Who is the modern-day PGA professional in Australia?
The PGA professional I first had an interaction with was Peter Beard, who was the head pro at Wakehurst Golf Club in northern Sydney, were I was a member throughout my teens and for 18 years in total.
Pete was an amiable, no-nonsense pro who regularly conducted school-holiday clinics for the juniors at Wakehurst. Thirteen-year-old me also just liked that he was a professional golfer, a concept to that point in my life that had felt somewhat mythical other than what I’d seen on television.
I’ve caught up with him a couple of times in a professional capacity in the years since we both left Wakehurst, although not for some time now as he’s long retired. Of course, these days I talk to numerous PGA pros on a regular basis and they rank among my favourite people inside the game. I mean, who doesn’t like hanging around people who are better at this sport than almost everyone else?
Yet there’s the trap when it comes to the modern PGA professional. Their ability to play well is just one, small component of their place in the broader golf landscape.
As the Australian PGA Championship rolls around for its 110th edition this month, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the evolution of a role that has, at times, been ridiculed as merely a “Mars bar salesperson” or a “shop attendant” [see below].
The modern PGA professional dispenses so much more than tips and confectionery; they are qualified businesspeople with varied areas of expertise. We often think of PGA pros only as the person standing behind the counter in the pro shop for the 60 seconds we’re in there as we pay our competition fee on Saturday mornings, but it’s the roles you don’t see that add real context.
Sure, coaches – both those visible at tournaments, running high-performance programs and giving lessons at local clubs and driving ranges – are another visible component, yet there’s still a diversity to today’s PGA pros that many golfers miss. Some of the software behind tournament scoring now in place across Australia? Implemented by PGA professionals. Club-fitters and reps for golf equipment and technology distribution companies? They’re PGA pros. Tour companies that lead Aussie golfers to spectate at majors and on overseas golf holidays? Again, many are PGA pros. Additionally, plenty of club general managers are also PGA members.
Today’s PGA pros have so many more strings to their bow and so many more avenues down which they can venture and specialise if they wish.
If there’s a shortcoming, it’s a financial one. Pay enough attention to social media and business networks and you’ll hear the grumbling – and it’s being heard at the top. Club pros’ remuneration was a point PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman raised during an interview in our November issue two years ago.
“The biggest two areas we’re working on with our vocational members is remuneration – trying to grow their remuneration, because our current strategy is all about growth – and member value,” Kirkman said then, while also touching on working hours and work/life balance.
“If you [asked], ‘Could we get another 250, 300 PGA professionals tomorrow?’ At the moment, I’d say, yes, we’d like them, but we’ve got to put them through our program. We’re putting out about eight to 10 jobs a week, but unfortunately the remuneration’s not there to encourage people to move. So their jobs are then going to non-experienced, non-qualified people to come and work in the industry because some clubs are still looking for minimum wages under the Amusement, Events and Recreation Award, which really frustrates us because my job – and our job – is to make sure that a PGA professional gets recognised for their qualifications, skillsets and membership.”
Has there been progress in that department? Perhaps, although is anyone, in any role, in any industry ever truly satisfied with their pay? As for recognition, that’s far less tangible, so we’re taking a moment to applaud our nation’s PGA pros here.
Top 5 misconceptions about modern PGA pros*
5. Anyone can coach: The growing wave of lessons available on YouTube provides the clue here.
4. Anyone can coach II: “There is no manual that teaches new coaches how to teach,” says one long-time coach of tour players and regular golfers. “They learn what makes the ball move and then it’s all experience and continued learning.”
3. Credibility as a coach hinges on tour success: “We mustn’t know what we are talking about if we aren’t on tour,” says another veteran PGA pro (who did spend time competing on tour).
2. They make bucketloads of money: “The coaches at a club don’t get all the lesson money. They pay a commission to the club or facility. Meanwhile, often on a public holiday or on Sundays, the bar staff are on a higher award than the golf pro in the shop.”
1. They’re merely a “shop attendant”: It’s a misnomer that needs to die – and today.
*according to a selection of PGA of Australia members
