56th Annual Metropolitan PGA Educational Forum Westchester Broadway Theatre Elmsford, New York Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 56th Annual Metropolitan PGA Educational Forum Westchester Broadway Theatre Tuesday, April 10th, 2018 Agenda 7:30 REGISTRATION BEGINS - COFFEE & DANISH 8:30 PROGRAM OPENING - ANDREW GRUSS, PGA EDUCATION COMMITTEE CO-CHAIRMAN 8:45 DAVID ORR, FLATSTICK ACADEMY PRESENTATION David Orr is a PGA Professional, who specializes in putting for over the past decade. Serving as the 2011 Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year and Director of Instruction at Campbell University’s PGA Golf Management Program, Orr has been coaching golf for nearly 25 years. David has worked with more than 50 touring pros worldwide, amongst his most notable clients: Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Jason Gore, DA Points, Scott Stallings, Cameron Percy, and Cheyenne Woods, plus dozens more from the PGA, Web.com, LPGA, Canadian, and other professional tours world‐wide. David is highly regarded amongst his colleagues and peers, as a “world‐ renowned” putting coach, a public speaker, and 3D putting researcher. As a result, Orr is often invited to present his Tour‐Tested Putting Instruction/3D research at Coaching Summits, Conferences, Open Forums, PGA Sections, and Golf Venues throughout the United States and abroad. Furthermore, he loves to share his experiences, information, and insight, with the other golf instructors through his Flatstick Academy Certiied Instructor Program. 10:45 BREAK 11:00 PRESENTATION OF METROPOLITAN PGA SPECIAL AWARDS Hall of Fame Induction Jerry Pittman, Life Member Player of the Year Josh Rackley, Tam O’Shanter Club Sam Snead Award Jay Mottola, Metropolitan Golf Association Professional of the Year Dave Gosiewski, Noyac GC 12:00 LUNCH & CLOSING REMARKS Met PGA Hall of Fame Jerry Pittman, Life Member Jerry Pittman is originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma and played college golf at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. After a successful college career, he turned professional, taking an assistant professional position at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa which had just hosted the US Open. He played the PGA Tour for several years in the early 1960’s, with a tie for 5th at the 1962 New Orleans Open his best finish. He came to the Met Section as an assistant at Westchester CC, then the site of the Thunderbird Golf Classic, the PGA Tour event forerunner to the Westchester Classic. In 1965, he captured both the Met PGA Championship and the Met Open, establishing himself as a top player. At the Met Open at Woodmere, he shot 69, 68, 67, 71 for 275 to finish three strokes ahead of multiple PGA Tour winner Wes Ellis and emerging powerhouse Jimmy Wright. Wright closed with a 65 but couldn't catch the winner. In 1967, he qualified for the US Open at Baltusrol, and finished tied for 16th earning a spot in the '68 Masters. In 1968, he would put together an astonishing performance even by the lofty standards of the Met Section. At the Masters, he scored 282, six under par and tied for 7th with major champions Gary Player and Lionel Hebert, finishing just five shots back of winner Bob Goalby. A few weeks later he won the Long Island Open then headed up to Oak Hill for the US Open. At the Open he returned 285 and again tied for 7th finishing one shot clear of five major champions including: Snead, Casper, and Stockton. He finished tied for 37th at the PGA Championship at Pecan Valley CC in San Antonio, but failed to make the cut after qualifying for the British Open at Carnoustie. Later that fall, he would capture his second Met Open at historic Inwood setting a new course record of 65 in the third round. Battling host professional Jimmy Wright in the final round, they amassed 14 birdies between them, but Pittman again prevailed. Jerry would modestly say, "It's a great day for Oklahoma", as both he and Wright, and 3rd place finisher Terry Wilcox were all transplanted Sooners. Unsurprisingly, Pittman won the 1968 Metropolitan PGA Player of the Year. In 1968, the four New York PGA sections started the New York State PGA Championship. Jerry won the second playing of the Championship in 1969, winning the Nelson Rockefeller Trophy, joining other Met standouts such as Carl Lohren, Bill Collins, and Rick Whitfield who would eventually succeed Pittman at The Creek Club. While serving on the Board for several years, he was the Co-Chairman of the Membership Committee, and helped originate the Written Exam and the Oral Interview, at that time the final hurdles for the new PGA member. Sitting down to that interview, with the steely gaze of his co-chair Billy Farrell and the quiet professionalism of Pittman, was unnerving to almost all. They were famous for the classic, "What are your five options in a lateral hazard?" A consummate professional, Jerry would compete in several other US Opens, PGA Championships, and had a number of high finishes in the Westchester Classic. In 1973, he was selected as the head professional at Seminole, and would also remain at The Creek for several years. At the two clubs, he would mentor and guide over 100 assistants and staff, including future national PGA of America Professional of the Year honorees, Bob Ford and Tom Henderson. "Pitt" as he was known to his pals and rivals, exemplified the highest levels of playing, teaching, and service in our association. His feat of playing in all four major championships in the same year, by a full-time club professional, has never been done before or since. 2017 Player of the Year Josh Rackley, Tam O’Shanter Club Ask Josh about his quick, successful transition to the competitive Metropolitan PGA tournament circuit and he will immediately acknowledge the influence Mark Brown, Tam O’Shanter Head Professional and 1999 Metropolitan PGA Player of the Year, has had on his golf and professional career. From complex discussions about the golf swing and tournament mindsets to simple anecdotes on registration processes and course layouts, Rackley has relished the opportunity to learn from a legendary Met PGA Professional. Rackley entered his second season in the Metropolitan PGA looking to improve on a tremendously successful inaugural season. His stated goals were twofold – a championship win and a spot on the Long Island Farley Cup team. He began his season finishing in a tie for fifth at the Long Island PGA Championship at Seawane. In fact, a year after defeating his boss and mentor in the second round, Brown returned the favor in the Round of 16 this past season. Rackley continued his strong play in the spring with a tie for fifteenth finish in difficult, windy conditions at the Long Island Open at Westhampton. A missed cut at Sunriver Resort in the PGA Professional Championship forced Josh to rethink his approach on the golf course. He was convinced of his talent, but vowed to play more aggressively. That aggressiveness was on full display at the iconic Bethpage Black where Rackley’s third place finish was highlighted by twelve total birdies across three rounds. One-week later Rackley continued his assertive play at Fairview Country Club and the Golf Club of Purchase. He finished in a tie for ninth at the Metropolitan Professional Championship to qualify for the 2018 PGA Professional Championship. The season breakthrough, however, transpired at Hollywood Golf Club in the 102nd Met Open. A three-round score of 6-under par held off three time Met PGA Player of the Year Danny Balin, 2015 Met PGA Player of the Year Matt Dobyns, and 2017 New York State Open Champion Cameron Young and earned Josh his first victory. With a win and spot on the Farley Cup team secure, Josh refocused his efforts on fighting for Met PGA Player of the Year honors. At the Metropolitan Assistant Championship, Rackley birdied four of his last six holes, including a birdie on the final hole, to force a playoff with Winged Foot’s Mike Ballo. He then buried a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to capture his second victory in a row. Heading into the Treiber Memorial Tournament of Champions, Rackley and Dobyns were separated by a single point in the Met PGA Player of the Year race. The confidently aggressive play from Rackley continued at Wheatley Hills resulting in a 6th place finish and a fully deserved Met PGA Player of the Year honor. A season of firsts has only driven Josh Rackley to expand his list of goals. There are more championships to win, a second OMEGA Met PGA Player of the Year award to pursue, and, of course, a spot in the 2018 PGA Championship to capture. It is an aggressive list, but that mentality that spurred Rackley to greater heights last season. Doubt him at your own risk, but don’t be surprised if you are reading another season recap of his one year from now. 2017 Sam Snead Award Jay Mottola, Metropolitan Golf Association For more than 110 years, the MGA has been fostering sportsmanship, conducting championships, providing handicaps, and offering a multitude of member and club services and promoting the best interests of the game throughout the Metropolitan area. For 34 of those years, they have been led by Jay Mottola. Jay joined the MGA’s staff full time in 1980 as the Deputy Executive Director, and was promoted to Executive Director just two years later. During his 34 years in the position, the Tuxedo, N.Y., native has guided the MGA through perhaps its most prolific period in history. The expansion of the organization’s extensive service program, the launch of The Met Golfer, the creation of the MGA Foundation and the construction of “Golf Central” as a home for the MGA and a number of other area golf organizations all unfolded during Mottola’s tenure.