Month: November 2016

Former Philadelphia PGA President Tom Carpus Named Chair of the PGA Rules Committee

“I am extremely humbled to be appointed Chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee. I want to thank PGA President Paul Levy for having the confidence in me and for giving me the opportunity to serve the PGA in this capacity. I served the Philadelphia Section for 15 years and have served on the PGA Rules Committee since 1995…this is the highlight of my service to the Association.” – Tom Carpus, PGA

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (Nov. 23, 2016) – Tom Carpus of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, whose leadership in professional education was celebrated both within the Philadelphia PGA Section and at the national level, has been named chair of the PGA Rules Committee.

The PGA Head Professional at Kennett Square (Pennsylvania) Country Club, Carpus is a 55-year-old native of Lackawanna, New York, a suburb of Buffalo. He moved to the Philadelphia area at age 10, when he began to foster his love of golf.

As PGA Rules chair, Carpus will serve a two-year term. He will head 38 PGA Members on a Rules Committee that oversees and implements the Rules of Golf at the Association’s premier spectator championships – the PGA Championship, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup – along with all PGA Member and Junior Championships.

In addition, the PGA of America sends its committee members to help officiate at numerous other championships, including the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, The Players Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open, GCSAA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open.

A 1983 graduate of Drexel University, Carpus competed on the school’s golf team and turned professional in 1985. He was elected to PGA Membership in 1988, and became a PGA Master Professional in 2004. He served from 1985-91 as a PGA Assistant Professional at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania. Carpus was a member of the Philadelphia PGA Section staff (1991-92) as Tournament Director, supervising more than 100 Section competitions.

From 1993-98, he was the PGA Head Professional at Greate Bay Country Club in Somers Point, New Jersey, where he hosted the LPGA ShopRite Classic. In 1998, Carpus became PGA Head Professional at Kennett Square Country Club.

Since 1996, Carpus has been an instructor/coordinator at more than 30 PGA/USGA Rules Workshops and has presented education programs throughout the country. Since 1993, he has served the Philadelphia PGA Section in various positions including a two-year term as president (2004-2005).

Carpus was named the 2002 Philadelphia PGA Golf Professional of the Year; is a two-time recipient (2000-01) of the Section’s Horton Smith Award; the 2011 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award; and the 2007 national Horton Smith Award. In 2007, he inducted into the Drexel University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Carpus, who succeeds Ron Hickman of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, as Rules chair, was appointed to the PGA Rules Committee in 1995. He has worked 21 PGA Championships, four Ryder Cups, seven Masters, two Open Championships; four KitchenAid Senior PGA Championships; one Players Championship and multiple national PGA Member championships.

As PGA Rules chair, Carpus is responsible for representing the PGA at various golf championships as well as managing and attending many of its own championships. The PGA Rules Committee also is responsible for helping jointly conduct the annual USGA/PGA Rules Workshops.

For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGAMediaCenter.com, follow @PGAofAmerica on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

Contact: Bob Denney, PGA of America, bdenney@pgahq.com, 561/624-8582

Paul Levy Elected 40th President of the PGA of America

Via PGA of America

NEW YORK –  Paul Levy, of Indian Wells, California, was elected the 40th President of the PGA of America today at the Association’s 100th Annual Meeting. Levy is President of Club Operations and Development for Sunrise Company, and also is the CEO and General Manager at Toscana Country Club. Prior to being elected PGA President, Levy served as PGA Vice President and PGA Secretary.

Now a member of the Southern California PGA Section, he is the fourth person from the Section to ascend to PGA President, following Joe Novak (1949-1951), Pat Reilly (1989-1990) and Tom Addis III (1995-1996). Levy previously was president of the Southern Texas PGA Section from 1998-2000, and earned the 2000 Southern Texas PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award. He is a three-time Southern Texas Section PGA Junior Golf Leader recipient; the 1999 Section Bill Strausbaugh Award winner; and the 1997 Section Merchandiser of the Year for Public Facilities.

Succeeding Levy as Vice President is Suzy Whaley of Cromwell, Connecticut, who served the past two years as Secretary. Whaley is the first woman ever to be elected as an Officer of the Association.

Jim Richerson, of Kohler, Wisconsin, was elected to succeed Whaley as PGA Secretary. A former member of the PGA Board of Directors, Richerson is General Manager & Group Director of Golf at Whistling Straits and Blackwolf Run. Also, Derek Sprague, of Jersey City, New Jersey, who served as the 39th PGA President, assumes the role of PGA Honorary President. He succeeds Allen Wronowski, who completed his second two-year term.

In addition, six new members of the PGA Board of Directors and one Independent Director were sworn in: Noel Gebauer, of Schenectady, New York; Tom Henderson, of Greenwich, Connecticut; John Lindert, of Lansing, Michigan; Kelly Williams, of Lexington, Kentucky; Patrick Richardson, of Savannah, Georgia; Don Rea, Jr. of Mesa, Arizona; and Independent Director Christopher Liedel, President of Smithsonian Enterprises in Washington, D.C.

PGA President Paul Levy earned PGA membership in 1986, and has served in a leadership capacity at both the Section and National levels for nearly 25 years. From 2007-2012, Levy was elected as an Independent Director on the Southern California PGA Board of Directors. From 1999-2004, he served as General Manager and PGA Director of Golf at Royal Oaks Country Club in Houston, and was Senior Vice President of Club Operations for Sunrise Company, the developer of Royal Oaks Country Club. In 2004, Levy moved to Southern California to oversee the development of Toscana. Four years later, he became president of Club Operations and Development for Sunrise. In 1992, he founded PKL Golf Group Company, a golf management and development company, and served as its president and CEO. Levy still operates that entity today. Levy is a 1983 graduate of LSU, where he was a member of the golf team.

For a complete bio of Paul Levy, please click here.

PGA Vice President Suzy Whaley is the PGA Director of Instruction at Suzy Whaley Golf in Cromwell. Having served as PGA Secretary from 2014-2016, Whaley was also a member of the PGA Board of Directors from 2011-13. She has also served on the Connecticut PGA Section Board of Directors and as Section Vice President at Large. A dual PGA and LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Member, Whaley was also an LPGA Tour member in 1990 and 1993. She famously competed in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open, the first woman since Babe Zaharias in 1945 to qualify for a PGA Tour event.

For a complete bio on Suzy Whaley, please click here.

PGA Secretary Jim Richerson is responsible for managing all aspects of the day-to-day golf businesses for Kohler Co. While on the PGA Board of Directors, Richerson served on the PGA Budget Committee, Investment Committee and as Chair of the Golf Properties Committee. The 2013 and 2016 Wisconsin PGA Section Golf Professional of the Year, Richerson also previously won the Section’s Horton Smith and Bill Strausbaugh Awards. His career has taken him to a variety of facilities—daily-fee, semiprivate, private, and full-service resorts—and given him an opportunity to work alongside PGA Professionals in nine PGA Sections.

The PGA Board of Directors is composed of the Association’s President, Vice President, Secretary, Honorary President and 17 Directors. The Directors include representatives from each of the PGA’s 14 districts, two Independent Directors and a member of the PGA Tour. New District Directors are elected by their representative PGA Sections.

Annual Fall Meeting Closes the Door on the 2016 Philadelphia PGA Season

Malvern, Pa. – The 2016 Philadelphia PGA Fall Meeting was held on Monday, October 31 at White Manor Country. Attended by more than 200 Philadelphia PGA Professional the meeting was highlighted by the presentation of the year-end award winners as well as the announcement of the newest members of the Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame. Additionally, the Philadelphia PGA presented the inaugural Ben Witter Courage Award posthumously to Ben Witter whose family was on hand to accept the award. The final highlight of the meeting was the keynote speaker and President of the PGA of America, Derek Sprague.

With presentations from each of the Section’s Executive Committee the members in attendance were brought up to date on all aspects of Philadelphia PGA operations. However, the meeting also served as the perfect opportunity to recognize the individuals who performed at the highest level throughout the tournament season.

Finishing atop the Omega Player of the Year points list was first time winner Michael Little (Lookaway Golf Club). Little notched two wins in 2016 (Delaware Valley Open, Shawnee) as well as numerous top-five finishes. Based on his performances in the Philadelphia PGA Championships, Little also qualified for both the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship and the PGA Professional Championship. Finishing in second place on the Omega Player of the Year leaderboard was 2016 Haverford Philadelphia PGA champion Dave McNabb (Applebrook Golf Club). Rounding out the top three was George Forster (Radnor Valley Country Club).

In the Omega Robert “Skee” Riegel Senior Player of the Year race, Stu Ingraham (M Golf Range) ran away with the title en route to his seventh consecutive crown. Ingraham had senior victories at the 31st Burlington Classic, the Jack Jolly / Golf Pride Championship, the William Hyndman Memorial Classic, and the Philadelphia Senior PGA Championship. Ingraham’s 2,686.50 points were 1,000 points ahead of second place finisher. However, rounding out the top three was a pair of individuals who also claimed prizes in other divisions. George Forster and Dave McNabb finished second and third respectively. McNabb would also take home the DeBaufre Scoring Average title with season-long average of 70.90.

The Section’s Howard “Ike” Turner Most Improved Player was awarded to Jordan Gibbs (Gulph Mills Golf Club). In 2016, Gibbs lowered his scoring average by one full shot as well as improved his position on the Omega Player of the Year leaderboard by more than 40 spots. Gibbs was won the 95th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship, his first Philadelphia PGA title.

The meeting was highlighted by keynote speaker and President of the PGA of America Derek Sprague. A few weeks short of the PGA of America annual meeting and the centennial celebration of the PGA of America, Sprague touched on several topics that affected all PGA Professionals. Sprague highlighted the impact the Ryder Cup had to the Association as well as what the potential for global expansion for the PGA brand would have. Sprague also noted that the success of the PGA of America would always be the PGA Professionals and the direct impact they have with golfers. As a note, Sprague also conducted a small “fire-side” chat the evening prior to the formal Fall Meeting.

The Philadelphia PGA Hall of Fame also gained two new members as Ted Sheftic and Bob Thatcher became the 39th and 40th Hall of Fame inductees respectively. With both having careers spanning decades in the Philadelphia Section each have left their mark on future PGA Professionals. After his receiving his award, Sheftic was on hand to thank his mentors and acknowledge the PGA Professionals who helped him along the way. Accepting the award for Thatcher were his daughters Tina and Tracy who were able to read the prepared speech sent by their father. For a complete biography of Ted Sheftic or Bob Thatcher visit the Hall of Fame page on philadelphia.pga.com.

The final award presented was also the Section’s newest award. The Ben Witter Courage Award named in honor of the PGA Professional of the same name will be given to an individual who in spite of difficult circumstances always managed to give back the game and the people around him. Witter, a PGA Professional himself, entertained endless crowds with his trick shots and overall golf abilities despite multiple battles with his health. The award will serve as a reminder of his perseverance through any and all obstacles. Witter’s family was on hand to receive the award and spoke to the PGA Professionals in attendance on what the award meant to the family.

The Fall Meeting puts a bookend to the 2016 Philadelphia PGA season. As the Section heads to the off-season it will focus on providing education opportunities to the membership through multi-day seminars as well as district roundtables. For a complete list of education opportunities and to stay up-to-date on Section’s event be sure to visit philadelphia.pga.com.