Old Works GC from Alabama/NW Florida

Reinstated Members

Birk R. Nelson, PGA (A-20) - Jimmy Hack Golf, LLC

New Quarter Century

Michael D. Wynne, PGA

New Half Century

Don R. Shaw, PGA

43^rd Hawaii Pro-Am presented by State Farm – Jim Ostrander Agency: we return to the Mauna Lani on January 10-18, 2018.

Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am: we return to Las Vegas on March 11-15, 2018.

Both are great times with your members – join us! Look for more details coming soon.

Champion PGA Professional Tom Sovay and Host PGA Director of Golf John Thorsnes

Sovay Wins PNW Senior Players' Championship

By Molly Cooper, PGA
Director of Tournament & Member Programs

PGA Professional Tom Sovay of The GC at Redmond Ridge captured the PNW Senior Players’ Championship by four strokes after rounds of 68-67-135, 9-under par. PGA Professional Joe Carranza of Aldarra Golf Club finished in second place.

Winning the team Four-Ball competition was the team led by PGA Professional Chris Isaacson of Emerald Valley GC and amateur Charlie Rice of Bend G&CC. They fired rounds of 65-66-131 to win by one stroke over the team of PGA Professional Joe Carranza and amateur Tom Hale of Tacoma C&GC.

Congratulations to PGA Professional Dana Londin from La Grande CC, who aced #11. He knocked a 9-iron in from 155 yards.

Sovay seemed very excited after his win, saying, “This win is extremely humbling to me, I let my life and game slip so far that six months ago I withdrew from the section championship because I was in such disarray. The only time I thought about winning was the last three holes. It showed I made my only bogey then.”

Asked what the best part of his game was, Sovay responded, “My putting was outstanding, but mainly I have a clarity and an appreciation for everything around me. I felt like Keanu Reeves in ‘The Matrix’, the bullets came at me so slowly I could catch them. I notice the scenery I had never seen before, I admire the grace some people play with, I feel like my competitive fire is in the preparation now, and the play is just a blessing from God.”

The Senior Players’ Championship welcomed back PGA Professional Ken Allen and Club Glove to the event this year as a sponsor. Ken was on site at Wine Valley to meet each participant and hand out a tee gift. Andy Hollister of Page & Tuttle also joined us as a sponsor this year and gave each participant a pullover.

The Senior Players’ Championship is a two-man team competition of one Pacific Northwest PGA Professional and one amateur playing both an individual and a four-ball competition.

Wine Valley Golf Club has been rated "One of The Top Three Golf Courses to Play in Washington" by Golfweek. It has been awarded many other honors since opening in 2009. This stunning Dan Hixson design unfolds on a grand scale, playing over rolling hills in the shadow of the Blue Mountains. Wine Valley GC has broad fairways, dramatic bunkers, and bold, undulating putting surfaces.

The Northwest Open Invitational will once again return to Wine Valley GC this August 21-23. Look for the entry forms in June.

Thanks to PGA Professional/owner John Thorsnes and owner Jim Pliska, we are confirmed to return to the Senior Players’ Championship again next year. Seniors, plan on playing next year! Both Senior Player of the Year Points and Senior Hudson Cup Points were earned for top finishers.

CLICK HERE to view the Senior Players’ Championship final results

Points Lists

Omega Senior Player of the Year Points

Sovay, Tom 150.00
Carranza, Joe 95.00
Isaacson, Chris 80.00

Senior Hudson Cup Points

Sovay, Tom 175.00
Carranza, Joe 120.00
Isaacson, Chris 105.00

Enter the 30th Anniversary Rosauers Open Invitational

SPOKANE, WA – Indian Canyon GC – 6,255 Yards, Par 71, $135,000 Purse

We are accepting entries for the 30th Rosauers Open Invitational at Indian Canyon GC on July 14-16. The entry deadline is Wednesday, June 28. We are excited to celebrate the 30th Rosauers Open Invitational and support the Vanessa Crisis Nursery!

pro online entry | pro entry form (PDF)

The Field & Sponsors

Defending Champion Amateur Derek Bayley of The Links GC is expected to try and defend his title this year against a very strong field of 168 PNW PGA Professionals and amateurs for the Rosauers Open Invitational. With one of the largest purses in the country and an $11,000 first-place check – plan on playing this July! The payout is deep, 34 PGA Professionals will make a $1,000 check or higher!

Umpqua Bank Pro-Am

Professionals, after you sign up for the Rosauers Open Invitational, please do not forget to also sign up for the Umpqua Bank Pro-Am on Wednesday-Thursday, July 12-13. You will be paired with a sponsor team and have the opportunity to play the course in tournament conditions before the championship, enjoy a hosted breakfast, lunch and dinner each day, as well as win money and have a chance to thank our sponsors personally.

These sponsors also raise important funds of $105,000-$135,000 annually for the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, the official charity of the Rosauers Open Invitational. Email Molly Cooper at [email protected] to let her know of your availability during the Umpqua Bank Pro-Am. Participation in the pro-am is important to keeping this championship great!

Kickoff Party at Arbor Crest Winery

It all starts with the kickoff party on the evening of Tuesday, July 11. As part of your entry, you and a guest are invited to the Arbor Crest Winery to enjoy wine tastings and delicious hors d’oeuvres. We and our sponsors would love to have you join us!

History of the Championship

Since 1988, The Rosauers Open Invitational has been a part of the Pacific Northwest Section history. This famed championship has been hosted at one of Washington’s most desired places to play, Indian Canyon GC in Spokane, WA. Open to the public, Indian Canyon has treated the Spokane community with one great golf tournament after another.

After posting the lowest 18 hole score in a PNW PGA major last year with an astonishing 59, Bayley now holds the 54-hole tournament record at the Rosauers Open Invitational with a three-day total of 189, 27-under par at MeadowWood GC. Can this new record get beaten this year at the 30th Rosauers Open Invitational?

Indian Canyon GC

Spokane’s highly touted Indian Canyon has enjoyed rave reviews throughout its history. Indian Canyon was built in 1935 for $200,000. H. Chandler Egan, a member of the PNGA Hall of Fame, crafted the Canyon’s layout over the well-treed hillside southwest of the Spokane River. This municipal track has been annually rated among Golf Digest’s “Best Public Courses”, “Best Affordable Courses”, Best Golf Courses You Can Play”, “Best in State”, and taken individually, some holes rank with the best holes found on any course – public or private – in the region.

Reminder – the Rosauers Open Invitational has Hudson Cup and Senior Hudson Cup points available as well as Player of the Year points!

CLICK HERE for the Rosauers Open Invitational poster. Please post it at your club or e-mail it to your members. We would like to interest some of your amateur members in participating in this event. Thank you!

Oregon Open Invitational Featuring the National Car Rental Pro-Am

Redmond, OR – Juniper Golf Club - 6,971 yards, Full field will be 48 teams of four

Team entries are available for the Oregon Open Invitational at Juniper GC on June 13-15. Host Professionals Travis Kane, PGA General Manager, and James Billings, PGA Director of Golf are excited to have us return! Entries close Wednesday, May 24.

online team entry | team entry (PDF)

Schedule of Play

Monday, June 12: Practice round
Tuesday, June 13: First round
Wednesday, June 14: Second Round; field cut to low 70 players and ties
Thursday, June 15: Final round

National Car Rental Bonus Pool

Returning for 2017 is the National Car Rental Pro-Am Championship. Thanks to a nice sponsorship, National Car Rental will continue sponsoring of the team competitions. They ask one thing – enroll all players in the Emerald Club, National Car Rental’s FREE tool to help you use a special PGA discounted rate and also ease the rental process by allowing you to bypass the rental counter. To be eligible for the team competitions, all players on the team must be Emerald Club members (current membership qualifies) and there is a place on the entry form to provide each player’s Emerald Club number.

Emerald Club signup – Pro
Emerald Club signup – Am

National Car Rental PNW Assistant PGA Professional Championship
Supported by Cleveland Golf, Srixon, XXIO, John Deere and Golf Advisor

Canby, OR – Willamette Valley CC – August 7, 2017

Assistants – plan on entering! Bosses, give your Assistants time off to play in their Championship!

You may now register for the 2017 National Car Rental PNW Assistant PGA Professional Championship through the PGA of America Membership services at 800-474-2776, or at www.pgatournaments.com. The entry deadline is Wednesday, July 26 at 11:59 PM. Please pay close attention to the entry deadline for this event. There is no longer a late entry option to this championship. The PGA of America recently changed to the entry process to a 5-year calculation which determined spots we are playing for and purse calculations.

You must be employed as an A-8 or as an Apprentice (including Apprentice Head Professional) as of July 26 to be eligible to play in the 2017 National Car Rental Section Assistant PGA Professional Championship. The top three qualifiers will advance to the 2017 National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course, November 9-12, 2017.

The PGA of America has adopted the condition of competition for Grooves and/or Punch Marks at the Section level of the Pacific Northwest PGA Assistant Championship. ALL PLAYERS MUST comply with this condition of competition.

History of the Championship:

This year’s Assistant Championship marks the 41st Anniversary as a National event but the PNW Section has been conducting the event since Fred Pelzer donated the trophy in 1965.

The National Championship tradition began in 1976 to recognize the role of the PGA Assistant Professional and how important he or she may be in the success of a golf facility as well as our entire Association. They represent more than 10,000 men and women assistant professionals and registered apprentices nationwide.

Willamette Valley CC

Willamette Valley Country Club proudly boasts one of the most highly respected 18-hole championship golf courses in the Pacific Northwest. With 156 acres of secluded farm land to work with, Shirley Stone designed the original layout of this course which has become a 7,200 yard masterpiece.

In 1994, Bill Robinson was hired to develop the second phase of Willamette Valley Country Club’s long range master plan and thirteen years later, Craig Schreiner accepted the challenge by becoming the third architect of record charged with further improving upon what has become known as the "hidden gem" of the Willamette Valley.

This course provides five different sets of tees allowing all levels of golfers an opportunity to challenge themselves. The sixteenth hole has become the signature hole of Willamette Valley Country Club. It is a short but difficult dog-leg left par 4 which requires an accurate approach shot over the pond to a large yet drastically undulating three tier green.

CLICK HERE to view a complete list of past champions.

Reminder – the Assistant Championship has Assistant Player of the Year points available as well as a chance to represent our Section at the National Car Rental PGA Assistant Championship!

PNW Junior PGA Championship

We are accepting entries for the 2017 Pacific Northwest Section Junior PGA Championship Qualifier at Canyon Lakes GC, Kennewick, WA on June 3-4, 2017. This is a wonderful opportunity for your junior golfers to become involved in competitive golf.

Boys online entry form | Boys PDF entry form

Girls online entry form | Girls PDF entry form

Championship Qualifier Information
Stroke play competition based on the lowest gross scores. The age divisions are: 12 & Under, 13-15, and 16-18.

*Any junior who wishes to qualify for the Junior PGA Championship must play 36 holes from the same tees as the 16-18 year old age division. If a junior is interested in trying to advance, they do have the option to play in the 16-18 age division.

The winning Boy and Girl Champion from each of the 41 PGA Sections will participate in the Junior PGA Championship. New this year the Boys Championship will be held at the Country Club of St. Albans, St. Albans, Missouri on July 31 – August 3, 2017.

The Girls Championship will be held at the Country Club of St. Albans, St. Albans, Missouri on July 18 – July 21, 2017.

Section Champions are identified based on the lowest gross score in the 16-18 age division.

Holk's Highlights: Jim Colliflower, PGA

Facility: Coeur d’ Alene GC

Hometown: Born in Colorado and raised in the small community of Ojai, CA.

PGA Member Since: 2014

Jim developed the passion for the game while working at the golf course in Ojai, CA and playing golf with his father.

“I played golf 24/7 until I went to college at Arizona State University,” he said, where he received a degree in psychology. After college, he entered the restaurant business. 20 years later, he decided to change careers and get back into golf. He landed a job with Ken Morton at Haggin Oaks GC in Sacramento, CA, where he worked and taught golf for 10 years. He then moved to Coeur d’Alene, ID, and is now in his 11^th season at Coeur d’ Alene GC.

At Coeur d’ Alene GC, Jim is known for being a great golf professional who is always willing to help.

Learn the full story

Compensation Isn't Everything

Carol Pence, PGA of America Employment Consultant

The key is in motivating your employees

With compensation and benefits tighter, as well at heavier workloads, what's to keep your best employees from looking for greener pastures? It is common knowledge that people leave managers, not facilities. So to you managers, are you effectively motivating your employees? Here are 7 keys to keeping your staff motivated.

A good key is to start with motivating yourself. To get perspective on this, take some time and write down the motivational factors that sustain you.
Read more tips...

Are You a Growth Trader or Value Investor?

Blake Parrish

“You don’t know what pressure is until you play for five bucks when you only have two bucks in your pocket” – LeeTrevino

Have you ever heard that the markets are a game? That the system is rigged? Don’t take a gamble with your hard-earned money? Why risk everything? Well, if you feel any of these emotions, I suggest considering value investing rather than trading.