Experts in the Game
and Business of Golf
Minnesota PGA Professionals are also expanding the PGA Championship experience beyond the grounds at Hazeltine National. Monday of Championship Week features a PGA Play Golf America Day at the nearby Chaska Town Course. Open to the public, approximately 40 PGA Professionals will volunteer their time at the event. The PGA Championship Community Relations Youth Clinic for invited youngsters will be held the same day THE WORLDWIDE ATTENTION FOCUSED ON HAZELTINE NATIONAL Golf Club for this week’s PGA Championship shines a white-hot spotlight on golf’s strongest field and final major championship of the season. It also serves to illuminate the
year-round devotion to the sport of golf by the 550 men and women PGA
Professionals of the Minnesota PGA Section, who are playing key roles
at the 91st PGA Championship and throughout the state.
“The great thing is that these programs
all serve to harness the attention generated
by the PGA Championship to help get
more people interested and involved in the
game of golf. And that’s where PGA
Professionals shine as the experts in the
game and business of golf.”
Hundreds of Minnesota PGA
Professionals will play a direct role in this week’s PGA Championship, including staffing the practice areas, working the large scoreboards inside the entrances and near the first tee and transporting players around the grounds.
“The atmosphere for golf fans at the PGA
Championship has changed significantly since Hazeltine National hosted the
Championship in 2002, and our PGA
Professionals will be at the heart of many of the new activities for fans right through the end of Championship Week,” says Jon
Tollette, executive director of the
Minnesota PGA Section.
Indeed, thousands of man hours are being contributed by Minnesota PGA Professionals to create an exciting and interactive experience for PGA Championship attendees. On-site at Hazeltine National is the PGA Learning Center presented by American Express, where spectators can sign up for free 10-minute lessons from PGA Professionals. The PGA Learning Center features four hitting bays, a full-size chipping and putting green, and information on PGA-staffed facilities where golfers of all skill levels can take lessons and learn the game. More than 19,000 spectators visited, and 5,000 took advantage of the free lesson offer at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich., during last year’s PGA Championship.
(continued on page 57)
MONTANA PRITCHARD/ THE PGA OF AMERICA
The Minnesota
PGA Section
is working to
grow the game
during the
91st PGA
Championship
and throughout
the year
By Don Jozwiak
PGA Professional George Reynolds (right), shown here providing a free lesson during a Play Golf America event, collects used golf clubs and distributes them to area high schools and middle schools.