COVID-19 updates, resources, and more
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COVID-19 Resources
As COVID-19 has spread across our Section, state, nation and world, much has occurred over the past two weeks that has directly affected not only the Philadelphia PGA Section, but you, our PGA Members and Associates. The Section is here to help provide you with as much updated and accurate information as possible to help you and your facilities navigate this difficult period of our history. For your convenience, various resources and information on the COVID-19 pandemic are included in this edition of the Section newsletter. Additionally, as important news continues to break and new governmental orders and guidance are issued, the Section will continue to send dedicated emails to your inbox. As a reminder, the Philadelphia PGA Section has complied the most up-to-date information relating to the coronavirus outbreak on one webpage for your convenience: phillypga.com/covid-19-updates.
Additionally, the PGA of America has a very useful COVID-19 resource page which includes:
To visit the PGA's COVID-19 resource page, click the button below.
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How Golf Facilities are Affected by
States' COVID-19 Executive Actions
Pennsylvania: On March 19, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered the closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses, including golf facilities, to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The state also announced that businesses may seek waivers to the closure order via the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). For facilities who may have not yet applied for a waiver but would like to do so, the application form can be completed by clicking the below button.
In an effort to provide the Philadelphia PGA Section membership with the best information on the Pennsylvania waiver process, the Section requests that PGA Members and Associates who work in Pennsylvania take a few moments to fill out the below form.
Additionally, as of March 25, the Pennsylvania governor has issued "stay at home" orders for 10 counties: Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia. Pennsylvania restaurants may continue to operate by delivery and takeout only.
New Jersey: On March 21, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued an executive order directing all residents to stay at home until further notice to help fight the spread of COVID-19. New Jersey golf facilities should remain closed for all play until further notice. New Jersey restaurants may continue to operate by delivery and takeout only. To-date, New Jersey has not offered similar waiver application programs in repsonse to their executive action to close businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Delaware: On March 22, Delaware Governor John Carney issued stay at home orders to help fight the spread of COVID-19. The state of Delaware also ordered the closure all non-essential businesses. The governor's office released a comprehensive list of essential and non-essential businesses, as defined by Sunday’s order to close all non-essential businesses in Delaware, and at this time, golf courses have been given an exception. The list states that "Other Amusement and Recreation Industries" are to close with the exception of some outdoor recreational activities, including NAICS digit 71391, which is defined as "Golf Courses and Country Clubs." Delaware restaurants may offer takeout and delivery only.
Maryland: On March 23, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan ordered all non-essential businesses to close to help fight the spread of COVID-19. Golf facilities are specifically mentioned in the closure order. Restaurants may offer takeout and delivery only. To-date, Maryland has not offered similar waiver application programs in repsonse to their executive action to close businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Financial Assistance for PGA
Professionals and Facilities
PGA of America: The PGA of America is here to help those personally affected by the COVID-19 through PGA Disaster Relief and the PGA Member Assistance Program.
PGA Disaster Relief provides PGA Members reimbursement for out of pocket expenses incurred as the result of acute, serious illness, accidents, natural disasters and other emergencies not otherwise covered by insurance or other relief programs. This includes out of pocket medical expenses for serious situations, like hospitalizations, related to the COVID-19. To learn more about PGA Disaster Relief, please click here. To apply for PGA Disaster Relief, please click here. PGA Members can also make contributions to the funds to assist those in need through the link above.
We are also aware that people are understandably concerned about their health, jobs and future during these unprecedented times. To help with this, the PGA Member Assistance Program provides confidential, professional counseling and online services for a wide array of personal and well-being concerns. We encourage you to remind your fellow Members they can seek help at resources.pga.org and also access the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Coronavirus toolkit.
Federal: New government programs have recently come out that the PGA of America is researching and will continue to monitor to see how they can best benefit its membership including: Small Business Loans and Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
Pennsylvania: Governor Tom Wolf announced that new funding is available to help small businesses impacted by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, through a new program under the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority’s (PIDA) Small Business First Fund, the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program (CWCA). The Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) recently authorized the transfer of $40 million to the Small Business First Fund for CWCA. PIDA authorized making $60 million available to provide loans of $100,000 or less to for-profit businesses with 100 or fewer full-time employees. All loan applications must be submitted through a Certified Economic Development Organization (CEDO). For the list of CEDO’s operating within Pennsylvania, please refer to dced.pa.gov/programs/covid-19-working-capital-access-program-cwca/.
New Jersey: The state of New Jersey is working to provide businesses with assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. New Jersey lawmakers are "working on providing robust relief to our valued business community." Additionally, The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has a portfolio of loan, financing, and technical assistance programs available to support small and medium-sized businesses. More information on existing products and programs can be found on the NJEDA website: NJEDA Programs for Small - to Mid-Sized Businesses and NJEDA Small Business Services.
For additional information on COVID-19/Novel Coronavirus and its impact on businesses, please visit the State of New Jersey business portal at cv.business.nj.gov.
Delaware: To assist hospitality-related businesses in Delaware that have been economically impacted by COVID-19, the Division of Small Business is launching the Hospitality Emergency Loan Program (HELP). The state will be making available no-interest loans of up to $10,000 per business per month to help the estimated 2,700 affected Delaware businesses in the hospitality industry cover immediate, unavoidable expenses over the next few months. The program is open to businesses with less than $1.5 million in annual revenue that have been in business and operating with revenue for at least 12 months. The loans carry a 10-year term with payments deferred for 9 months. They can be used for a wide range of expenses, other than payroll costs. Applications will be available online soon; visit delbiz.com/coronavirus for updates. For more information about the HELP program, click here.
Maryland: The state of Maryland is offering COVID-19 emergency relief fund programs for businesses (). Maryland has authorized $130 million in loan and grant funding for small businesses and manufacturers that have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. This emergency assistance provides interim relief and proceeds that can be used to pay cash operating expenses including payroll, suppliers, rent, fixed debt payments and other mission critical cash operating costs. Click here to learn more. Governor Larry Hogan and the Maryland Department of Labor have also launched the new COVID-19 Layoff Aversion Fund, which is designed to support businesses undergoing economic stresses due to the pandemic by preventing or minimizing the duration of unemployment resulting from layoffs. The award (up to $50,000 per applicant), will be a quick deployable benefit and customizable to the specific needs of your business to minimize the need for layoffs. To learn more, click here).
Maryland also has a COVID-19 business repsponse webpage, which can be visited by clicking here.
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Philadelphia PGA Section Events Update
The health and safety of our membership, staff, consumers, and partners are our top priority. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philadelphia PGA Section has adjusted the following:
- Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour events: Postponed through April 6
- Section Awards Banquet (March 15): Postponed
- Rules of Golf Workshop (March 17): Postponed
- Spring Membership Meeting and Golf (March 30): Postponed
- Women in Golf Summit (March 31): Postponed
- Central Counties Chapter Spring Meeting (April 6): Postponed
- PGA HOPE programming: Postponed through May 10
- Golf in Schools programming: Postponed until schools are back in session
- Pinehurst Pro-Am (March 22-25): Cancelled
Rescheduled dates for postponments will be announced at later dates.
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Philadelphia PGA Section Staff
Remote Contact Information
Due to Pennsylvania's stay at home order for Montgomery County, for the foreseable future, the Philadelphia PGA Section staff will be working remotely. Any questions should be directed to the Section’s Communications Director, Matt Frey, PGA: mfrey@pgahq.com. Should you need to reach any of our other staff members, their remote contact information is listed below.
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Webinar: How to Succeed in Times of Crisis with Host Will Robins, PGA
The Philadelphia PGA Section, in coordination with its Education Committee, has organized an hour-long webinar to take place on Monday, March 30 at 10:00 a.m. ET. PGA Member Will Robins will be hosting the online conversation aboout how PGA Members and Associates can succeed in times of crisis, in an effort to help our members through the COVID-19 pandemic's fallout. PGA Professionals who participate in the webinar will each receive one MSR credit.
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How to Earn MSRs While in Quarantine
In addition to webinars that the Philadelphia PGA Section will be offering in the coming weeks (monitor your inbox for announcements), the PGA of America offers several online opportunities to earn MSRs online from the comfort of your own home. To view and / or partake in these opportunities, log into PGA.org, visit "My Account" or "Dashboard" in the navigation and click on the blue "Earn Credits" button.
This would also be an excellent time to complete the virtual PGA.Coach training (which takes two to three hours). PGA.Coach is the ultimate coaching resource that teaches PGA Professionals about ADM, and how to apply the concepts to coaching golf. ADM is essential for growing the sport and vital to you and your employer’s success. Plus, PGA Members will be eligible to earn three MSR credits. To get started with PGA.Coach, click the below button.
While most of our PGA Members and Associates are in quarantine due to COVID-19, it may be a good time to ask everyone to review their MSR status on PGA.org. If you have completed any activities since July 1, 2018, that could be considered for MSR processing please send Sue Unger an email at sunger@pgahq.com and she will review them and reply back to you with a status.
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Membership Update
Please see below for the Section’s membership updates as of March 20. New facility or Section affiliations are listed immediately following the PGA Professional’s name, while prior affiliations are listed in parentheses. * denotes new PGA Professionals the Section; † denotes new PGA Associates to the Section; ‡ denotes changes within the same facility.
A-1:
- Jonathan Arthur, Radley Run C.C.; (Stitch Golf, Inc.)*
- Chris Wegner, The Steel Club; (Lehigh C.C.)
A-14:
- Rick Flesher, Lehigh C.C.; (Applebrook G.C.)
A-8:
- Zachary Casey, Tavistock C.C.; (Half Moon Bay Golf Links)*
- Brett T. Walker, Sunnybrook G.C.; (The Fox Club)*
- Spencer Wilson, Gulph Mills G.C.; (Promontory Club - Dye Course)*
Transfers:
- Stephen Kuchka
- Jeffrey Massa
- Wally Tittelmayer
Certfication: Rick Durham, Golf Operations
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