Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. –  The PGA of America has launched a newly reimagined PGA.com to connect consumers with PGA Professionals. The redesigned site, which is now managed in-house by the PGA, focuses on the journey a golfer takes to begin or improve his or her game, no matter their skill level.

PGA.com and its affiliated championship sites will also continue to provide coverage of prominent events, such as the PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. However, an important emphasis of PGA.com will be on the opportunities enabled by enhancing the coach-consumer relationship.

“PGA.com is designed to bring to life the special relationship between PGA Professionals and consumers through coaching and other consumer-focused services, with a vision that ‘your best golf is ahead of you,’” said PGA Interactive General Manager Rob Smith. “There are so many ways in which a journey in golf can positively impact your life. Our job is to identify the best ways to connect with PGA Professionals across all aspects of the game, beginning with coaching.”

An important shift in the new PGA.com site will be speaking through the voice of the PGA Professional. On the site, PGA Professionals will be featured prominently and given the opportunity to provide exclusive content to engage consumers, including first-person feature articles, videos and advice to help golfers with various aspects of the game and the golf lifestyle.

In the second phase of the launch, scheduled for later this year, consumers will be able to easily search for PGA Professionals who have completed both their American Development Model for Golf (ADM) training available on PGA.Coach and a detailed PGA.com coach profile. ADM utilizes long-term athlete development and quality coaching concepts to promote sustained physical activity, athlete safety and age-appropriate growth. PGA.com is designed to help these coaches establish a relationship with new golfers and then build upon that connection, to give consumers the resources they need to achieve their goals.

“The PGA of America is committed to the future of coaching through the American Development Model for Golf,” said PGA President Suzy Whaley. “As we look to transition the industry from a transaction against a lesson to the lifetime value in a coaching relationship, PGA.com is being architected to facilitate the digital evolution of coaching.”

“The connection that consumers and coaches will be able to make through PGA.com is invaluable, as golf brings people together,” explains Trillium Rose, Chair of the PGA of America’s Coaching and Player Development Committee. “Our mission is to help golfers navigate their golf journey, so they can take it as far as they want to go. I strongly encourage PGA Members to complete their ADM training and their coach profiles, in order to create an affinity with golfers of all skill levels who wish to improve their game.”

In the Fall, the PGA is also scheduled to launch the first version of its B2B marketplace for PGA and LPGA Teaching Professionals. This marketplace will be the official platform to connect coaches with the best products, services and technology in the business.

“Every year, for a week in January, the golf industry gathers under the PGA brand in Orlando,” noted Jeff Price, Chief Commercial Officer for the PGA of America. “Going forward, our vision is to enhance connectivity between PGA Professionals and industry partners through a dynamic digital marketplace 365 days a year.”

PGA.com is currently vetting potential platform partners for activation within the PGA’s coach-consumer roadmap. This will include solutions that support coaches directly; solutions targeted primarily for consumers to help them start and engage more fully with the game; and other solutions designed to positively support coach-consumer engagement.

The PGA of America partnered with global experience agency Huge on the strategy, creative, and technical execution of the new PGA.com.

For platform inquiries, please contact Jon Colclasure, PGA of America Director of Platform Engagement, at jcolclasure@pgahq.com.

About the PGA of America
The PGA of America is one of the world’s largest sports organizations, with nearly 29,000 professionals who daily work to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. For more information about the PGA of America, visit PGA.org, follow @PGAofAmerica on Twitter and find us on Facebook.

Contact:
Michael Abramowitz   PGA of America   561/624-8458 mabramowitz@pgahq.com