CEO's Report

I Resolve to Not Make Resolutions

Frank Talarico

It’s a new year, filled with new opportunities, new challenges, and new friends.  At the start of another year, it’s easy to look back on all our previous resolutions left, well, unresolved.  As PNWPGA CEO, I’m working with our Board of Directors and our Section team to set bold, strategic ambitions for the PNWPGA. As for me, personally, I’m leaving behind resolutions this year. Traditional resolutions carry too much weight, seem artificial, and, honestly, don’t leave much room for creativity. The reality is that we are all the same people, in a new year, and we should seek new motivations.

So what am I doing instead?  I present to you: my 2022 “to-do” list.

1. Spend even more time with our chapters and our members

• Our members truly are why we exist. Covid has certainly put a significant damper on how and how often we get together.  Things are slowly improving.  It’s important that we take full advantage of every chance we get to be together, in-person, safely and regularly.   I can’t wait to hear more of your stories and learn a thing or two from you about how we can best serve you.  Look for the Section, too, to continue to deepen the services we provide directly to the five chapters.  Sustainable chapter success is non-negotiable. 

2. Impact our local communities

• Community impact is a priority for each of our chapters and for our Section.  Whether it is fundraising initiatives like our PNWPGA 100 Hole Marathon happening again this year in April, or the Muckleshoot Casino Washington Open Pro-Am raising critical funds for important veteran initiatives, I encourage us all to “show up” for our communities.  Look for the Section to explore the possibility of transforming our Junior Golf Fund to an operating, sustainable, and legitimate Foundation dedicated to Growing the Game and Serving the Member.  It is a very exciting time for us all to double-down on our community commitments.

3. Reconnect meaningfully

• “The New Year is made up of seconds, and if you don’t make good use of even seconds, you won’t make good use of the New Year!”  We’ve all been reminded that every second is precious. I’m aware that every meeting, every call and every email exchange is valuable time, so I want my connections to be intentional and mindful.  No person is unimportant and, as such, no interaction doesn’t deserve our full attention and consideration. 

4. Celebrate the big 1-0-0

• Happy 100th Birthday, PNWPGA! We will be honoring our remarkable history across ten decades, our accomplishments, and the bright future ahead all year long. 

5. Introduce you to more inspirational people

• We have made strides these past fifteen months not just serving but also promoting the PGA Members of our Section.  I never want your efforts to be a well-kept secret.  If you are working on something special or if you know someone with a passion for golf and a great story, send them my way.  2022 will see us continue to aggressively promote our PGA Members and Associates.  

2022 will also see us continue to significantly add to our family of sponsors—other people who I insist get to know you, and you to know them.  We saw this family expand in 2021, and, already, we are happy to welcome new supporters at the start of 2022.  Welcome and thank you to ProTag, Radmor and 4ORE Nutrition supporting the Pelzer Golf Hawaiian Paradise Pro-Am. Additionally, please join me in welcoming Open Rounds for their sponsorship of our Stay Involved Webinars. 

I have always been a list maker.  My lists come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing is constant:  I aim to cross every item off after they are achieved.  I expect to achieve everything on this list because the result will be a fantastic year in service to our Section.  I invite you to think of what you might consider your “2022 To-Do List.”  I’d love to hear what is important to you this coming year. 

As always, never hesitate to reach out to me or our fantastic Section Staff if there is ever anything we can do for you.  Happy New Year!

Frank Talarico, CEO
ftalarico@pgahq.com

District 14 Director's Report

Doug Doxsie, PGA

As we turn the page to a new year, I thought it appropriate to give you a view from 10,000 feet of some of what is coming for 2022 and share some thoughts on what the National Board of Directors, Committees and Staff are working on. Our association is on a constant quest to help our members be successful, strengthen our industry, and enhance the game.  I will share more specifics on many of these things in future articles and welcome any questions you may have.

The PGA Show in Orlando will return to “in-person” in a couple of weeks. This is always a great opportunity to interact with our suppliers, media, and the golf industry as a whole and to highlight the work of PGA Professionals who make the game of golf better. We have a unique opportunity to build on the pandemic golf boom and the industry will be looking to us to take the lead.

Our new PGA National Headquarters will open this spring in Frisco, Texas. The building is incredible and will include a world-class education center. The entire campus of golf, resort, headquarters, and amenities will provide not only an amazing image for the PGA of America but a resource we all can take advantage of in many ways, including playing opportunities, education, and training.

Support of the 41 Sections continues to grow each year so they can better serve their PGA Professionals at the local level. We continue to drive increased funding, programs, and resources in ways that each section, with their different needs, can determine the best opportunities to serve their members. Collaboration between the Section Executive Directors, National Staff and PGA of America Board of Directors has never been better.

As announced at the PGA Annual Meeting in November, the new Member Deferred Compensation plan will be finalized this year with a rollout planned for early 2023. This will provide PGA Members opportunities to build funds into an account to use in their later years. This has the potential to be the most significant member benefit program ever. As details are finalized, we will be excited to share more news of how it will be implemented and more importantly, how it can help you. 

With the growth of golf, it has also revealed the challenges we face in having enough workforce to support it. Simply said, we need to attract quality workforce to our industry. To that end, the PGA of America has created and enhanced numerous initiatives and programs to address this workforce shortage. For instance, we have increased the Career Services department staff, including hiring specific recruiters to help attract talent to our industry. We are committed to ensure the PGM Universities are successful, and we have added opportunities for people to “experience” a career in golf through entry-level education like the new “Affiliate” program. These are just a few examples of how we are doubling down to help attract quality workforce to our industry. The Education, Employment, Membership and University Committees are working collaboratively on this effort.

Inclusion and Diversity programs and initiatives continue to be a primary focus in our association, a key part of our long-term strategic plan. The aspiration to create a game, a workforce, and industry that mirrors America in an ongoing vision and opportunity. The PGA Lead program is just one great example of what we can accomplish in this area. Chief People Officer Sandy Cross and her team are doing incredible things. We are making great strides and I am encouraged, but we still have a lot of work to do with D & I efforts.  

The current MSR cycle concludes in June. The 3-year cycle was extended one year because of the pandemic, so PGA Members will have had four years to complete their requirements. Make sure you fulfill your credits in time to keep your membership status current. The new 3-year cycle will start again with a few changes to the requirements, which are being reviewed by Section officers, Executive Directors, and the National Board before being adopted. More on that to come this summer when the new cycle starts.  

This is just a glimpse of what is happening in our association. We have so many more opportunities to keep improving and we don’t pretend to have all the answers, but the Board, Committees and Staff are working hard on your behalf and welcome your ideas and input. As I often mention, I encourage you to stay engaged with PGA.org, the “5 Things to Know” weekly emails, and of course, Section and Chapter correspondence for the latest about what is going on with your Association.

Doug Doxsie, PGA
Seattle Golf Club
PGA District 14 Director
425-681-8889
doxpga@msn.com

PGA Jr. League

Branden Thompson, PGA - Regional League Manager

It’s that time of year to get registered for the 2022 PGA Jr. League season, so here we go!

Coach Registration

(Formerly Captain Registration, yes we’ve changed the terminology going forward!)

Visit the new PGA Jr. League website to get registered for 2022.  We will be getting leagues organized in early February so register now. 

There will be a "carousel" on your dashboard that walks you through all the new processes. Please take a moment to go through it as it gives you a brief overview of some of the new terminology and will point you in the right direction to get your programs registered.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The following link will provide FAQs and Guides for the new website:

https://support.pga.com/en/

Please use that link for your initial questions and support issues (this is a soft launch as well, so we need feedback on these articles and videos and how helpful they were).  If all else fails, please reach out to me and I will help you as best I can!

#Gamechanger Club

Take advantage of the new annual membership model for PGA Jr. League.  This is a great video that shows the impact it can have on your programs. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE #GAMECHANGER VIDEO

Player Registration Opens February 1st

The website will be ready for players to begin registering on February 1st.  New for this year is the ability to set your Registration Open date to any date you wish after February 1st. 

One-on-one Assistance

Want to  discuss PGA Jr. League or just bounce some ideas around? The following link will take you to my Calendly page where you can choose a time that works for you, and eliminate the need to email back and forth. 

Click Here to schedule

Regards,

Branden Thompson, PGA
561-293-2585
bthompson@pgahq.com

Maximize Your Soft Skills for Easier Success

Monte Koch, PGA of America Employment Consultant

The past two years have been incredibly successful in terms of rounds, participation and revenue while at the same time being incredibly “grinding” and wearing on PGA professionals and staff at our facilities. “Feeling the Burn” has taken on a new meaning indeed. As part of this context, coworkers, vendors, supervisors and customers are under the same level of stress. The burdens are different, but the weight of the stress is very much the same for all of us.

For 2022, I would share the following to help you focus on the work to make career success easier for you.

Work Hard on These "Soft Skills":

• With self-awareness and with self-management, we can become more effective at:
  • Inspiring: our message of inspiration (or motivation) is more likely to resonate with others when it’s not clouded or muddied by conflicting messages of words, actions, non-verbals, etc. (that appear to be self-centered or worse). 
  • Mentoring: our message of encouragement, coaching and purpose is also more likely to resonate with those we seek to coach for the very same reasons listed in the bullet above. Further, when the messages we send in our words, actions and non-verbals are consistent and aligned with each other, those we work with and live with can develop trust in us and our intentions and motivations.
• With positivity and adaptability, we can become more effective at:
  • Helping: when inspiration and trust are built, our positivity and compassion can be combined to provide support and stability to those around us. This puts us in a position to influence, to lead and make a difference (even when we don’t have the title or position of leadership.)
  • Adaptability: a positive perspective, supported by trust that is earned gives us a platform to help through adaptability, resourcefulness and similar. Adaptability and resourcefulness are two of the most valuable traits we can bring to the workplace, the team and/or the employer we work for.
• With enhanced and trained organizational awareness, we can be more effective at:
  • Giving the best of ourselves and our time to maximize the effectiveness of “us” in our career
  • Giving valuable perspective as constructive feedback and coaching to others (most often in a 1:1 manner)
  • Giving strength, support, a positive attitude and example to the “team” we are part of, the customers we serve and lead, etc.

In conclusion, as we approach this coming new year, I hope you will join me as a leader and example for focusing your time and energies on growing your “soft skills” and emotional intelligence capacity. Doing so will benefit your own career in the long run and it will benefit the people you work with, live and play with. If you have a situation where you’ve had success in being “a soft skills professional” I would love to hear about it (or about another PGA professional). Or, if you would like to grow in your abilities to develop, leverage and refine your soft skills (even though they seem hard at times) to make career success easier for you, I hope you’ll reach out to me in the coming weeks or months.

Monte Koch, PGA Certified Professional/Player Development | Career Consultant
PGA Career Services | PGA of America
Serving PGA professionals, employers in the Pacific NW & Rocky Mountain PGA Sections
Email: Mkoch@pgahq.com Cell: 206/335-5260

Career Planning and Coaching

Employment Opportunities

Monte Koch, PGA of America Employment Consultant

Click here to access the PNW PGA job postings

We are all feeling the Crunch of Inflation - Be Proactive Today about Your Compensation Keeping Up!

That’s right, in 2022, the SSA will be giving a 5.9% COLA for recipients. That is added to the 1.3% that was in place in 2019 and the 1.6% that was in place for 2020. You’ve seen the comp for entry level roles in our business go up over the past 3 years...has yours? It’s time to do something about it.

As of 10/29, we are here as a Section:  45.12% (393 completed, 478 incomplete) #21 of 41 Sections. The more of us who complete the profile, the better data I will be able to provide to any PGA professional, facility, etc. who needs it. Knowledge is power here...so do it for yourself and your peers. 

Please don't hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions or difficulty in completing your profile. Thank you for your contribution to this important tool used to impact compensation for you and your peers!

Complete your Compensation Profile Survey now >>

Regards, Monte

Upcoming Events

PNW PGA “Stay Involved” Education

Career Prime Time: How to Keep Your Job for the Next Ten+ Years
Jan 19 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Presented by Monte Koch, PGA

The Game of Golf, the Life of Teaching and Anything Else about Golf Because It Is an Amazing Game!
Feb 2 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Presented by Jeff Coston, PGA
Sponsored by Open Rounds

You Can’t Make This Up—Rules of Golf Situations That Have Happened at Your Club
Feb 16 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Presented by Kathy Brown, PGA
Sponsored by Open Rounds

Full Education Schedule

Check out the 2022 tournament schedule!

2022 Tournament Schedule