September 1, 2023

President's Report

September is here!

I hope your season has been prosperous, and your fall is amazing. This time of year is my favorite. Football and golf are going at the same time, crisp mornings and sunny afternoons, and the golf courses are in amazing shape with way less pressure. Hopefully, we have a long and enjoyable fall.

As the golf season slows, the Section governance picks up. There are many topics to cover with the upcoming Fall Meeting, Section Championship, Hudson Cup, Mentoring Conference, and Winter Planning Session in the last four months of the year. It will be a busy season for our Section leadership and staff. I look forward to robust conversations around our tournament program, our Chapter operations, our Section’s Foundation, and governance. This is when we make our plans to improve for the coming year. Thank you in advance to the leadership in our five Chapters and the Section for the time you donate to serve our 1,200 members and grow the game.

Hopefully, by now you have seen the flyer for the upcoming PNW PGA Mentoring Conference to be held November 1st & 2nd at Royal Oaks CC. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow PGA Professionalsas well as industry leaders. Carrie DeGree, Frank and his team have lined up amazing presenters from around the country. Thank you to TaylorMade and aboutGOLF for sponsoring this event. Please sign up for this awesome opportunity.

It is an amazing opportunity to write my President’s article this week. It is perfect timing for me to talk about mentoring. Like many of you, I became a PGA Professional because of the game’s unique way of creating relationships. Relationships are the crux of why I made this my profession. At every facility I have worked at, I have made lifelong friends, business acquaintances, and the occasional abrasive relationship through conflict. Each of these relationships has shaped my career, and even my life. 

Hopefully, I have learned from my mistakes and been strengthened by the events shared with my relationships. Several of my relationships have shaped my life more than the rest, the mentorship relationships. These are the individuals that I have looked to for guidance, or I have modeled my behavior like to achieve my success: my father, my stepfather, a teacher or two, my pastor, certain friends, and, of course, my fellow PGA Professionals.

I can look back at my 35 years in this industry, back to when it all started by picking golf balls and cleaning toilets and golf carts at Larchmont GC. I even know the exact experience when I decided I wanted to be a golf professional. When Bob Schuyler took me for a ride in his single-engine plane over the Bitterroot Mountain range on a slow September day, that was the start. I also remember the year that I realized just how powerful the game is for developing relationships. It was the year I went to work for Roger Wallace at Polson Country Club. 

Since then, I have had many mentors in different areas of my career. One of which was a group of leaders in the PNW PGA when I was 31 and I served on the Section board for the first time. The likes of Mr. Blakely, Mr. Doxie, Mr. Huffer, and Mr. Hill helped shape my professional career. I also have had personal mentors along the way that have helped me through difficult times. The greatest mentors are the ones that I think of at a pivotal time and ask myself what they would do. It is humbling if you really think about it. Mentors give you strength, it is lifelong, and it has no price. So, thank you to the mentors in my life.

While I have the pen, and speaking of Mr. Wallace, he retires this month! Roger’s retirement party is September 3rd at Polson Bay Golf Course. After 37 long years at PCC, starting back when golf carts only had three wheels, Roger is throwing in the towel. (I had to pause and reflect for a moment after typing that.) I remember many years of playing the old nine with my grandma and grandpa. I remember Roger jumping into action when my grandfather hit a lady in the head with a golf ball a fairway over. I remember the Polson HS Invitationals, where Roger would review the rules and threaten our lives if we cheated. I also remember the first time I played with Roger, the first lesson on merchandising, and the criticism as I spent too much time making the scoreboard for the Lake City Open but revolutionized the scoreboard in the process. I blew his mind! Roger started mentoring me then and still does today. Like many others, he has been there along the way as a sounding board and as a confidant. I would not be the professional I am today without him.

Through the years, like many of you, I have seen Roger Wallace on various stages and many venues in a coat and tie, on national television, and in action leading the PGA of America at every level, or in golf attire interacting with peers, customers, friends, and top professionals in the country, doing his thing, soft-spoken, calculated, poised, and professional. I have also seen him in a t-shirt and hat, with his family and friends enjoying life. I have been learning and impressed all along the way. So, please, send a text to Roger, (406) 212-1263, or email Roger, [email protected], and raise a glass this weekend, even if you can’t make it to his party. Thank you, Roger! Thanks for being a friend and a mentor to me, and so many others. You are loved and appreciated. Congratulations on an exceptional career and your retirement. I hope you go to warm places in the cold MT winters, spend time on the beach with Carolyn, spend time on the course with Robbie and friends, and spend a ton of time with Erin and your grandchildren. We wish you the very best. Cheers!

I hope to see many of you at the Section Championship, Pro-Pro, and Fall Meeting later this month!

Have a great September,

Chris M. Nowlen,PGA
[email protected]

Snyder Ties Record to Win Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open

by Grant Tribolet, Tournament Intern

The annual Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational was held at Meridian Valley Country Club on August 21-23, 2023. The tournament was a great success, with 168 PGA professionals and top amateurs from the Pacific Northwest competing for the title. PGA Professional Blake Snyder of PNW Golf Academy emerged victorious, tying the tournament record for the Washington Open and claiming his first Pacific Northwest PGA victory.

Play commenced on Monday, August 21st, with players hitting the ground running. Reigning champion PGA Professional Colin Inglis of Shadow Hills Country Club picked up right where he left off and fired a first-round -7 65 to take an early two-shot lead after round one. With a definitive outcome in round one, round two generated a more exciting story. Inglis continued his strong play but would soon be joined atop the leaderboard by PGA Professional Daniel Campbell of Bellingham Country Club and PGA Professional Blake Snyder of PNW Golf Academy with a two-day total of -11. All three players have had a strong season and would make for an exciting round-three finish!

The winner was ultimately decided on the back nine of the final round. Snyder and Campbell both opened with 33s on the front nine, and they were tied as they reached the back nine. However, Snyder pulled away on the back nine, and he secured the victory with a two-stroke lead on the 18th green.

Family Affair in the Pacific Northwest PGA

by Tom Sovay, PGA

I grew up in a fairly large family, the youngest of six children. No one in my family golfed, but I played every sport you can imagine that involved a ball, including handball. Golf was my passion, but I didn't have the means or a course close enough to start my golf journey. I had to wait until I got a job and a car.

This isn't a story about me, but about the many families that have made our game better and the legacy they carry on. When I first got into the business as an assistant working at a municipal golf course (Jackson Park in Seattle), I knew some of the legends right away. John Hoetmer and his son Ron. Bob Tindall and his son Bill (in my opinion, the greatest golf pro I've ever met).

The family element in the golf business is extremely welcoming. I experienced this firsthand when I attended my first National Club Pro Championship in La Quinta, California. I was young and naive, and I didn't know anyone there. But then Steve Bowen came up to me and asked, "Where are you staying?" I told him I didn't know, and he said, "You're staying with me."

Steve is from a golfing family. His brother John is a PGA member, and his son Blake worked for Steve as a pro for a while. He adopted me into his golfing family that day, and I'm so grateful for his kindness and generosity.

Holk's Highlights: Steve Bowen and Scott Leritz

This month we feature our 75th Hudson Cup captains, Steve Bowen and Scott Leritz.
 

Steve Bowen, PGA played in the Hudson Cup matches in 1998, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2002 and 2007. In 2007, he also served at the Professional Team Captain! Bowen played in the Senior Hudson Cup matches in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017. He will captain the 75th Professional Hudson Cup Team.

Hometown:  Hermiston, OR

PGA member since: 1986

What are your favorite Hudson Cup memories? 

I have so many great memories playing in so many different Hudson Cups, but two really stand out. The first one would have to be when my brother John and I were both on the team in 1993. The second was when I was captain in 2007 and had to lace up my shoes and play two matches due to one team member having a family emergency. It felt great to be able to help out the team!

Scott Leritz, PGA played in the Hudson Cup matches in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2008, as well as the Senior Hudson Cup matches in 2020 and 2022. He will captain the 75th Senior Professional Hudson Cup Team.

Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA

PGA member since: 1999

How did you get into golf as a profession and who were your mentors? I started my professional career at Trysting Tree Golf Club as the next step after graduating from Oregon State University. My main mentor in golf was a PGA Professional named Arne Dokka.

What are your favorite Hudson Cup memories? Playing a match against Joel Dahmen in the 2008 matches at Aldarra.

What are you most looking forward to with captaining the 2023 Senior Professional Hudson Cup Team at Royal Oaks? Being a mentor to the Senior Professionals and hosting at a club I’ve been associated with as the Head Professional for 15 years.

Leveraging a PGA Professional’s “Three Pillars” for Success (Part 2: Recruitment)

Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional, CEIP - PGA Career Consultant
[email protected]

In the last article, I shared the resonating comment that my mentor, Gus Jones, PGA often said to me, “…these people join this club first, because of the access, the course conditioning and possibly because of the recognition…but THEY STAY BECAUSE OF US.”

Then, I unpacked the meaning of THEY STAY BECAUSE OF US as a value in driving loyal golfer/members through intentional engagement practices including the three pillars of activation, retention and recruitment. I defined “They stay” as a simplified, shorter rephrasing of “they are retained as customers, as clients or as members because of us.” I also shared what the factual value of these golfers staying is. If you missed the previous article and these key points, please read it here.

RECRUITMENT IS VALUABLE NOW, BUT IT IS LIABLE TO BE CRITICAL AGAIN SOON

I hate to be a harbinger of cloudy skies, but I think we can all see the current and projected challenges coming with the US economy and thus the golf economy. This includes rising inflation, especially in cost of living spending, for our customers and similar. As discretionary dollars start to tighten up, retention activities designed to keep our current loyal golfer/members engaged will become even more important. Likewise, recruiting new golfers/clients activities, or what we used to call “growing the game,” will likely become critical again (like it was between 2006-2016 or so).

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

Upcoming Education Opportunities

September 8 @ Online, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT –  Stay Involved Education: The Benefits of Hosting a Junior Tournament at your Facility, presented by Sean Lanyi, PGA

September 13 @ Online, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT – Stay Involved Education: Creating a Sustainable Long-Term Internship and Mentoring Program, presented by Cole Mize, Luke Nickodemus and Michael Toole

October 22-23 @ Pearl Street Warehouse in Washington, DC. – Symposium on Municipal Golf, presented by National Links Trust