Golf Industry Job Fair Scheduled for Saturday, March 12 at Green Valley C.C.
The Philadelphia PGA Section invites you to join us for a golf industry job fair on Saturday, March 12, at Green Valley Country Country Club in Lafayette Hill, Pa., from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and again at 1:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.
This event will feature all job types (full-time, part-time, seasonal, PGA Professionals, indoor and outdoor golf operations, food & beverage, grounds and maintenance, administrative, etc.) at golf facilities across the Philadelphia PGA Section (central and eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware). There is no cost to attend. \
Click Here to Register for the Job Fair
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
Monkres will be joining the Section team by way of Bowie, Texas, where he worked as an operations associate for the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour. Josh received his degree in Recreation, Event & Sport Management from the University of North Texas.
Sean Palmer, PGA, the PGA General Manager and Director of Golf for The Union League of Philadelphia in Lafayette Hill, Pa., is the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award. This is the highest annual honor given to a Philadelphia PGA Professional, awarded for qualities of leadership, strong moral character and a substantial record of service to the Philadelphia PGA Section and the game of golf.
David Zimmaro, PGA, a PGA Assistant Professional and the Youth Golf Director at Overbrook Golf Club in Villanova, Pa., is the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year Award for his “outstanding services as a golf teacher, innovator and coach.” Zimmaro won the Section’s Youth Player Development Award in 2017 and 2020.
Jeff Kiddie, PGA, the PGA Head Professional at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., and Philadelphia PGA Honorary President, is the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award. The award recognizes a PGA Professional who demonstrates exceptional character, integrity and leadership, by way of teaching and mentoring other PGA Professionals. As a PGA Assistant Professional, Kiddie says he was fortunate to work for tremendous PGA Head Professionals who took great interest in his career, and that inspired him to do the same when he earned his first PGA Head Professional position in 2001. Since then, 12 of his assistants have accepted head professional positions, including five in the past five years. Kiddie says he is very proud to have watched past staff members grow as head professionals at their facilities, and feels that some of the best mentoring has included helping staff members establish careers in other areas of the golf industry, or even in another industry, which better aligned with their skill sets. Kiddie’s reach does not end at his place of business, as he has volunteered for the Section and other organizations throughout his career, including serving as the Section’s President in 2020-21 following his two-year terms as Vice President, Secretary, and Director of Section Affairs. He was a District 6 Director in 2007-11, and has served on the Section’s Education, Mentoring, Rules, Awards, and Youth Golf Committees, in addition to being a member on the PGA of America’s Rules Committee, he has been an instructor for PGA / USGA Rules Workshops and served as a trustee for the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust. Kiddie was previously named the 2011 PGA Merchandiser of the Year – Private Category, 2012 Philadelphia PGA Golf Professional of the Year, 2007 and 2010 Section Merchandiser of the Year – Private Category, and 1999 Section Justin Riegel Assistant Golf Professional of the Year, in addition to winning the Section’s 2016 Professional Development Award.
Lou Guzzi, PGA, is the owner of and PGA Director of Instruction at Lou Guzzi Golf Academy at Talamore Country Club in Ambler, Pa., and the Philadelphia PGA’s 2021 Professional Development Award recipient. This honor goes to a PGA Member who displays commendable contributions to the education of PGA Professionals. Entering his 25th year as a PGA Member, Guzzi has never shied away from getting in front of his peers to help elevate their own knowledge bases and businesses. He currently serves as the PGA of America’s Teaching & Coaching Summit Committee Chair, and was co-chair for the national Coaching & Player Development Committee in 2016-20. He has also served on various other committees at the national and Section level, including the PGA’s Instruction and Awards committees, PGA Magazine and the Golf Range Association of America’s advisory boards, and vendor boards such as Bobby Jones, FlightScope, and AboutGolf. Furthermore, Guzzi has presented at dozens of local, regional, and national instruction and coaching seminars for PGA Professionals and has been published by industry publications such as PGA Magazine, Golf Magazine and Golf.com, SIGolf+, Golf Range Magazine, and more. He understands the importance of helping his fellow PGA Professionals become better teachers and business people, as such, the doors to his academy are always open to any PGA Member, Associate, or Student who wants to grow as an instructor. Guzzi was named the PGA’s 2013 PGA Teacher & Coach of the Year, in addition to winning the same honor at the Section level in 2003 and 2010; he previously received the Section’s Professional Development Award in 2014.
Jeff Breiner, PGA, the Philadelphia PGA’s 2021 PGA Patriot Award recipient, is the PGA Head Professional at the Country Club of Harrisburg in Harrisburg, Pa., and the lead PGA Professional for PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) Philadelphia’s Harrisburg Chapter. The PGA Patriot Award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates an unwavering commitment and dedication to the men and women who have valiantly served and protected our country. Having had a father who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and two uncles who served in the Air Force and Navy, Breiner always aligned himself with military and veteran programs whenever he could. So, in conjunction with the launch of PGA REACH Philadelphia in 2018, he approached his club’s Board of Governors about creating a PGA HOPE Philadelphia chapter at the Country Club of Harrisburg. In the first year, the new chapter had over 65 veterans participate in the clinics, a number which as grown ever since, thanks to Breiner’s coordination with local VA hospitals, VFW and American Legion posts. He has also worked hard to secure partnerships for his chapter, providing participants with perks such as a home improvement package contest, NFL tickets, and more. Each year on Veterans Day, Breiner opens up his club to any military veteran who would like to bring a foursome to play the normally private golf course. Never one to stop assisting veterans, Breiner also worked with PGA REACH Philadelphia to offer club jobs to PGA HOPE veterans, which resulted in the hiring of a veteran as outside supervisor. While the true scope and reach of his dedicated work may be hard to quantify, Breiner has had several veterans in his chapter who have said PGA HOPE Philadelphia has helped save their lives after battling PTSD, depression, and other ailments. Breiner was also named the Section’s Justin Riegel Assistant Golf Professional of the Year in 2011.
Justin Rinas, PGA, is the PGA Owner and Director of Operations of the Skramble House of Golf in Horsham, Pa., and the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Player Development Award. This honor bestows special recognition to a PGA Member who has displayed extraordinary and exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of player development. Rinas opened his 24/7 indoor golf facility, the Skramble House of Golf, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020, a risk which has paid off both for Rinas, his students and members, and the game of golf. Since opening, the facility has dispensed over two million golf balls, and realized over six figures of golf club sales. His goal of offering an indoor golf facility that operates 24 hours a day, seven days per week has been embraced by many in the Delaware Valley, as the club has reached its membership capacity (over 200); furthermore, 92 percent of his members with a golf handicap saw improvement in their first year of membership. Throughout the pandemic, Rinas has developed ways to remain engaged with his members, teaching and coaching virtually as an example. The Skramble House of Golf also hosts events and groups to reach women, youth, and disabled golfers, as well as beginner and non-golfers. His facility also helps create a sense of ease and comfort via its relaxed dress code; golfers are allowed, even encouraged, to wear sweatpants and hoodies during their sessions.
Christopher Young, PGA, a PGA Teaching Professional and Junior Golf Coordinator at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Flourtown, Pa., is the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Youth Player Development Award recipient. The award is given annually to a PGA Professional who has made extraordinary and exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of youth player development. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Young established an after-school golf program, named 30 and 3, for beginner youth golfers. The program is designed for children ages six to 17 participating monthly in a 30-minute instructional clinic and three holes of golf. It proved to be an instant success, with participation numbers nearly doubling each month. He also separates his programs into six squads based on skill level to encourage upward movement through the program. As a parent himself, he empathizes with parents and their kids and their situations, while making sure to always remain upfront and upbeat. He also considers the mentoring of younger PGA Professionals to be one of the greatest contributions he can offer the Association and game of golf. Young has served on the Section’s Youth Golf Committee for the past two seasons, in addition to the Instruction Committee in 2016-18.
Mike Wood, PGA, the PGA Director of Golf at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., is the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Merchandiser of Year Award – Private Category. The award recognizes PGA Professionals working at a private golf facility who have excelled in business and merchandising in the promotion of golf. Wood assumed all of Saucon Valley’s merchandise buying responsibilities in 2018, which now consumes 75 percent of his offseason tasks, and 30 percent in-season. He developed golf shop policies and procedures which detail daily, weekly, and monthly merchandising duties for his staff. Merchandise displays are changed biweekly, and a schematic of his design helps his staff plan their creations and maximize the use of floor space. As a result of his diagram plan, he was able to nearly double the number of women’s SKUs and added approximately 30 percent more men’s merchandise, resulting in a steady rise of sales over the past several seasons. A similar exercise is in place at the club’s Weyhill golf shop. Wood also utilizes three core partners each season for both men’s and women’s merchandise, with their own dedicated areas, allowing the rest of the shops to highlight new lines and categories. Wood also implemented a bonus structure for his team, with one of the main criteria stemming from the merchandise concession.
Eddie Perrino, PGA, is the PGA Head Professional at Eagle Rock Resort in Hazelton, Pa., and the recipient of the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Merchandiser of Year Award – Resort Category. The award recognizes PGA Professionals working at a resort golf facility who have excelled in business and merchandising in the promotion of golf. Perrino, a PGA Member for nearly 30 years, spends at least half his days in the merchandising area at Eagle Rock Resort, implementing a philosophy that he describes as quite simple: provide the highest quality merchandise at the best possible price. This philosophy allows him to keep the shop inventory at healthy levels throughout the year, adjusting certain products for seasonal and weather changes. Perrino develops his buying plan based on past successes, current trends, customer demands, and perceived value from buyers and the resort. He also believes that relationships between PGA Professionals, sales representatives, and customers should work together seamlessly in order to provide the best possible experience. Additionally, Perrino is careful to offer an equitable mix of apparel and merchandise that appeals to different genders, as well as to provide those customer bases with equitable floor space. Since taking over the merchandise operation in 2015, the resort’s slowest sales season was still nearly 60 percent higher than the best season prior to his hiring. Perrino also believes in the power of a team effort, and as such, includes his entire shop staff in various decisions throughout the year.
Jeremy Marino, PGA, is a PGA Assistant Professional at Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern, Pa., and the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Justin Riegel Assistant Golf Professional of the Year. The award recognizes PGA Professionals who have excelled in business and merchandising in the promotion of golf, and is named for the late Justin Riegel, a past Section Assistant Golf Professional of the Year. Marino, who has worked at Applebrook since 2007, believes that PGA Professionals should be visible to members and guests at all times and should make being service-oriented a main priority, in addition to making their PGA Head Professional’s job easier. His main role at Applebrook is running the club’s tournament program, which has also allowed him to assist younger assistants in learning the trade. Marino also volunteers in his free time, participating in fundraising events for the J. Wood Platt Scholarships, and serving on several committees at his local parish and school.
Jerry McGoey is a sales representative for Titleist and the 2021 Philadelphia PGA Salesperson of the Year. This award recognizes a sales representative who contributes to the Section and is involved with sponsoring Section events. They are also respected among their fellow Section clubs and have implemented new ideas to assist growing the game of golf. As a 26-year golf industry professional, McGoey knows that an outstanding salesperson needs to know the pivotal part they play in the PGA Professionals’ role to service their membership and the importance of timely and accurate service. McGoey says he views every PGA Professional and their respective facilities as business partners, and that he manages their business as his own. Some of his most rewarding initiatives is to make sure that his current Titleist staffers, and other PGA Professionals, participate in Titleist University’s online modules, which educate them on golf equipment and custom clubfitting. McGoey was named Callaway’s national Sales Representative of the Year in 2017, and won numerous regional awards for Adams Golf and Mizuno Golf.
