Members of the Colorado PGA are set to receive a national award from the PGA of America for the fifth consecutive year, which can mean only one thing: a large-scale visit to Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant in Orlando, Fla.
The Section has celebrated the national honors at Orlando-area eateries since 2008, and for the third straight year the restaurant of choice will be Maggiano’s. Considering about 45 people from Colorado PGA membership and staff are expected for the affair, Maggiano’s proprietors no doubt relish the annual visits from the Section.
“It’s now a tradition,” Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth noted shortly before departing for Orlando.
After the previous four national awards went to individual members within the Colorado PGA, this time around an honor is going to the Section as a whole. Tim Lollar, the most recent past president of the Section, will formally accept the PGA of America’s national Herb Graffis Award for “extraordinary and exemplary contributions in player development.”
The presentation will take place Tuesday (Jan. 24), and the dinner celebration at Maggiano’s is planned for the following night.
The Graffis honor marks the 14th time a member of the Colorado PGA — or the Section itself — has earned a PGA of America national award. The first came in 1958, when PGA Champion Dow Finsterwald was named Player of the Year. The most recent run of awards have honored Danny Harvanek (2007 Junior Golf Leader), Clayton Cole (2008 Bill Strausbaugh Award for mentoring fellow PGA professionals), Kyle Heyen (2009 President’s Plaque for player development) and Ann Finke (2010 Junior Golf Leader)
As for the 2011 Graffis Award, “to me it’s an acknowledgement of what our Colorado PGA professionals do in their commitment to growing the game,” said Ainsworth, who’s been executive director for the Section since 2008. “It’s special. It rewards all our efforts.”
Ainsworth estimates that between 50 and 75 people will comprise the Colorado contingent on the Orlando trip, which includes both the PGA Annual Meeting and the PGA Merchandise Show.
Because the award this year honors the Section as a whole, all five Colorado PGA staffers (Ainsworth, R.T. Nelson, Patrick Salva, Diane Plassmeyer and Kaye Grant) were scheduled to make the trip to Orlando.
“The officers thought it was important to reward the staff,” Ainsworth said. “And who wouldn’t want to spend a week in Florida?”
All 41 PGA of America Sections were considered for the Graffis Award, and the Colorado PGA was selected thanks primarily to a couple of initiatives, one of which involved its partners in Colorado golf: the CGA, CWGA, Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents, the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, the Golf Course Owners Association and the Club Managers Association.
“Personally, I love the way we’ve partnered with all the Allied Associations to help grow the game in Colorado,” Ainsworth said.
The Colorado PGA Golf in Schools program — a joint initiative with several of the above-mentioned associations, including the CGA and CWGA — is one of the main ways the Section set itself apart for the Graffis Award. Golf in Schools, announced a year ago, consolidated several similar programs and has grown greatly over the last 12 months.
The idea is to bring golf directly to kids — through golf professionals providing instruction during physical education classes at school — and expose the game to youngsters who wouldn’t otherwise get to experience golf. And there are follow-up components to encourage the kids to stick with the game over the long haul.
The goal for 2011 was to reach 20 schools and 3,000 kids, but already Golf in Schools has exceeded 40 schools and 8,000 kids. And Ainsworth indicated 85 schools and 15,000 kids are possible by the end of the year.
In addition, the Colorado PGA teamed up with the USGA to host a “Junior Golf Experience” at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. At the Experience, youngsters could get help with their golf swing and use the PGA Sports Academy to determine their “fitness handicap” and participate in golf drills.
The Colorado PGA likewise made an impact at the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club in Parker by providing free lessons to the public during tournament week.
“For a state without a lot of tour events, we leveraged the Senior PGA and U.S. Women’s Open pretty well,” Ainsworth said. “We’ve done some things that haven’t been done before.”
