President's Report

Thank you to everyone who completed the PGA Compensation Survey.  This survey and the information you provided helps you and fellow PGA Professionals understand and enhance their compensation.  Hopefully with your efforts, our Section will once again rank at the top of the class.

Congratulations to the Arrowhead team of Bryce Fisher and John Cassidy for their win at the PNW Pro-Assistant Championship held at Seattle Golf Club. Their two-day total of 66-66 was 12 under par and good enough for the victory!  A big thank you goes to PGA Head Professional Doug Doxsie and the rest of his outstanding staff for hosting the Section.  Doug told me he was in charge of the weather over the tournament and I have to say I have never seen a better two days of weather for this tournament.  I think we all need this!

Your Section Board held its spring board meeting also at Seattle Golf Club and everything is in place to have another fantastic year across our big section.  Our mission statement is: “Serving the Members and Growing the Game”.  I promise you that we ask that question every time in the board room before we come to a conclusion. The board as a whole is unified in conducting the business of the Section on your behalf under the guidance of our mission statement.  Please open our Section App visit pnwpga.com to find all of the new information needed for the upcoming season. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the Section Office.

Next up on the tournament scene is the PNW Senior Players’ Championship held at Wine Valley on April 16th – 17th. Then the Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational benefiting Folds of Honor comes back to Meridian Valley GC on May 20th – 22nd. Director of Golf/General Manager Greg Manley, PGA will have the golf course in perfect condition and is excited to host everyone again this year.  May 1st is the deadline for signups. Remember, the goal in 2019 is to play more golf!

Coming back this year is the Pro-Am for the Northwest Open in August, be on the look out for information coming on this event soon.

Finally, I want to say that it’s a honor to serve the membership of the Pacific Northwest Section.  I look forward to executing the Section’s 2019 Business Plan and following the Section’s Strategic Plan, with the help of our CEO and the Section Staff we are off to a great start to the season. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or concerns.

All the best,

Gregory C. Morris, PGA
President, PNWPGA
Head Golf Professional, Iron Horse GC

Tips on Learning the New Rules of Golf

Tip #4 - What Are You Allowed to Do in Bunkers Now (Rule 12)?

Molly Cooper, Certified PGA Professional
Director of Tournament & Member Programs

Welcome back to our monthly rules articles to help guide you to a successful 2019 season and beyond! 

Today we are going to learn about the changes made to Rule 12 - Bunkers.  This is a question I expect many PGA Professionals will get from their membership.  I know I’ve personally already received some questions from our PGA Professionals on the subject, most recently at our Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am as well as our PNW Pro-Assistant. 

This rule now allows you to remove loose impediments and movable obstructions. Sounds great right?  Keep reading… as there are new liberties that were not allowed before, there are still restrictions and consequences if you do not apply the rule correctly.

Click here for a video from the PGA of America explaining Rule 12 from the talented Tom Carpus, PGA Master Professional Tournament Official.   

Though Rule 12 now allows a lot of liberties it did not before, it still very clearly states that you may not test the surface, have your backswing brush sand away during your stroke, and of course not have your club touching the ground behind or in front of your ball.  You will still get the general penalty for breaching the Rule.

Though you can move loose impediments, the one you generally need to move the most (the one touching your golf ball), you will not want to as you will get the general penalty if your golf ball moves.

*With the change in the Rule, the USGA no longer authorizes the local rule on reclassifying stones in bunkers as moveable obstructions.  Since they are still loose impediments, be careful your ball doesn’t move!

Another important item to note is that bunkers and penalty areas are now treated differently. Under the old Rules of Golf, what you were allowed to do in both bunkers and hazards were very similar. 

In our recent Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am, many players were confused thinking the two were the same.  That since you could ground your club in the penalty areas, you could in the bunkers as well.  THIS IS NOT THE CASE! 

To continue learning more about the new Rules of Golf, go to www.usga.org

Also, download the new Rules of Golf App on your phone.  I cannot stress how convenient it is and how easy it is to use.  The search engine on the app is amazing!  You just type in what you are looking for and you immediately have the answer at your fingertips.

Arrowhead Duo Wins PNW Pro-Assistant Championship

By Molly Cooper, Certified PGA Professional
Director of Tournament and Member Programs

The duo of General Manager Bryce Fisher and Assistant PGA Professional John Cassidy of Arrowhead GC won the PNW Pro-Assistant Championship at Seattle GC. They won in a one-hole playoff against a second team from Arrowhead GC which was also led by Bryce Fisher with Assistant PGA Professional David Brown. Cassidy birdied the first hole in the playoff for the team win.

When asked what it feels like to win the Pro-Assistant Championship and bring the perpetual trophy home to display for a year at Arrowhead GC, Fisher commented it was “Great! It is a very unique perpetual trophy so to have it here at Arrowhead is really cool!”

Cassidy added, “I’ve played in the event quite a few times and it was always a tournament I hoped to someday win. Anytime you can win a section event and get your name on the trophy it’s pretty special.”

Cassidy also mentioned, “Our team dynamic is great. I mean for me, I had the last two Oregon Chapter Player of the Year and last year’s Senior Washington Open Champion in my foursome. I feel like there was quite a bit of good golf in that group, and it was a lot of fun to be a part of. I think it’s an extension of how we operate back at the course as well. We feel like we have a really good team at Arrowhead Golf Club on and off the course.”

Fisher also disclosed, “The key to these best ball tournaments is to have two birdie putts on every green. From the beginning of first day our strategy was for John to play first and for me to follow aggressively, this gave us the best recipe for success.”

For their victory, Bryce and John earned $2,750 and the title of 2019 PNW Pro-Assistant Champions. In addition to their first place check, Sally Schmitz gave both men a Bushnell new rangefinder and hat. Also, all participants received a Cutter & Buck shirt from Bryan Dickson and a pair of Strideline socks with the PGA logo on it.

Our thanks to Sally Schmitz of Bushnell, Bryan Dickson of Cutter & Buck and Sterling Cut Glass, Kelly Coleman, Riley Goodman and Taylor Roberts of Strideline for their Presenting Sponsorship, plus Matt Pollitt of PTE Golf, Gordon Schenk of ProTag and David Nelson and Andrew Workman of Hole-In-One Insurance for their Supporting Sponsorship. A special thanks to host Head PGA Professional Doug Doxsie and his staff – especially to superintendent Matt Schuldt and his crew for a fantastic golf course.

16th Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am

By Molly Cooper, Certified PGA Professional
Director of Tournament and Member Programs

27 teams, 135 players, participated in this year’s Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am at The Las Vegas CC, TPC Las Vegas and Anthem CC. All players enjoyed a week of great golf and fun at the Luxor Hotel & Casino!

Congratulations to the Lakeland Village Golf Course team led by PGA Professional Eric Briggs with amateurs Ken Reitz, Ken David, Tom Narak and Jeremy Washa for taking the title of Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am Champions. They won by nineteen stableford points over the team led by PGA Professional Jeff Mehlert, Bob Mathews, Steve Barker, Mike Ingham, and Wes Sagami.

PGA Professional Eric Briggs won low professional honors.  Darren Black of Rainier G&CC placed in second place.

Low amateur gross honors went to Jamie Hartley of Fircrest GC and Erik Olson of Riverbend Golf Complex.  Low amateur net honors went to Tod Wurst of Fircrest GC. In second place was Tim Tweten also of Fircrest GC.

The event headquarters returned to the Luxor Hotel & Casino this year. Luxor is located on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The resort is flanked by the Mandalay Bay to the south and by the Excalibur to the north; all three are connected by free express and local trams, as well as by walkways, with The Shoppes of Mandalay Bay, a boutique shopping centre built on a bridge over Mandalay Bay Road, directly connecting the Luxor with the Mandalay Bay resort to the south. All three properties were built by Circus Circus Enterprises, which in 1999 became Mandalay Resort Group, which was then succeeded by MGM Mirage in April 2005 (now named MGM Resorts International).

Some fun facts that I found interesting about the Luxor Hotel are that it is often viewed as a prime example of 1990's Postmodern architecture, and appeared on the cover of architecture scholar James Steele's book Architecture Today. Since opening in 1993, the hotel has appeared in numerous films and TV shows including 2012, Hangover, Up in the Air, Vegas Vacation, Mars Attack!, Fear Factor, CSI, Criss Angel Mindfreak and Futurama (to name a few)!

We are returning to the Luxor Hotel & Casino next year on March 15-19, 2020 with Grant Holcomb. Thanks to Grant Holcomb for another great year, our sixteenth year as our sponsor! For those of you that have yet to experience the Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am, it’s a great one and Grant is “ALL IN” for next year so start working on your team. Entries will be out late summer!

Grant Holcomb along with John Anderson of Antigua, Mike Wrightson of Imperial Headwear, Travis Teeple of Play Kleen and Bill Porter of Certifresh Cigars sponsored this event. Each participant in the event received two Antigua pieces – a golf shirt and pull over, long sleeve t-shirt and headcover from Imperial Headwear, a Play Kleen Towel and Certifresh Cigar.

93rd Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational

Greg Manley, PGA welcomes you to beautiful Meridian Valley for the first Section Major of the year! Entries are available for the Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational on May 20-22. The deadline for this popular event is Wednesday, May 1.

The course will play at 6,707 Yards, Par 72. This is a 54-hole individual stroke play competition with NO CUT.

The First Section Major of the Year

You won’t want to miss this exciting tournament at one of our Section’s most prestigious golf courses. This event draws 168 of the best professional and amateur players in the Northwest. Last year, PGA Professional Ryan Benzel of Sahalee CC  won by one stroke over PGA Professional Shane Prante of The Home Course, PGA Professional and 2014 Champion John Cassidy of Arrowhead GC  and amateur David Ganz of Gonzaga University. Each year we see fantastic play!

View all champions

Meridian Valley CC

Meridian Valley CC is championship golf at its most beautiful. This exceptional 18-hole layout was designed by Ted Robinson, one of the nation’s leading golf course architects, who chose the site based on the stunning views the surrounding area provided. MVCC opened in 1967 with 9 holes ready for play. The second nine holes and clubhouse opened in 1968. Over the years, MVCC has grown into one of the Northwest’s most respected golf courses. MVCC hosted the Washington Open Invitational in 1972, 1976, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2013–2018. They also hosted the SAFECO Classic from 1982-1999.

Drive Chip & Putt

Registration open

Parents may register their kids at www.drivechipandputt.com

Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame Induction Banquet Ceremony

April 26, 2019

Kenmore, WA - Inglewood GC

Holk's Highlights: Bob Duncan

This month we interview Bob Duncan, winner of the 2018 PNWPGA Deacon Palmer Award, which is awarded for outstanding performance in the face of a personal challenge. Since diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease almost four years ago, Bob is continuing his busy and successful teaching career, including developing the Golfer Positional System and representing Directed Force Putters.

Hometown:  I grew up in Milwaukee, Wiscosnin

PGA Member Since:  1983

Tell us a little bit about your career. Who or what inspired you to become a PGA Professional?   

My father got me into golf, and when I started working in 1976 in the bag room at Chenequa Country Club in Hartland, Wisconsin, I knew that I wanted to be on the golf course as much as I could. The PGA seemed to be the best way for me to do that.  I saw the respect that players had for the pro there, and I thought it would be great to be on the golf course every day. My first job there was working 40 hours a week in 3 1/2 days.  That’s probably illegal now, but that’s how we did it. Then I had 3 1/2 days a week to play golf.  Worked out well for me!

 Can you tell us a little bit about Golfer Positional System?  

The Golfer Positioning System positions Players for success by coaching them to play golf on the golf course.  Over the first 15 years of teaching I found the old “model swing” teaching model didn’t teach Players how to play, because it never went on the course with them. It taught them to swing, but not to play.

G P S coaches Players to play with the golf course and not against it.  Instead of allowing the Player to try any shot he wants to play, G P S presents the on-course variables to the Player in different yet predictable values. The Player estimates the influence of each, and makes decisions about how to play and use the variables to the Player’s advantage.

In other words, the golf course presents the challenge, and the Player executes the shot.  In our in-depth study of these variables, we found that commonly taught techniques did not offer acceptable results. Players were working on their swings, but few were learning how to play golf

I made the decision to try to work with the conditions rather than fight them, resulting in a 20% increase in proximity to the hole with attention to just one of the variables.

This is what I call effective and predictable results, vs swing model theory. I decided to put this variable into a phone app, called the  G P S Launch Pro, currently available in the Apple App Store.

I am very humbled that the Chapter and Section have considered me for the Deacon Palmer award.  Arnold was my father’s favorite Player, and though I didn’t get to see Arnold play much, I appreciated his play of the game when I read books on the tour years later.  Arnold was a professional athlete, and a showman but with a gentleman’s attitude and demeanor.  Deacon’s road was surely rocky, but his is a story of true perseverance.  I truly appreciate the recognition of the award linked to Deacon and Arnold Palmer.

Thank you, Bob Duncan

Pros on the Move

by Robin Lindsey, Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes

• Matthew J. Amundsen, PGA (A-9) - from Unaffiliated to West Seattle GC
• Jordan R. Cooper, PGA (A-6) - from Club Champion - Portland to Chambers BayGC
• Matthew T. Fredrickson, PGA (A-8) - from GOLFTEC - Tualatin to Bellingham G&CC
• David J. Naboychik, PGA (A-1) - from Leavenworth GC to Yakima CC
• Kyle J Preston (B-8) - from Alderbrook Golf and Yacht Club to Wenatchee G&CC
• Kathy Wake, PGA (A-8) - from Jackson Park GC to Fairwood G&CC
• Kyle A. Weeks, PGA (A-14) - from Lost Tracks GC to Golf Performance Studio

New Associates

• Steven D. McNelly (B-13) - Capitol City GC
• Jonathan J. Schultz (B-8) - Overlake G&CC
• Dakota T. White (B-1) - Fairways GC

Newly Elected Members

• Derek S. Berg, PGA (A-6) - PNW Golf Academy
• James A. Haban, PGA (A-8) - Grants Pass GC

Transfers INTO the Section

• James M. Bader, PGA (A-14) to Colwood Golf Center from Diamante Cabo San Lucas
• William R. Eubanks, PGA (A-8) to Unaffiliated from Colorado
• Brady R. Jones, PGA (A-20) to Unaffiliated from Colorado
• Christopher A. Meyer, PGA (A-6) to Unaffiliated from S. Texas

Transfers OUT of the Section

• Caitlyn G. Doyle, PGA - from Columbia Edgewater CC to N. California Section

New Quarter Century Members

•  Vince A. Domenzain, PGA
• Brady B. Hatfield, PGA

New Half Century Members

•   Roy K. Eckersley, PGA

Diamante Cabo San Lucas

The Roth

Blake Parrish, CFP®

The tax-exempt benefit to heirs of a Roth is especially important for those subject to the estate tax, because heirs who would have to pay the estate tax would also have to pay an income tax if they inherited a traditional IRA.

Many clients hold substantial assets in tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as traditional IRA’s and workplace retirement plans. Depending on their goals, clients may want to think about converting some of or all those assets to a Roth IRA. Discussions around conversions most commonly focus on retirement planning and expectations for current and future tax rates. However, clients may not understand that Roth’s can also serve as a vehicle in an estate plan to help them achieve—or amplify—their wealth-transfer goals.

When clients convert from a traditional to a Roth IRA, they prepay the income taxes for beneficiaries. Additionally, if an estate is large enough to be subject to the federal estate tax, the conversion means heirs will not also have to pay income taxes on distributions, nor will they have to worry about tracking any cost basis, as they might with an inherited traditional IRA.

Both the growth within, and the qualified distributions from, a Roth account, are not subject to income tax,  making a Roth a valuable structure for estate planning.

"Certified Financial Planner Boardof Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP® (with plaque design) and CFP® (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements."