Giving Back,
Growing the Game
The Wisconsin PGA Section is a major force in expanding golf’s influence in the state
AS THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ROLLS INTO KOHLER, WIS., FOR the second time in six years, it again brings with it the strongest field in all of professional golf. In addition to pro- viding a stage for the world’s greatest players to showcase
their talent and gusto, it also provides a platform for the more than 500
men and women PGA Professionals of the Wisconsin PGA Section to
highlight their year-round contributions to the game and business of golf.
By Tony L. Starks
The Wisconsin PGA Section is one of 41 regions within The PGA of America. Growing the game has been a core mission of The PGA since its inception in 1916 – a mission that has been accepted by the men and women PGA Professionals who fill the ranks of The PGA and are widely recognized as the experts in the game and business of golf. That knowledge and passion for enhancing the game is on full display this week, as more than 130 PGA Professionals from the Wisconsin Section will play a direct role in the 92nd PGA Championship.
Those PGA Professionals will take time from their home facilities to volunteer in a multitude of capacities, including staffing the practice areas, working the large scoreboards and providing free golf instruction to thousands of the patrons in attendance.
Founded: 1922
Location: West Allis
PGA members and apprentices: 500
PGA-staffed facilities: 211
President: Ike Bailey, PGA
Vice President: Bill Graham, PGA
Secretary: Paul Locicero, PGA
Honorary President: Eddie Terasa, PGA
Executive Director: Joe Stadler, PGA
Wisconsin PGA Section
at a glance
“We could not be more excited
to have the PGA Championship
back in Wisconsin. Until 2004,
there hadn’t been a men’s major
championship in this state for 70
years, so for one to come back six
years later is incredible,” says Joe
Stadler, executive director of the
Wisconsin PGA Section.
“Wisconsin certainly wasn’t on
the worldwide golf map prior to
that; it may not have been on the
national map in terms of a golf
destination. But that has clearly changed.”
Over the next decade, the Badger State is
slated to host the 2011 U.S. Amateur
Championship, the 2012 U.S. Women’s
Open, the 2015 PGA Championship, the
2017 U. S. Open and the 2020 Ryder Cup.
140 THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM OF THE 2010 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP