Lower Gwynedd Township, Pa. (April 10, 2023) — The Philadelphia PGA Section is excited to officially launch the application process for the the Bud Jennings PGA Golf Management Scholarship. The scholarship was developed by the Jennings family to honor Bud Jennings, a lifelong golfer and longtime Chester Valley Golf Club member. Given Bud’s love for the game of golf, and his willingness to give back and help others, the Jennings family says that this award is the perfect way to remember his legacy.

The scholarship (up to $3,000 per recipient) will be awarded annually to both one male and one female Philadelphia PGA Associate aspiring to be elected to PGA Membership. Scholarship recipients will possess the skills, drive, and character it takes to become a first-class PGA Member.

Philadelphia PGA Associates who have already completed PGA PGM Level 1 may apply for the Bud Jennings PGA Golf Management Scholarship. The application deadline is July 1, 2023.

Application guidelines: applicant must show demonstration of outstanding qualities of leadership; demonstration of strong moral character; ability to maintain a substantial record of service to the Philadelphia PGA Section, PGA of America, and the game of golf; well-regarded as a model PGA Associate.

Ineligible classifications: Class F, Inactive, Philadelphia PGA Section staff.

To apply, click the below button.

About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.

Contact: Matt Frey, PGA, Communications Director, Philadelphia PGA Section, mfrey@pgahq.com

Pinehurst, N.C. (March 16, 2023) — Chapel Hill Golf Course head professional and PGA Associate Quinn Joseph led his team of amateurs, Josh Joseph, Sam Varano, and Mike Wolf, to victory in the 2023 Philadelphia PGA Pinehurst Pro-Am at the famed Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

The group finished with a team score of 16-under-par, 416, in the 54-hole one gross and one net competition, good for a four-stroke victory over the team from Woodstone C.C.: Greg Meyer, PGA, Trevor Buss, Fayez Elias, and Shawn Hughes. Two teams tied for third place at 10-under-par: Bayside Resort G.C., Bryce Young, PGA, John Fowler, Sid Burkot, and Duke Hanson; and Maple Dale C.C.: Chris Brosius, PGA, Rich Karolczak, Sean Sullivan, and Art Giangrant.

The annual pro-am has become a staple on the Section’s tournament schedule each spring, and quickly sells out each season. This year, the field played Pinehurst’s Nos., 2, 4 courses, and Forest Creek Golf Club’s North Course, in addition to a practice round on Pinehurst’s No. 8 course. The highlight of the event each year is the round on No. 2; built in 1907 by renowned golf course architect Donald Ross, and restored in 2010 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the course has hosted several major golf competitions, including a PGA Championship, a Ryder Cup, three men’s U.S. Opens, and a U.S. Women’s Open, with several more tournaments scheduled in the future.

To view the full 2023 Philadelphia PGA Pinehurst Pro-Am leaderboard, click here. To view photos from the event, click here.

The Philadelphia PGA Section and its PGA Professionals thank our host, Pinehurst Resort, its management, host PGA Professionals, and staff, as the event would not have been possible without their support.

About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.

Contact: Matt Frey, PGA, Communications Director, mfrey@pgahq.com

As you may be aware, Dick Smith Sr., PGA, passed away earlier this week, and his family has released the details for his services. Smith’s viewing will be held at Our Lady of Peace Parrish (32 Carrol Ave., Williamstown, NJ 08094) on Wednesday, March 15 at 9:15 – 11:15 a.m. with mass beginning at 12:00 p.m. Bell-Hennessy Funeral Home will be handling all arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, the Smith family is asking for donations to be made in his name to PGA REACH Philadelphia. You may donate by clicking here, and selecting “I would like to dedicate this donation,” to input “Dick Smith Sr.”

To read the Section’s original remembrance for Mr. Smith, please see below.

It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Dick Smith Sr., the 27th PGA of America president and 22nd Philadelphia PGA Section president; he was 80. Dick is survived by his wife Adrienne, brother and fellow PGA Member Tom, son and fellow PGA Member Section Past President Dick Jr., daughter Stephanie, daughter-in-law Michelle, and grandchildren Alexandria, Marissa, Zak, also a PGA Associate. The Section will share service information when it becomes available.

Smith was born in Ohio, and grew up in Baltimore, Md. He attended Loyola College and turned professional in 1962. That year, he came to the Philadelphia PGA Section as an assistant to George Griffin Jr. at Green Valley Country Club. From there, Smith joined Ken Gibson in New Jersey where he helped run the Golf Farm, Indian Spring Golf Course, and Wedgwood Country Club. In the early 1970s, he was the pro-manager of the Hi-Point Golf Club, and in 1975, he went back to Wedgwood in a partnership that leased the course. Smith moved over to the Woodcrest Country Club in 1981 as the PGA head professional, where he stayed for twelve years.

Smith has one of the most outstanding Philadelphia PGA Section tournament records in history. He won three Philadelphia PGA Professional Championships in succession, ultimately winning the championship five times. Smith played in five PGA Championships and a U.S. Open. He qualified for the PGA Professional Championship 15 times, Senior PGA Championship twice, U.S. Senior Open twice, and the Senior PGA Professional Championship three times. In 1970, he won the Philadelphia Open.

After several years of serving on the Section’s tournament committee, Smith was elected to the office of first vice president at the Section’s 1974 Fall Membership Meeting, where he was also elected tournament chair. This was his first political step in what would take him to the highest office in the PGA of America. After three years as the Section’s first vice president, Smith was elected president. He served the Section as its 22nd president for three years, from 1978 to 1980. In late 1983, the Section sent Smith to the PGA of America for a three-year term as its District 2 director. At the 1986 PGA Annual Meeting, Smith was elected to national office for a two-year term as secretary. Following his term, he served as the vice president from 1989-1990, and president from 1991-1992.

After leaving national office, he also left Woodcrest to be the PGA director of golf at Galloway National Golf Club, which was still under construction. Two years later, he purchased the Williamstown Golf Center, which he operated for seven years. During this time, Smith set up a partnership that leased New York State’s Bethpage State Park Golf Course shop for five years, including in 2002, when the facility’s Black Course hosted the U.S. Open. During his time on Long Island, he was a dual member of both the Metropolitan and Philadelphia PGA Sections.

Smith returned to the Philadelphia PGA Section full-time as the PGA director of golf at two new golf courses in New Jersey. Later, Smith and the Section created the Dick Smith Cup Matches, which were contested each year between the assistant professionals from the Central Counties Chapter and the assistant professionals from the rest of the Section. In 2005, he was hired as the PGA general manager at Woodcrest Country Club, where his son Dick Smith Jr. had succeeded him as PGA Professional and was now in his 13th year.

Smith was the Philadelphia PGA Section’s Golf Professional of the Year in 1980, and was an original inductee into the Section’s Hall of Fame in 1992. Smith was inducted into the PGA of America’s PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

Dick’s dedication to the PGA of America, Philadelphia PGA Section, and the game of golf was impressive:

• PGA of America president, 1991-1992
• PGA of America Hall of Fame member, 2005
• Philadelphia PGA Section president, 1978-1980
• Philadelphia PGA Section Hall of Fame member, 1992
• Philadelphia PGA Golf Professional of the Year, 1980
• Philadelphia PGA Section first vice president, 1975-1977
• Philadelphia PGA Section Playing Legend, 1992
• Philadelphia PGA Section Player of the Year, 1971-1974, 1983
• Philadelphia PGA Professional Champion, 1974, 1977, 1981-1982
• Philadelphia PGA Section F. Edward DeBaufre Trophy for scoring average, 1971-1974, 1982-1983
• Annual host of Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship
• Namesake of the Philadelphia PGA Dick Smith Cup Matches

About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.

Lower Gwynedd Township, Pa. (February 22, 2023) — The Philadelphia PGA Section is excited to announce the creation of the Bud Jennings PGA Golf Management Scholarship – a first of its kind for the Section. The scholarship was developed by the Jennings family to honor Bud Jennings, a lifelong golfer and longtime Chester Valley Golf Club member. Given Bud’s love for the game of golf, and his willingness to give back and help others, the Jennings family says that this award is the perfect way to remember his legacy.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to both one male and one female Philadelphia PGA Associate aspiring to be elected to PGA Membership. Scholarship recipients will possess the skills, drive, and character it takes to become a first-class PGA Member.

“On behalf of our officers, board of directors, and membership, the Philadelphia PGA Section thanks the Jennings family for helping to build the next generation of PGA Members who will help grow the game of golf,” said Section Executive Director Geoff Surrette, PGA. “Providing support for these PGA Associates will help ensure they serve the community in ways Bud Jennings would be proud of.”

“Golf is an honorable sport, and that’s why my dad was so at home on the course; he loved the camaraderie and intricacies of the game. Every day, every shot was different,” said Chris Jennings.

“He just loved being on the golf course,” said Martina Jennings. “I have so many wonderful memories of him there, with me, his kids or grandkids, or any of the many cherished friends he made on the course over the years. He would be honored to know that his love of the game is living on in this scholarship.”

The official scholarship applications will launch on phillypga.com following the Section’s 2023 Spring Membership Meeting, scheduled for Monday, March 27 at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del.

About the Philadelphia PGA Section
The Philadelphia PGA Section, covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware, is one of 41 geographical managing entities of the PGA of America. This Section manages nearly 900 PGA Members and Associates who are employed at over 590 golf facilities in our region.

Contact: Matt Frey, PGA, Communications Director, Philadelphia PGA Section, mfrey@pgahq.com