Metropolitan PGA Newsletter May 1, 2014 Lincoln/Club Car Met PGA Pro-Presidents - METROPOLITAN PGA Fenway Hosts Westchester Teams on May 20th / OFFICERS Long Island Event at Pine Hollow on May 21st Heath Wassem , Fenway GC President Two of the most important events on our schedule are the Lincoln/Club Car sponsored Pro-President Championships. These are important days to spend with Brian Crowell, GlenArbor GC your President or some other key officer and we do our best to make sure it is a Secretary comfortable setting for everyone. The Pro-President events are open to PGA Member Carl Alexander, GC of Purchase head professionals and their Club President or delegates. Westchester, CT and Treasurer Upstate professionals will tee it up at Fenway on Tuesday, May 20th while the Long Stuart Waack, Silvermine GC Island contingent will play one day later at Pine Hollow on Wednesday, May 21st. First Vice President We are so appreciative to have two great golf courses making a first class David Jones, Silver Spring CC presentation as they do for so many of our Met PGA events. We encourage Second Vice President professionals to arrange their own pairing for these afternoon shotguns BOARD OF DIRECTORS or if they do not have a pairing, we will arrange one for you. Shawn Baker, Greens at Half Hollow Michael Breed, Michael Breed Golf Academy th th May 27 & 28 are Dates for the POLO Met PGA Head Mike Diffley, Pelham CC Pro Championship Presented by Club Car at Dave Fusco, Patriot Hills GC Country Club of Darien Robert Gick, Sand Point GC Jamie Kilmer, Wheatley Hills GC The 2014 POLO Golf Met PGA Head Pro Championship presented by Club Car Rob Labritz, GlenArbor Club promises to be another outstanding event. Polo’s involvement as title sponsor will Cory Muller, CC of Darien help showcase our head professionals at a great event as well as providing product to Sean Quinlivan, Piping Rock Club all the competitors. We also appreciate the continued involvement from our great Michael Shank, North Shore CC friends at Club Car. Country Club of Darien should be an ideal venue for this event that includes a regular division and a senior division for those head NOMINATING COMMITTEE professionals who wish to compete in the 50 and over group. Chris Case, Mount Kisco CC Joe Felder, Griff Harris GC 2014 Met PGA Special Awards Selections Announced Bobby Heins, Old Oaks CC Tom Henderson, Round Hill Club The Metropolitan PGA’s Special Awards Committee is pleased to announce the Ben Hoffhine, Wykagyl CC following award recipients for 2014. We will be honoring all but the Professional of Greg Hurd, North Hempstead CC the Year at our Fall Meeting and Forum. The Professional of the Year will be part of Jim Smoot, Huntington CC the Spring Forum ceremonies. Our Additional Nominations have been finalists for the National Awards previously and have been resubmitted by our Committee. We Staff Members congratulate all of the following: Charles Robson, Executive Director Kelli Clayton, Membership Director Professional of the Year Darrell Kestner, Deepdale GC Jeff Voorheis, Tournament Director Horton Smith Award Michael Shank, North Shore CC Dan Frankel, Tournament Administrator Bill Strausbaugh Award John Kennedy, Westchester CC Dan Kiley, Tournament Administrator Youth Player Development Award Nick Maselli, Old Oaks CC Tony Murrell, Controller Teacher of the Year Jeff Warne, The Bridge Emily Powers, Communications Intern Player Development Award Max Galloway, Mohansic GC www.met.pga.com Patriot Award Greg Bisconti, The Saint Andrew’s GC Merchandiser of the Year (Private) Chris Kenney, Patterson Club Merchandiser of the Year (Public) Darren Stanek, Harbor Links GC PGA & Trump Additional Nominations include: Unveil Major Plans Tom Henderson, Round Hill for the Professional of the Year Stuart Waack, Silvermine GC for the Youth Player Development Award PGA Championship Coming to Trump Bedminster in 2022 See the full release attached METROPOLITAN SECTION NEWSLETTER MAY 1, 2014 ~ PAGE 2 Lenox Advisors NY State Open Entry is Online The Lenox Advisors New York State Open Championship entry is online and entries are now being accepted. Players are reminded that filing an entry acknowledges acceptance of the rules and regulations and that eligibility for all players is in accordance with the championship rules. Please note the entry deadline of May 23rd and make sure the qualifying site selected will avoid any possible conflicts. Qualifyings in our Section will be Colonial Springs (June 11th), Garrison Golf Club (June 17th), Lawrence (June 23rd) and Hampshire (June 25th). The Championship proper is at The Black Course at Bethpage on July 22nd – 24th. The Race Continues - May Offers Four Lincoln Pro-Am Sites Our Lincoln Pro-Ams are an important part of our tournament schedule and the early season response to these events has been excellent. Not only do these events provide professionals with an opportunity to play on a number of terrific area courses, but it is also a great networking tool for assistants and all our professionals. The Pro-Ams also provide Lincoln with the exposure they seek in addition to their major sponsorship of our events (Met PGA, Women’s Met Open plus our Pro-Presidents and Pro-Ams). We are excited to have four great sites on the schedule for May and hope our professionals from throughout the Section will take advantage of these opportunities. The schedule includes Knollwood CC on May 8th, Hollow Brook CC on May 12th, Bonnie Briar CC on May 15th and Sands Point Golf Club on May 22nd. Check out the “Race for the Lease” standings on the web site and please remind your golfers to take advantage of the Lincoln Test Drive opportunities. Winning combined gross and net winners will be competing for a berth in the season ending Mohegan Sun Tournament of Champions on Oct. 7th. Met PGA Directory and Magazine are Now Online - Directories Have Also Been Distributed Check out the links to these publications on our web site. The Magazine is available to all and the Directory is password protected on our Pro’s Corner. Throughout the first month we have been handing out and mailing our 2014 Met PGA Golf Directory. Additional copies will be available at events or by contacting the Met PGA Office. Met PGA Returns to Pinehurst on Nov. 2nd – 5th - Pro-Am is Expected to Be A Sell-Out Thanks to 2014 US Open Championships We are getting ready to accept entries for the 2014 Met PGA Pro-Am at Pinehurst. We are thrilled to be making a return to this classic destination that has recently undergone some terrific renovations in anticipation of the 2014 US Open and US Women’s Open. The lure of a great track and playing at this year’s US Open venue assures us of a quick sell-out. Please check with Jeff Voorheis if you have questions about the registration process and the entry form and information are on the web site. Our Nov. 2-5 Pro-Am includes tournament rounds on #2, #4 and #8. Entry forms faxed to the section must be accompanied with credit cards. At minimum, a $1000 deposit per amateur will be charged upon receipt of entry form. Head Professional Update – Met PGA Club Association Mailing is Coming Soon In early May we will be sending out an important mailing for our Head Professionals. This will be a renewal or member- ship application form for our Met PGA Club Association. This $300.00 fee funded by our area clubs and courses contrib- utes to many of the key activities we take great pride in. The Club Association funds help support our Educational pro- grams, our Employment & Club Relations initiatives, our many Communications vehicles as well as our growth of the game priorities. Each year we have been fortunate to have between 120 and 150 clubs and courses join our Met PGA Club Association. Our thanks to our head professionals who promote the Met PGA Club Association with their GM, Presi- dent and/or facility leaders. Head Professional Contributions Top $8,000.00 Our sincere thanks to all the head professionals who added a contribution to the Assistants Fund when paying their 2014 Met PGA Tournament Dues. We are over $8,000.00 at this time, a record in contributions. These additional funds allow the Assistants Tour to pay out purses to 40% of the field as opposed to 33%, increasing the opportunities for our assistants and apprentices to earn a check. METROPOLITAN SECTION NEWSLETTER MAY 1, 2014 ~ PAGE 3 The 63rd MGWA National Awards Dinner at Westchester Marriott on June 23rd Features Couples and Lopez One of golf’s best celebrations is the annual Metropolitan Golfwriters Awards Dinner. This year’s event will be June 23rd at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown with a great lineup of honorees on hand to receive the recognition from the area Golfwriters. Fred Couples will be the featured Gold Tee Award recipient. Among the other honorees are golfing legend, Nancy Lopez (Winnie Palmer Award) and one of the most entertaining authors and speakers on any golf circuit, John Fein- stein (the Linc Werden Golf Journalism Award). Travelers, title sponsor of the Tour stop in Hartford will receive the Bing Crosby Tournament Sponsor Award. For ticket information, contact Kate Keller at the MGA at 914 347-4653 ([email protected]). Upcoming Educational Opportunities Aimpoint Seminars with John Hobbins at Colonial Springs on May 6th and at Griff Harris on May 13th FlightScope Academy May 28th John Hobbis of Chelsea Piers is offering two free clinics on the Aimpoint method of green-reading as well as featur- ing some training aids used to teach Aimpoint.