PGA of America officers and officials provided an insightful update on the Association’s “We Love This Game” campaign, addressed the rebranding of the PGA with a contemporary logo to differentiate it from the PGA TOUR, and answered questions from PGA of America Members on everything from the future of the Ryder Cup to the rollback of the golf ball, to the possible PGA TOUR-LIV Golf agreement during a PGA Town Hall Meeting Wednesday afternoon in the PGA Member Business Center at the PGA Show.
PGA of America President John Lindert began the Town Hall with an overview of the “We Love This Game” campaign and the PGA’s rebranding initiative that involves new advertisements produced by Omaha Productions.
“For a long time, there has been confusion, especially among consumers, between the PGA of America and the PGA TOUR,” noted Lindert. “The PGA Board (of Directors) agreed that we needed to tell the story of what the PGA America and its 30,000 professionals do every day to grow the game and make golf enjoyable for everyone. We also wanted to eliminate the confusion between the PGA of America and the PGA TOUR by designing a new logo in which the ‘of America” part of the PGA is prominent.
“We wanted to start the campaign during the Ryder Cup last fall, so we utilized Omaha Productions and they created some spots in 90 days to promote the job the PGA of America Golf Professional does every day to tell our story The sale of merchandise bearing the new PGA of America logo went on sale this week at the PGA Show, so both of these campaigns have been hugely successful.”
“Some play the game for millions (PGA TOUR players), but we help millions of people play better golf and enjoy the game every day,” observed PGA of America Vice President Don Rea. “That’s the story we are telling through the ‘We Love This Game’ campaign. PGA of America Professionals are the experts in the game – for amateurs and professionals.”
John Easterbrook Jr., PGA, Chief Member Officer for the PGA of America, said at a recent PGA Section meeting, he asked those in attendance who got into golf to make $1million?
“Not a single hand went up,” Easterbrook said. “PGA Professionals do what they do because we love this game. We work to make people smile and play better golf. We don’t do it for the money.”
PGA of America Chief Executive Officer Seth Waugh fielded a couple of compelling questions regarding the proposed agreement between the PGA TOUR and the Saudi Investment Fund (LIV Golf), and the USGA and R&A’s decision to roll back the golf ball in 2028 (for professionals) and for everyone in 2030.
“Anytime there is seismic change in the golf business, it’s scary, but we (the PGA of America) are in constant communication with all parties and cognizant of how it might impact the game,” said Waugh. “We have to be smart, thoughtful and prepared. Peace is always better than war, and hopefully the PGA TOUR (and Saudi Investment Fund) will work something out that will benefit both sides.”
Regarding the golf ball rollback, Waugh observed: “It seems strange that now that golf is thriving and popularity is at a peak, anyone would want to make the game less fun or less enjoyable. We have pushed back hard against bifurcation (separate golf balls for professionals and amateurs) and against rolling back the ball for everyone.
“We believe it’s fundamental that we all play on the same field. It has been a long process, but conversations are still going on and we’ll see what happens between now and 2028 and 2030.”