South Central PGA

7 days ago

2019 Salesperson of the Year, Bobby Rucker. Bobby grew up in Mississippi and Texas and attended Baylor University
on a golf scholarship where he earned a degree in Marketing and Finance. After graduation, he turned pro and played the Sunshine Tour in South Africa then came back to the US to play the mini tours in Florida and the Dakotas and eventually played in the 1988 Pensacola Open on the PGA Tour. In 1989 he was hired as a golf rep for the EJ Manley Company and
covered Mississippi and Louisiana selling apparel to golf courses under the brand name “Aureus”. In 1995 he was hired by Acushnet and became the FootJoy rep covering
Mississippi and Louisiana. In 2000 he moved to Edmond to cover Oklahoma and Kansas. Bobby and wife Marci recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They have 2 children, both graduates of the University of Oklahoma. Daughter is Bailey currently is the Marketing Coordinator
for the Social Order in OKC , and son Brayden attends OSU Medical School in Tulsa. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA

1 week ago

2019 Public Merchandiser of the Year Scott Weller. The philosophy or strategies he uses at Auburn Hills GC starts with the golf shop personnel greeting guests upon their arrival to this facility and promoting a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. By engaging guests in this manner they initiate the interactions and provide the customer services levels that will potentially lead to additional golf shop sales. The stage for their guest’s journey through the facility begins in the golf shop and their goal is to provide the best customer experience possible each and every day.

In addition to engaging guests they must have an understanding of the brands, price points & styles that our members and guests have as well as presenting the merchandise in a visually appealing fashion. They re-arrange the golf shop layouts a couple times per month throughout the season to give golfers a visually appealing look and keeping the merchandise looking fresh and hopefully prompting golfers to make additional purchases.

Other areas that they market throughout the season are special vendor promotions, sales, demo & fitting day opportunities. They promote these events through various avenues and push these particular promotions to ladies groups, men’s club and senior league player’s at the facility. This facility also hosts 20 – 30 events of various sizes throughout the season and we work closely with the outing coordinators to assist them with event prizes and tee gifts for their tournament players. All of these areas have been very successful to date and has allowed them to gradually increase the golf shop sales over the previous year despite all the weather related issues we’ve experienced this season. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA

2 weeks ago

2019 Private Merchandiser of the Year, Jon Burton. Jon's staff took over the merchandising operation in February 2018. The first thing they did was paint the shop and buy new fixtures and displays. They attended the PGA merchandise show and found new brands to bring in. They tried multiple brands the members have never seen before the first year to determine what they needed to keep and what they needed to get rid of based on how much they sold. They kept these trial brands to smaller size runs and fewer styles to see how they were received.

They offer a “last ones” rack in the back of the golf shop. This rack has any of the apparel that is the last size of any particular item and they offer these items at 40% off the retail price.

They treat their merchandising operation like a high-end boutique. They like to keep the size runs small and not order too many of any style shirt or bottoms. They do this to encourage members to buy it when they see it, instead of waiting for it to go on the sales rack or “last ones” rack. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA shared a photo.

2 weeks ago

Congratulations Corey!Help us congratulate the newest NFHS Oklahoma Boys Golf Coach of the Year

Coach Corey Burd

Coach Burd was selected based upon coaching performance, community involvement, and coaching philosophy!

#CHAMPIONS #RamPride ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA

2 weeks ago

2019 Patriot Award Winner Jim Young. Jim initiated the Oklahoma City PGA Hope Program in the first year it was rolled out, organized the schedule with the therapists from the Oklahoma City VA Hospital and recruited PGA Professionals to coach the clinics. Jim made arrangements to host most of the clinics at his home course River Oaks Golf Club as well as coordinating play days at places like Tinker Air Force Base GC and The Patriot Golf Club in Owasso, OK. Jim was the Lead Instructor for the program for the last 4 years.

Jim’s work with PGA HOPE helped to engage Veterans at River Oaks GC to assist with the clinics and foster relationships between the attendees and those members. Jim has worked to encourage expansion of and participation in PGA HOPE throughout the section. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA

2 weeks ago

2019 Youth Player Development Award Winner Carlton Dove.
Carlton has played a key role in youth player development throughout his 18-year career in golf instruction, However, in his time at Wichita Country Club and in the South Central Section, he has taken on more of a leadership role within the staff of the club, as well as among the other professionals in the section. Carlton first starting working with the Operation 36 program six years ago when he was the PGA Director of Instruction at Bayville Golf Club in Virginia. With the success of the Operation 36 program there and overall benefit to junior golfers, Carlton felt it was an absolute necessity to introduce this program to the members of Wichita Country Club, as well as other professionals and facilities in the section. The presence and success of the Operation 36 program at WCC has undoubtedly contributed to the growth of the Operation 36 program within the section. Additionally, as a board member of the First Tee of Greater Wichita, Carlton introduced and guided the planning and implementation of the Operation 36 program at the First Tee, which is now used as an integrated curriculum with their Core Value program. Over the past three years, seven new professionals within the section have adopted the curriculum to better serve the junior golfers at their facility and grow the game of golf.

Within the Wichita Country Club community, more than 140 junior golfers have enrolled in the program, with over 3,000 strokes lost, and nearly 1,000 rounds played just over the past three years. Analyzing these statistics just within the micro-climate of Wichita Country Club, it is clear that there is growth in the game, more engagement of youth players, and many success stories that lead to engagement and enjoyment. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA is with Brent Cryer.

2 weeks ago

2019 Player Development Award Winner, Brent Cryer. Over the course of 2019 Brent implemented a ladies game development clinic at both The Golf Club of Edmond and Lakeside Memorial Golf Course. Brent has found that the ladies clinics prove to be more effective because they tend to respond better to a more social environment than a one on one lesson. He has also taught several short game and putting clinics between the two course to help individuals, in a group setting, focus on their game within a short distance of the green and on the green. Brent teaches all age groups but loves focusing on those in high school as they are developing their game for the future. He teaches these young kids individually and in groups, which ever one helps them grow as a player the best. ... See MoreSee Less

South Central PGA

3 weeks ago

2019 Bill Strausbaugh Award Winner, Troy Hendricks. Troy’s strong work ethic is demonstrated by his work to elevate the image of the PGA Professional within the city of Wichita, but more importantly within the community. Troy is available to assist in answering any questions asked by any citizens within the community. During public meetings, Troy is able to describe the vision of the golf division in a manner that not only includes necessary improvement through partnerships but also short comings within the division. ... See MoreSee Less