October 3, 2022

President's Report

Fall has arrived!  I am always excited for this time of year.  The weather is awesome, and the colors as the leaves turn make for some breathtaking views in the Pacific Northwest.  I hope you all are getting some personal time on the course or downtime with family as this crazy season ends.  2022 has been a non-stop busy year posing many challenges at our facilities.

Let me begin my presidency by thanking Howie Pruitt for his service the past two years.  Howie has helped our Section navigate through very tumultuous times in his term as President.  He has done a wonderful job leading our Board, unifying our Chapters, and delivering on our promises.  Our Section is now very relevant at the National level, and we are poised to make positive impacts to the game and in service to our members because of Howie’s leadership. Thank you, Mr. Pruitt. 

To all those that made it to Tacoma, thank you for supporting the Pacific Northwest Section PGA Merchandise Show and participating in the fall meeting.  It was a pleasure to see those in attendance.  If you were not able to be there, you were missed, and you missed two great education opportunities.  I would like to thank Frank and his team for an excellent job with a challenging event.  Circumstances causing the event to be held in September put a great deal of pressure on our staff.  You are all amazing!  Thank you to the many vendors that participated in the show.  It was great to see you.  The business of golf is booming, and I know it was an awkward time to have a booth at a show.  It was nice to hear the show was a success in growing accounts and booking orders for you all.

I would like to thank our two candidates that are in the midst of a bid for Section Secretary.  Chas Holmes and John Grothe are volunteering for an eight-year commitment to leadership in our Section.  Voluntary leadership is a selfless and generous gift to each of us and our organization.  It comes with a commitment to hours of work for the good of our PGA members, our facilities, our golfing communities, and the betterment of this great game.  “Serve the Member and grow the game” is the mission of our Section and our Association.  Our staff looks to leadership to understand the needs of the Section Member and make decisions that drive our success.  These two gentlemen will do just that.  I wish them both the best of luck, knowing we are in great hands with either of them as the next Section Secretary.

As your new Section President, I am excited to work with Frank and his team to continue to prosper.  Under Frank’s leadership we have increased our sponsorships by $880,000!  We have increased purses in our majors, grown our business, and improved our Section operations.  Frank has driven the success down to our members through the support of our Chapters and our programs.  I will continue to move forward on this road to success with our Section leadership.  We will continue to develop our Section Foundation, provide innovative programming for our membership, and excel as partners with our National leadership. 

In closing, I want to implore you to get involved with your Chapter.  This is the business planning time of year for your leadership.  Each Chapter is planning events for next year, developing budgets, and setting strategic objectives to benefit our PGA Members—you.  Volunteer for a committee and help Player Development, Professional Development, Tournament Operations, or any other of the committees that push our success.  We are the best Section at doing so many things.  It is driven in large part by the success of our Chapters.

Thank you,
Chris Nowlen, PGA
[email protected]

PGA Teachers and Coaches, We Want to Feature YOU!

Do you teach lessons? Can you film a 2-3 minute video on your phone? We want to feature you and your golf tips! Contact [email protected] to be included in an upcoming email to our "Friends of the PNW PGA" email list.

Holk's Highlights: 2022 Senior PGA Professional Championship Qualifiers

The 2022 Senior PGA Professional Championship takes place October 13-16 at Twin Warriors & Santa Ana Golf Clubs in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM. Seven PGA Professionals from the Pacific Northwest will be representing our Section: Billy Bomar, Rob Clark, Jeff Gove, Brent Murray, Jim Pike, Bob Rannow and Tom Sovay. Good luck next week, gentlemen!

Player of the Year Points Lists

FULL POINTS LISTS
Rolex Player of the Year
1. Colin Inglis - 630
2. Derek Berg - 402.5
3. Jeff Coston - 390
Rolex Senior Player of the Year
1. Jeff Coston - 502.5
2. Billy Bomar - 405
3. Jeff Gove - 295
Assistant Player of the Year
1. Colin Inglis - 557.5
2. Shane Prante - 547.5
3. Craig Crandall - 437.5
Hudson Cup
1. Colin Inglis - 450
2. Jeff Coston - 440
3. Derek Berg - 372.5
Senior Hudson Cup
1. Jeff Coston - 877.5
2. Billy Bomar - 716.25
3. Rob Gibbons - 712.5

PGA JAM

by Chris Nowlen, PGA - PNW PGA President

Missoula Country Club and the Professional staff is piloting a new program under the direction of Chris Nowlen. PGA JAM stands for Junior Ambassador Member. Youths from MCC have joined the program to experience the business of golf and what the game has to offer off the course. The purpose of the program, which is gaining attention of PGA leadership in our Section and at the National PGA level, is to give youths a personal growth advantage through golf. PGA JAM guides them into leaders in their community by providing youths opportunities to develop junior golf events, fundraise for charities, participate in charitable programs, and receive mentoring from PGA Professionals and business leaders.

Chris, along with PGA Professionals Connor Sproull and David Owens, and golf course Superintendent Nick Marquesen, recently completed the first JAM event at Missoula CC. The event was a golf fundraiser run by the 15 youth JAM members. The kids performed all the tasks to put on a successful golf event, and did just that, raising nearly $3,000 for the club’s junior golf program. In the process, the Jammers selected the format, picked food (doughnuts & bacon), tee gifts, hole locations, and did all execution from registration to the shotgun start, to the scoring and presentation at the end of the event.

At the conclusion of the event, Connor Sproull, PGA and David Owens, PGA both said it was one of their favorite events they have ever executed. Nick Marquesen, GCSAA, whose 9-year-old son did the pre-tournament announcements, said it was his favorite event of his career. Parents raved as their children played as celebrities on each team and enjoyed the experience of providing golfers great fun.

Next up for MCC’s PGA JAM program is a Turkey Drive for the community in November. The kids will help donate turkeys to the community and provide 15 full meal boxes to needy families in their schools. In the spring, the Jammers will complete their third project by conducting their own simulator league.

Stay tuned for more on the new PGA JAM program. If you are interested in signing up as a host of a PGA JAM program, contact the Section office. The Section has grant funds available to start a pilot program in each of the five Chapters.

Bring Your Team to a Destination Pro-Am!

The PNW PGA has three amazing destination pro-am events you can enter today. How would you like to play golf in Mexico? What about an escape to the enchanting Southwest or the tropical island of Maui? Treat yourself and your members to an unforgettable experience. We hope to see your team at a destination event in 2022-23!

Contact our team at: [email protected] | 360-456-6496

Upcoming Events

2022 PGA Master Professional Leadership Summit

October 30 - 31, 2022
Scottsdale, AZ - Grayhawk Golf Club
More info

Upcoming "Stay Involved" Education Webinars

Oct 12 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT – Leveraging Sagacity to Drive Revenue Better (A Joint District 14 Education Webinar) – presented by Monte Koch

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Oct 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT – PGA Jr. League Value Tracking – presented by Branden Thompson

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Employment Opportunities

Monte Koch, PGA of America Employment Consultant

These are primarily “PGA Professional” only positions posted on the PGA Career Services Job Board: https://jobs.pga.org

PNWPGA JOB BOARD NOTICE

Pros on the Move

by Sara Smith, Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes
  • Bryce T. Poulin, PGA (A-14) - from Colwood Golf Center to Lost Tracks GC
Classification Changes
  • Stuart G. Blasius, PGA (Bandon Crossings GC) - from A-1 to A-14
  • James E. Wakeman, PGA (Bandon Crossings GC) - from LM to A-1

New Associates

  • Tyler J. Dube (B-1) - OGA Golf Course
  • Taylor N. Solem (B-8) - Leavenworth GC

Newly Elected Members

  • (none)

Transfers OUT of the Section

  • Craig Chittenden - from Ellensburg G&CC to Northern Texas
  • Alan W. Haley, PGA - from Big Fork, MT to South Florida 
  • Baylor B. Comstock, PGA - from Meridian Valley CC to Rocky Mountain

Transfers INTO the Section

  • Hunter G. Hidalgo, PGA (A-4) to Tetherow Golf Club from Northern Texas
  • Joshua A. Grenier, PGA (A-6) to The Links Golf Course from Georgia

Thank You for Supporting Our Sponsors

Gold Level Sponsors
FP-gold-sponsor-NCR FP-gold-sponsor-wildhorse FP-gold-sponsor-rosauers
Callaway Golf logo
Holcomb-In-One Sponsors
antigua logo
Silver Level Sponsors
FP-silver-sponsor-PACGolf FP-silver-sponsor-bushnell FP-silver-sponsor-clubcar
FP-silver-sponsor-yamaha
National Sponsors
FP-natl-sponsor-janiking
FP-natl-sponsor-KitchenAid FP-natl-sponsor-PGANatlResort FP-natl-sponsor-PGATour FP-natl-sponsor-pepsi
Partner-Level Sponsors
Radmor under armour logo
4ORE
Therabody
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