June/July 2013 Official Newsletter of the Northeastern NY PGA

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1 June/July 2013 Official Newsletter of the Northeastern NY PGA July is here already! Unfortunately it seems that mother nature has not been very cooperative to the golf industry and our section facilities thus far this season. The start of the golf season has clearly affected the rounds and based on Performance Trak statistics through the first five months of the year, the days open for play were the lowest in the history of PerformanceTrak (established in 2005). Across the nation, May rounds were down 5.5% and days open were down 3.4% compared to May in 2012 (based on paired data). However on a more positive note, three of the four key revenue figures for the month were up. Starting with the largest percent change, food and beverage revenue was up 4.6%, total facility revenue was up 2.7% and merchandise revenue was up slightly 0.5%. As expected, golf fee revenue was down 2.6%. Again these figures are nationwide and based on reporting facilities. Take advantage of PerformanceTrak and report your monthly key indicators (as the highest-ranking PGA Professional at your facility, you can also designate an assistant to report these) to help provide a better picture locally here in our section! Currently there are 21 of 85 of our green grass facilities reporting their information to PerformanceTrak. That leaves 64 facilities NOT reporting or taking advantage of this reporting tool. Keep in mind that you can choose to share this performance information with employers/owners or simply use it to track on your own to evaluate your facilities performance against like facilities. Click HERE to begin with PerformanceTrak now (simply enter your PGALinks username and password) to start using these performance tools! Feel free to contact Nicole Ferguson-Sutherland, PGA of America PeformanceTrak Supervisor at nferguson@pgahq.com or at The summer also brings with it Junior Golf and we would like to congratulate our two junior s, Jenny Buchanan of Loudonville and Jeff Palmerino of Glenmont who most recently won their overall age division in the 2013 Northeastern New York Section Junior PGA Championship presented by Under Armour and Hotel Fitness on Sunday, June 29 th at Town of Colonie Golf Course in Schenectady, NY. By winning the boys and girls divisions respectively, Palmerino and Buchanan qualified for the 38 th Junior PGA Championship presented by Under Armour and Hotel Fitness, July 30-Aug. 2, 2013, at Trump National Golf Club Washington D.C. in Potomac Falls, Va. Palmerino, age 18, posted a final-round 73 to match his first round of 73 for a two-day total of 146 and a onestroke victory over Aaron Simone of Niskyuna and Alex Gibson of Glens Falls. Buchanan, age 17, had a finalround 75 for a two-day total of 152 and a decisive win over the rest of the girl s field including second place finisher, Natalie Squillace of Slingerlands, NY. To view results of the near 100 junior field please click HERE. Do your junior s at your facility know about the Junior Golf Association & Junior Golf Tour playing opportunities? Click HERE and help us promote!! Tracie Warner NENY PGA Executive Director In every issue Section News p. 2-4 PGA News p. 5 Sponsors p. 9 Birthdays p. 11 Highlights Letter from the ED p. 1 Employment Corner...p. 6 PepsiCo Promotion p. 5 Amex Program p. 10 Tracie Warner NENY PGA Executive Director

2 Sofia Corelli, granddaughter of NENY PGA Lifetime Retired Member, Ed Bosse was recently named the 2013 recipient of the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. This is the first time Sofia has been named the scholarship recipient. She just graduated from John Jay High School in Cross River, NY and plans to attend the University of Wisconsin this fall. Congrats to Sofia, her family and Ed! Since 1986, the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship Program has awarded more than $5.4 million to 2,666 students. The PGA of America's Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship Program, marking its 28th anniversary, received 592 applications this year, with scholarships awarded to 140 students totaling $325,000. Founded in 1986, the PGA Financial Assistance Fund Scholarship Program has awarded more than $5.4 million to 2,666 students. The program encourages and promotes the attainment of higher education goals for children and grandchildren of PGA members. Funding for these scholarships is made possible through voluntary contributions to the PGA Financial Assistance Fund (a tax deductible 501c3 fund) from PGA members and other donors. Have you paid your dues yet? PGA of America membership dues are payable no later than July 1, 2013 to avoid any time in suspension (which means NO Playing eligibility) and to avoid incurring the $100 late fee charge. Gar Fellman, local NENY PGA Sales Representative here in upstate New York for our long-standing Section Partner, Kirk & Matz Award has been recognized by the Connecticut PGA Section and selected as the 2013 Connecticut Sales Representative of the Year! This award annually recognizes the golf sales representative whose significant contributions have helped shape the way in which golf products and services are merchandised through section PGA Professionals golf shops. A graduate of the Elizabethtown College with a degree in Business, he has represented numerous companies while servicing the golf professionals of the Connecticut Section for 20 years. Many of the companies he represents have sponsored section events, including current section partners, Kirk & Matz and Bermuda Sands. Other lines he currently represents include Sunfish Headcovers and several other golf gift lines. Fellman resides in Marlborough with his wife, Rose Marie, and they have a son, Tim, and a daughter, Anjanette. He will be honored along with the other award winners at Lake of Isles on Sunday, November 17, at the Special Awards Banquet.

3 Scott Warren, PGA Head Professional at Pinehaven Country Club is home recovering from quadruple heart surgery this month. Scott is feeling great and thanks everyone for all the well wishes he has received thus far! We re happy to report that Rick Wolcott, Head Professional at Rolling Hills at Antlers underwent surgery on his ankle a few weeks ago and was able to take advantage of a PGA Member Partnership/Benefit with the Hospital of Special Surgery located in New York City. Rick had suffered severe damage to his ankle when he was in a car accident headed home from the club this spring. The surgery went extremely well but he still has some recovery time in front of him. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is one of the newest partnership partners of the PGA of America. Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) is the Official Hospital of The PGA of America, presenting sponsor of the PGA Winter Championships and sponsor of Let's Move on Course! HSS is located in New York City and was ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 hospital for orthopedics and #3 for rheumatology in the "America's Best Hospitals" issue. HSS is the oldest orthopedic hospital, with more hip and knee replacements performed annually than any other hospital in the nation. Our Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service is dedicated to treating athletic injuries and is one of the largest, most active and highly respected departments in sports medicine today. An elite group of athletes and professional sports teams entrust their care to HSS physicians and therapists. DID YOU KNOW That exclusively for PGA Professionals, there is a PGA Professional Physician Referral Service at Hospital for Special Surgery. To make an appointment or be referred to a healthcare professional, call Click HERE for more info! Hosted by: Round 1 - Stockbridge Golf Club, Stockbridge, MA Round 2 - Berkshire Hills Country Club, Pittsfield, MA Monday-Tuesday, July 29-30, 2013 Entry Deadline is Tuesday July 9 at 5:00 PM Click here for more info and to register.

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5 Pete Bevacqua, CEO of PGA of America recently welcomed a new edition to the PGA of America family; Jake Dylan Bevacqua was born at 6:22 pm on June 22, Both Jake and Mom, Tiffany are doing great! The PGA of America Board of Directors met on June 24 at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort, where we discussed Rule 14-1b, which the USGA and R&A recently announced would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, as well as the entire rules-making process in detail. As we have seen over the past few months, the Rules of Golf can affect recreational golf in addition to play at the elite level. The PGA of America will continue to confer with the PGA Tour on the subject of Rule 14-1b, and The PGA of America will reserve any public comments on this matter until after the PGA Tour Policy Board meets on July 1. Click here to view the letter from Ted Bishop. Once again a comprehensive marketing campaigned is planned around the PGA Championship, with a majority of these promotional efforts focused on Get Golf Ready. These efforts include GGR PSA s aired during telecasts, on-air interviews, Sirius/XM radio PSAs, digital promotion on PGA.com, ads in daily e-newsletters, and extensive promotion on-site and with community events. The intent is to drive consumers to GetGolfReady.com and our consumer sites to find Get Golf Ready and other player development programs in their area. By doing so, our marketing efforts can successfully connect people interested in learning the game and/ or playing more with our PGA Professionals, their facilities and programs. To help PGA Members maximize how they take advantage of these efforts, the Player Development Department will be ramping up our PGA Member support and communications over the next month. During this time they will continue to send updates to section ED's. Family Golf Month continues to be a popular promotion with PGA/LPGA Professionals and the media in July. As with Welcome to Golf Month, Family Golf Month will transition from being a program-focused initiative to more of a public relations campaign. Throughout July, the PGA s Public Relations team promotional efforts will focus on Family Golf Month, including Get Golf Ready for Families, Take Your Daughter to the Course Week, PGA Family Course, junior rates and other active junior/ family programs, as the perfect recreation for families to participate in together, while also promoting the health and fitness benefits of the game.

6 As the month of July approaches, many Section PGA Professionals are preparing for junior golf camps and clinics at their facility. The laughter of children reminds us of why we love the game, and in a way, allows us to be a kid again. By sharing your passion for the game with the next generation of golfers, you are directly responsible for building the future business of the club - but is the facility aware? A short time ago, a fellow team member wrote an article which I wanted to share, as you begin to venture out and conduct your annual Junior Golf Programs. Instead of approaching your clinics and camps as business as usual, take a moment to reflect upon the marketing strategy and success of Mercedes Benz. Hope you all have a happy and successful summer! Michael Packard, PGA Employment Consultant Often companies use different marketing strategies for the long term return on investment. All marketing efforts are not all designed for immediate results. Let s use Mercedes Benz for example, known as an elite luxury car with precision engineering for the wealthy, they introduced the C-Class in the 1990 s and positioned the price to make it affordable. Mercedes faced an increase in luxury competition and a change in consumer attitudes; they had to change their strategy. They simply targeted the young affluent, impression conscious customer in an attempt to get them enjoying a Mercedes luxury car, though the car might lack some of the same luxury items of its higher family of sedans. The success is to get this consumer driving this luxury vehicle and get them spoiled, and they will elevate to a higher priced model either on their next purchase or when they are financially positioned in their career. The evolution of Mercedes Benz s marketing strategy can be directly connected to the expansion of the target market, which now includes persons twenty five to thirty five year olds as well as its initial targets the baby boomers. In the past few years, Mercedes has even made the temptation greater by offering a very affordable leasing plan. You get this customer hooked on your product and status that they refuse to try any other brand. When you think of the junior golf program at your golf facility, are you convincing your employer the significance of junior golf as a long term membership marketing program? Where is the facility going to obtain its members in the next years? If you develop golfers or at least introduce juniors to the game and get them visiting the other amenities of the club, then they may want the facility to be part of their lifestyle when they get older and have families. A successful youth program has worked wonders for churches for years in not only developing future members but to keep the parents active. Sound familiar? If the children are active and having fun, the parents will be more likely to participate. Does your facility offer a program to cultivate these junior golfers? Does your facility offer an affordable membership program to capture this young affluent impression conscious audience when they enter the family mainstream in their twenties or thirties? Kevin Walls, PGA Employment Consultant PGA of America CT, New England & NENY Office Mobile

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11 Name Employer Class Scott L. Battiste Normanside Country Club B-8 Joseph P. Fitzsimmons Jr. Mohawk Golf Club B-8 Kevin C. Pokorski, PGA Ausable Club A-8 James A. Wasson Jr, PGA Top of the World Golf Resort A-1 Name Employer Class Kevin C. Pokorski, PGA Ausable Club A-8 Name Employer Class Chris D. Bentrovato Schenectady Municipal Golf Crs B-8 Nicholas M Campbell McGregor Links Country Club B-8 Samuel J. Cummings Albany Country Club B-8 Glenn Davis, PGA 6/2 Mike Shpur, PGA 6/3 Michael Hillman, PGA 6/7 Jim Beauregard 6/8 Steve Jennings, PGA 6/12 Dave Arehart, PGA 6/15 Ian Breen, PGA 6/24 Maite Cupp, PGA 6/29 Frank Mellet, PGA 6/29 James Mitus, PGA 7/1 Jonathan Hines 7/23 David Strawn, PGA 7/1 Milton Torres 7/26 Scott Warren, PGA 7/1 Trevor Fiedler 7/27 Erik Smith, PGA 7/8 Daniel Rancourt 7/27 Annemarie Kissane 7/10 Rocky Catalano, PGA 7/28 Samuel Cummings 7/11 Luke Scala, PGA 7/28 Herb Moreland, PGA 7/14 Josh Hillman, PGA 7/30 James Wasson, PGA 7/20 Gene Peterson, PGA 7/30 Bobby Pomeroy, PGA 7/21 Northeastern New York PGA Town of Colonie Golf Course 418 Consaul Road Schenectady, NY Phone: Fax: neny@pgahq.com Web: