April 1, 2021

President's Report

Don’t Post Compulsively on Social Media

What are the consequences?

  • You can lose your job
  • You can be subjected to disciplinary actions
  • You can create a potential legal case
  • You can lose a pending legal matter

If you are part of the PGA of America:

  • You can face a Section Board of Inquiry
  • You can find you and your case before the Board of Control (BOC)

What can happen if your case goes before the Board of Control?

  • If the BOC finds that you have violated the Code of Ethics (COE) for using unprofessional, inappropriate, or threatening language, you could be subject to the following:
    • Letter of reprimand
    • Specialized training such as sensitivity training
    • Suspension of membership for up to two years
    • Expulsion from the Association

Why am I telling you this? Last year, the Board of Control handled 15 cases of possible Code of Ethics violations. Seven of those cases were the result of inappropriate postings on social media. The BOC acted on those seven cases; the decisions were four suspensions, one expulsion, and two letters of reprimand with required training.

In our last meeting in early March, there were three Code of Ethics cases involving posts on social media. The results: two suspensions with mandatory sensitivity training and one expulsion from the Association.

How do you prevent risking your career?

  • Think first before you post on social media.
  • Don’t post when you are angry.
  • Don’t post when you have been drinking or using any substance that can impair your judgment.
  • If you do post something inappropriate, take it down as quickly as possible and hope that no one took a screenshot.
  • If it was directed at a particular person, reach out and apologize. Even though it may not help, it’s worth a try and is the decent thing to do.

In the end, THINK before you post on social media.

Howie Pruitt, PGA
Director, Golf Operations, Aspen Lakes GC
President, Pacific Northwest Section
Cell: 541-390-7875
howie@aspenlakes.com

Arrowhead GC Duo Wins PNW PGA Pro-Assistant Championship

By Tanner Montgomery, PGA - Manager of Tournament Operations

The team of PGA General Manager Bryce Fisher and PGA Assistant Professional David Brown of Arrowhead GC won the championship at Willamette Valley CC after firing rounds of 62-67-129, 15-under. They won in a four-hole playoff against the team from The Home Course, led by PGA Head Professional Mitch Runge and PGA Assistant Professional Shane Prante. Fisher previously won this event in 2019 with Assistant Professional John Cassidy.

For their win, Fisher and Brown earned $2,750. In addition to their first place check, sponsor Sally Schmitz gave both men a brand new Bushnell rangefinder!

The PNW PGA Pro-Assistant Championship is a two-man team competition with one head golf professional and their assistant golf professional playing a four-ball competition.

Asked how it feels to win the Pro-Assistant Championship and bring the trophy back to Arrowhead GC, Fisher commented, “Feeling blessed. The team events are always special to me because of the camaraderie. Sharing this win with David Brown is something we’ve talked about for years. He’s been a huge part of my life, going all the way back to college golf.”

Brown added, “It feels great to win anytime, but to win this championship and share it with Bryce is really special…We’ve talked about how fun it would be to win this event together and I’m proud of the way we battled and hung in there to get it done.”

When asked how their playing complements each other's, Brown said, “Bryce and I have been golfing together for many years so we are very familiar with how we play. Bryce keeps himself out of trouble much better than I do, so having him play all day gives me a nice little boost of confidence to just go ahead and let it fly. It works out pretty well every now and then.”

Fisher also discussed how he prepares for a playoff,  saying, “Stick to your game plan, and enjoy the moment. Pressure, nerves, excitement all colliding to test you. Very few things in life can give you that high of competing and performing when it counts. I LOVE IT!”

Willamette Valley CC proudly boasts one of the most highly respected championship golf courses in the Pacific Northwest and an interesting history. In 1961, land was purchased and Shirley Stone was hired as designer. On May 1, 1962, Western Turf was awarded the contract to build the first nine holes (now the back nine) for a total cost of $60,000; completion date was to be October 1, 1962. Construction of the course proceeded on time, so an opening date with appropriate celebration was scheduled for October 13 and 14. Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened on October 12, Columbus Day, with the worst storm in Oregon history, canceling all plans for the opening. October 28 was set as the new date for the opening and all the plans were back on track. In 1963 construction on the second nine holes began, leading to the beautiful 18-hole, 7,200-yard masterpiece and “hidden gem” of the Willamette Valley that you see today.

Thank you to Sally Schmitz of Bushnell and Bryan Dickson of Sterling Cut Glass for their Presenting Sponsorship. Thanks also to Matt Pollitt and Lauren Berard of PTE Golf, along with Darrell Livingston of GT Golf Supplies, for their Supporting Sponsorship. A special thank you to our host, Head PGA Professional John Grothe and his staff, for an amazing event!
Final Results

17th Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am

By Molly Cooper, PGA - Director of Tournament and Member Programs

42 teams, for a total of 210 players, participated in this year’s Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am at The Las Vegas CC, TPC Las Vegas and Chimera GC.  All players enjoyed a week of great golf and fun!

Congratulations to the Chewelah G&CC team led by PGA Professional Jason Pitt with amateurs Brenton Harting, Randy Kirby, Brent Naccarato and Travis Towles for taking the title of Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am Champions once again!  They won by three stableford points over the team led by PGA Professional Eric Briggs of LakeLand Village GC with amateurs Ken Davis, Chris Falco, Tom Narak and Jeremy Washa.  Pitt’s team previously won in 2018. 

PGA Professional Corey Prugh won low professional honors.  Eric Briggs and Taylor Porter of Avondale GC placed second.

Low amateur gross honors went to Todd Soliday of Fairways GC with Derek Mills of McCormick Woods GC in second.  Low amateur net honors went to Travis Towles of Legend Trail GC.  In second place was Randy Kirby.

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 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).

Thanks to Grant Holcomb for another great year, the 17th year as our sponsor!  Grant Holcomb along with Jason Ford of Antigua, Mike Wrightson of Imperial Headwear, Travis Teeple of Play Kleen, Dennis Parks of AM&E and Erik Nielson of Certifresh Cigars sponsored this event.  Each participant in the event received an Antigua pullover, t-shirt and hat from Imperial Headwear, a Play Kleen Towel, AM&E headcover and Certifresh Cigar.

We are returning to Vegas next year on March 13-17, 2022.  For those of you that have yet to experience the Holcomb-In-One Las Vegas Pro-Am, it’s a great one!  Entries will be out late summer.
Final Results

PNW PGA Arizona Sun Pro-Am Entries Available

Come soak up some Arizona sun this winter! Entries are now available for our first annual Arizona Sun Pro-Am at We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort, December 5-9, 2021. Play award-winning golf in the beautiful Sonoran Desert at We-Ko-Pa Golf Club, while enjoying the many amenities the resort has to offer. Look for "Arizona Sun Pro-Am" in your inbox for more details!

PNW PGA Professional Championship Entries Available

Entries are now available for the PNW PGA Professional Championship presented by Cadillac, Club Car and Rolex. This year’s championship will take place September 21-23 at Arrowhead GC in Molalla, OR. The entry deadline is September 8th at 1:00 PM Pacific. You may register for this event through PGA of America Membership Services online at www.pgatournaments.com or by phone: (800) 474-2776.

Upcoming Events

Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Invitational

Pro-Am benefiting Folds of Honor: May 22-23
Championship: May 24-26
Kent, WA – Meridian Valley CC
Enter online

Drive, Chip & Putt

Registration open @
www.drivechipandputt.com

Local Qualifying Schedule
 

PNW PGA 100 Hole Marathon

April 28, 2021
Orting, WA – High Cedars GC
More info

PNW PGA "Stay Involved" Education Series

All times listed in Pacific Time
  • April 6 @ 9 AM: Player Development Programming: a Profit Center for Every Facility Type - presented by Noah Horstman, PGA
  • April 22 @ 11 AM: So, Pro, You Want to Be a General Manager? - presented by Marcus King, PGA
Full Schedule

Holk's Highlights: Jared Lambert, PGA

This month we interview Jared Lambert of Meadow Lakes GC, who received the 2020 PNW PGA Youth Player Development Award. Jared is also the Tournament Director for the Central Oregon Junior Golf Association. Read more about his accomplishments below.

Facility: Meadow Lakes GC

Hometown: Prineville, OR, but moving to Lincoln City, OR in April.

PGA Professional Since: I started the PGM Program in 2017, and was elected to membership in May of 2020.

Tell us about your golf beginnings. How did you get started? Were you a junior golf player?

I started playing golf at 13 years old. A friend of mine lived on a golf course, and he convinced me to go out and try it with him one day. In my third-ever round of golf I hit the luckiest shot of my life and made a hole-in-one (Eagle Crest Challenge Course #12, 141 yards ‒ with a driver), and I was hooked. The first place I received instruction was through a summer junior golf camp run by Greg Hanway at Juniper Golf Course in Redmond, OR, and after those camps I began taking some private lessons from Greg. Later that fall I was in need of some decent equipment, and the other instructor at Juniper at the time, Bob Duncan, was kind enough to give me a set of clubs to use. I played with that set of clubs for four years, all the way until I was playing golf for Corban University. I am forever grateful to both Greg and Bob for giving me access to what I needed and the opportunity to get started in this game. Without the generosity shown by those PGA Professionals, there is no chance I would be where I am today.

Who are or were your mentors?

There are a few people who I consider my mentors as a PGA Professional. Ron Buerger was my high school golf coach, the first person to hire me at 16 years old, and the first person to hire me as a PGA Associate at Eagle Crest Resort. He taught me so much about the game and the business in my time playing and working for him. Additionally, Kevin Story, Lead Professional at Eagle Crest, pushed me hard to finish my membership, and demonstrated first-hand the kind of work ethic that it takes to succeed in our industry. Tam Bronkey, Director of Instruction at Bend Golf Club,  has been a massive help to me in understanding how to help golfers improve, and has always been incredibly encouraging of me as I try to build my career. He is someone who has pushed me as a player, an instructor and an employee every step of the way. Finally, Zach Lampert has massively influenced my career and growth as a professional for the last three years at Meadow Lakes. He showed me the behind-the-scenes of running a business, demonstrated how to stay calm during the crazy moments of running a golf course, and gave me the freedom and creativity to start and run all of the player development programs I wanted to at Meadow Lakes. Zach truly wants the best for me, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from him as a boss and mentor.

Last year as the Teaching Professional at Meadow Lakes, you coached a PGA Junior League program, operated summer junior golf camps, introduced a new Golf with the PRO program and reintroduced Meadow Lakes’ Junior Club Championship. Which program are you most proud of, or are you looking forward to growing the most in 2021?

I am definitely most proud Golf with the PRO. I started it because I had too many juniors coming back every week for lessons, but not playing. I fell in love with golf because of the fun of being on the golf course, and I wanted to create something that would push the kids to go out and play more often. The hope was that it would lead to kids creating friendships with one another, and golfing with each other outside of Golf with the PRO. When I started, I thought I might get three or four to show up, and by week two we had over 20. It led to more junior rounds, more junior memberships, and allowed me to get paid to go play golf!

I will be introducing all of the above programs to my new facility in 2021, and hope to continue to develop junior golf in subsequent years. My goal is to become someone who grows the game and introduces golf to juniors, just like my local PGA Professionals did for me fifteen years ago. In many ways, I’m just trying to pay it forward!

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

Internship, non-PGA positions, strictly retail and “franchise” ownership positions will not be listed here.Please visit jobs.pga.org to see these types of opportunities. 

Note: these are listed as of 3 pm, Mar 31, 2021 or were slated to close on/or before 4/1/21. Note: each posting is subject to the “resume close date” and will close at the time set by the employer. Visit jobs.pga.org to see the most current listings.

Assistant Golf Professional Positions (Full-time, not Internships)

Teaching and Coaching Positions

Management Positions

Note: not all positions like these will be posted here in all cases; instead, postings here will, generally, be at the request/approval of the Employer.

Pros on the Move

by Robin Lindsey, Tournament & Membership Coordinator

Employment Changes
  • Alec H. Bahnick, PGA (A-11) - from Seattle GC to Pacific Northwest Section
  • Zachary J. Culpepper, PGA (A-1) - from Wildhorse Resort GC to Suncadia Resort
  • Lacy E. Erickson, PGA (A-4) - from Portland GC to Pumpkin Ridge GC
  • Jake W. Gregus (B-13) - from Tri-Mountain GC to Gig Harbor GC
  • Jordan T. Holladay (B-8) - from McNary GC to The Oregon GC
  • Marshall A. Kennedy, PGA (A-1) - from Glendale CC to Mill Creek CC
  • Matthew L. Lollar (B-8) - from Meadow Park GC to Twin Lakes G&CC
  • Michael A. Low (B-8) - from Rainier G&CC to Seattle GC
  • Andrew N. Moore (B-8) - from Sunriver Resort-Woodlands Course to Tetherow GC
  • Clint R. O'Neil (B-6) - from The Home Course to Trails End Golf Center
  • David A. Owens, PGA (A-8) - from Hamilton GC to Missoula CC
  • Bryce T. Poulin, PGA (A-6) - from Camas Meadows GC to Colwood Golf Center
  • Christopher M. Rosenquist, PGA (A-8) - from Pronghorn to The Club Brasada Canyons
  • Paul J. Russo, PGA (A-8) - from TPC Sawgrass to Meridian Valley CC
  • Jacob D. Wilson, PGA (A-1) - from Highlands GC to Hamilton GC
Classification Changes
  • Thomas J. Berg, PGA (Awbrey Glen GC) - from A-1 to A-13
  • Shayne E. Day, PGA (Legion Memorial GC) - from A-1 to A-13
  • Gabriel D. Dorosh, PGA (The Club at Rock Creek) - from A-1 to A-4
  • Brandon S. Drake, PGA (The Club at Rock Creek) - from A-8 to A-1
  • David M. Lebeck, PGA (Portland GC) - from A-8 to A-14

New Associates

  • Peter A. Birkner (B-6) - Pacific Northwest Golf Centers
  • Jacob T. Drechsel (B-8) - Manito G&CC
  • Anthony B. Freund (B-8) - Three Lakes GC
  • Nicholas P. Long (B-8) - Jackson Park GC
  • Robert N. Rayborn (B-6) - The Highlands GC

Newly Elected Members

  • Cooper R. Loew, PGA (A-8) - Eugene CC
  • Troy D. Rice, PGA (A-8) - Rock Creek Cattle Company
  • Joshua R. Scothorne, PGA (A-8) - White Horse GC
Transfers INTO the Section
  • Jack O. Crosley III, PGA (A-6) to Vanco Driving Range from Southern California 
  • Eliot R. Gouveia, PGA (A-8) to Aspen Lakes GC from Aloha 
  • Andrew E. Hopkins-Payne, PGA (A-1) to Broken Top Club from Utah 
  • Dave Lewis, PGA (A-1) to The Links @ Silvies Valley Ranch from Northern California 
  • Thomas E. McClurg, PGA (A-1) to Crane Creek Reserve from North Florida 
  • John E. Metzinger, PGA (A-1) to Awbrey Glen GC from South Florida 
  • Lawrence H. Stratton, PGA (A-6) to Juniper GC from Southern California 
  • Adam J. Ullman, PGA (A-8) to Crosswater Club At Sunriver from North Florida 
  • Bruce E. Wilson, PGA (A-1) to The Wilderness Club from Colorado 
Transfers OUT of the Section
  • Kevin B. Ellis, PGA - from Rock Creek Cattle Company to Indiana
  • Hank Franks, PGA - from Coeur D'Alene, ID to Colorado 
New Quarter Century Club Members
  • Deborah A. King, PGA

Thank You for Supporting Our Sponsors
Gold Level Sponsors
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Holcomb-In-One Sponsors
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Silver Level Sponsors
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National Sponsors
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Partner-Level Sponsors
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