The History of the PGA of America

Within this landscape of political turmoil, international strife and dreams yet to be fulfilled, several gentlemen “from the aul’ country” were trying to arrange their multitude of regional accents into a single voice that would represent their new profession, golf, in their new domicile, America. While there were regional associations of golf professionals, lacking was a national organization that would represent all professionals, geography notwithstanding.

Their first attempt at organization came on the 17th day of the new year in 1916. Tom McNamara, a former caddie turned first-rate golfer with a knack for sales and a concern about the life of a club professional, spoke to his boss about a new gambit for increasing sales and perhaps getting some good publicity. McNamara, originally from Boston, worked for Rodman Wanamaker, owner of the department store chain that originated in Philadelphia and who spent a considerable amount of time in New York.

The sociable McNamara, who facilitated wholesale ball sales to professionals for Wanamaker, had heard that some of his professional colleagues were looking to come together for the purpose of creating a schedule of tournaments. These events – replete with purses solely for participating professionals – would help supplement their all-too-often meager income.

Wanamaker, who was locked into fierce competition with A.G. Spalding & Bros. for the sale of the balls used in this novel game that was rapidly spreading across America, saw the unique opportunity spread before him: Help organize the fellows who sold balls to the general public and gain their undying loyalty.

The Taplow Club in New York City was the venue and Rodman, son of Wanamaker’s founder, John, was happy to pick up the tab for some crust, and perhaps a few thimbles, for the gathering of golf enthusiasts who came together on that wintry Monday. Including McNamara, there were 35 golf professionals in attendance at the meal. Leading amateurs such as 1913 U.S. Open Champion Francis Ouimet, golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast and John G. Anderson, another Wanamaker golf salesman, attended at McNamara’s request to help provide credibility to the proposal.

A few local newspapermen, including P.C. Pulver, who would become editor of The Professional Golfer of America in 1920, also were asked to attend the lunch to generate the publicity that would justify this investment. To sweeten his proposal, Wanamaker offered a large silver trophy, $2,580 in purse money and a few medals for a professionals-only championship. This was not dissimilar to the News of the World trophy that was presented to the winner of the British PGA Championship each year.

Seven men, all immigrants from the commonwealth upon which the sun never set, accepted the responsibilities of acting as the organizing committee for the group. Chairman James Hepburn, John Hobens, John B. (Jack) Mackie, James Maiden, Gilbert Nicholls, Herbert Strong and Robert White reconvened a week later, again at the Taplow Club, to draft a constitution, but made little progress. Hepburn was a former British PGA Secretary, so the decision was made to acquire a copy of that charter and modify it.

Jason Rogers, a prominent attorney who numbered Wanamaker among his clients and who had been invited to his client’s organizing luncheon, offered to adapt the document to the needs of the nascent American organization.

Two weeks later, on Feb. 7, 1916, the organizing committee empowered a sub-committee to hammer out the new PGA Constitution. Professionals Hobens, Mackie and Strong, and amateurs Rogers and G.C. Ennever, both attorneys, were the five men charged with coming up with a charter that would work for everyone. On Feb. 24, all parties gathered again to review the proposed document, which was approved by the organizing committee. The foundation now was cast for a national body of professionals.

The organizing committee selected the imposing Hotel Martinique, opened in 1900 at the corner of West 32nd St. and Broadway in Manhattan, as the birthing room for The Professional Golfers’ Association of America. On April 10, 1916, the committee voted on 92 applications to the new Association. Seventy-eight applications were approved for Class A membership in The PGA of America. Included in this number were the 35 professionals who participated in Wanamaker’s lunch and who often are referred to as “charter members.” The remaining applicants on April 10 were categorized in Class B for assistant/apprentice professionals or other categories for salesmen and unemployed professionals. Only three months after being broached, The Professional Golfers’ Association of America was established as the voice for professional golf in America.

Within six months of that April meeting, the first PGA Championship was held, Oct. 9–14, 1916, at nearby Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, N.Y. Jim Barnes defeated Jock Hutchison, 1-up, in the finals. Wanamaker honored his pledge and donated a purse of $2,580 and the trophy that still bears his name today.

The following year, on April 6, 1917, the United States entered the Great War that would claim the lives of more than 10 million combatants worldwide. The landscape of America, and The PGA, would forever change, but the seeds of an Association that today numbers more than 28,000 men and women professionals, were sown by these events in and around New York City in 1916.

The Early Years
The Great War forced the cancellation of the PGA Championship in 1917 and again in 1918, but in 1919 Barnes and 31 other golfers including the aforementioned Hutchison, McNamara and Hobens reconvened at Engineers Country Club in Roslyn, Long Island, Sept. 15–20. Barnes successfully defended his title by defeating Fred McLeod, 6 and 5, in the final.

During the War, The PGA asked golf and country clubs to hold positions open for its members who were serving in the Armed Forces, and purchased and maintained an ambulance for the Red Cross.

Meanwhile, the fledgling Association had gained traction. Scottish-born Robert White, another New York-area professional who had attended the Taplow Club luncheon, was named the first president of The PGA in 1916 and served through 1919, when he was succeeded by fellow Scotsman Jack Mackie. The first issue of The Professional Golfer of America, the precursor to PGA Magazine, was published in May 1920. Pulver, the golf writer for the New York Evening Sun, who had attended the first meeting at the Taplow Club and covered it in the pages of his publication, was named editor.

In 1921, the PGA Championship made several splashes when 19-year-old former caddie Gene Sarazen defeated defending Champion Hutchison in an early-round match, and later when a dynamic bon-vivant named Walter Hagen became the first American-born PGA Champion by defeating Barnes 3 and 2 in the final.

Hagen and Sarazen would emerge as key figures in PGA of America history, with Hagen winning a total of five PGA Championships and Sarazen three, including the 1922 Championship at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club, becoming (still to this day) the youngest PGA Champion ever at age 20. They both would also become factors in the emergence of another PGA of America premier event, the Ryder Cup.

While the true origins of the idea of matching the top American golfers against their British counterparts are debated, it was wealthy Englishman Samuel Ryder who put the plan to action by promising a Cup to the winning side of some unofficial matches staged in 1926 prior to the British Open Championship. In 1927, Hagen captained an American team that included Sarazen to a 91⁄2 to 21⁄2 victory over Great Britain in the “official” inaugural Ryder Cup, held at Worcester (Mass.) Country Club.

Shortly after winning his record fifth PGA Championship, also in 1927, Hagen was involved in the mysterious disappearance of the Wanamaker Trophy. Legend has it that “The Haig” entrusted a cab driver to bring the Trophy to his Chicago hotel room. Yet, the Trophy never made it. When PGA officials asked Hagen where the Wanamaker Trophy was, he reportedly quipped, “I don’t know. I might have left it in a cab.”

Thankfully, the actual Trophy was found in an unmarked case two years later by a porter cleaning the basement of L.A. Young & Company, the manufacturer of a line of golf clubs bearing Hagen’s name. Not surprisingly, the PGA Champion has received a replica Trophy ever since.

In 1933, George Jacobus became the first American-born president of The PGA of America. A dynamic and innovative leader, Jacobus was the first PGA officer to rise from the caddie ranks and was the first president to use the pages of The Professional Golfer of America to communicate directly with PGA members through a column in every issue.

The oldest major championship in senior golf was born in 1937 on the grounds of another of golf’s majors at the invitation of one of the game’s greatest players. At the suggestion of renowned amateur Bobby Jones, the inaugural Senior PGA Championship was held at Augusta National Golf Club three years after the first Masters was held. PGA Champion Jock Hutchison was the winner, and sportsman and philanthropist Alfred S. Bourne donated the $2,000 purse and the trophy, which still bears his name.

WW II Cancellations
The onset of World War II in Europe cancelled the Ryder Cup in 1939. The following message was sent via cable to The PGA of America National Office, which had since relocated to Chicago: “When we have settled our differences and peace reigns, we will see that our team comes across to remove the Ryder Cup from your safekeeping.” —Charles Rowe, Secretary, Professional Golfers’ Association (Great Britain).

Despite the cancellation, The PGA kept the spirit of the Ryder Cup alive by selecting a 10-member team that participated in challenge matches to raise funds for the American Red Cross, various service organizations and other war-related efforts.

Meanwhile, the PGA Championship continued, with Byron Nelson claiming the first of his two Championships in 1940 at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pennsylvania. By 1941, when The PGA of America celebrated its 25th anniversary, membership in the Association had grown to 2,041.

Sam Snead won the first of his three PGA Championships against the backdrop of war at Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1942. Snead, who was to report for duty to the U.S. Navy the day after the final match, defeated Army Corporal Jim Turnesa, 2 and 1, in the Army-Navy battle.

The U.S. involvement in World War II forced the cancellation of the PGA Championship in 1943, and the Ryder Cup would not resume until 1947. As World War II raged, The PGA would purchase two ambulances for the Red Cross, distribute clubs and balls at military bases, and raise more than $25,000 for the war effort.

Meanwhile, Oregon fruit packing magnate Robert Hudson helped get the Ryder Cup going again by financing the British Team’s travels to Portland (Ore.) Golf Club, where, despite Hudson’s hospitality, they were trounced by the American Team, 11–1. While the Ryder Cup resumed its two-year intervals, it would be 1957 before the British Team would again regain the Cup.

Florida Bound
The Senior PGA Championship was moved to PGA National Golf Club in Dunedin, Fla., in 1945, and remained there through 1962. Relocating the national office to Dunedin was discussed at the 1946 Annual Meeting, but the move didn’t take place for another 10 years, when the second floor of the Dunedin First National Bank Building became The PGA of America’s headquarters. In 1954, Dunedin also became the home of the PGA Winter Tournament Program and the site of the PGA Merchandise Show.

The Association celebrated its 40th anniversary in 1956 with 3,798 members and 31 geographical Sections. In 1958, The PGA Championship converted from match-play to stroke-play format, with Dow Finsterwald becoming the first PGA Champion under the new format. Just as significant: the 1958 Championship was the first to be broadcast live on TV and radio.

Meanwhile, PGA members were flocking to Dunedin in the winters, and the Association continued to grow. By 1961, The PGA had moved the national office to larger quarters in Baywood, Fla., six miles north of PGA National Golf Club. The PGA Winter Tournament Program had grown to four events, and the PGA Merchandise Show – started in the parking lot of PGA National Golf Club by salesmen working out of their cars – now was being staged in large tents. The need for more office space and additional playing facilities for even more PGA events created the need for another move.

PGA officials focused on the dynamic Florida East Coast and began talking with Palm Beach County developer John D. MacArthur. At the time, MacArthur wanted the impact of The PGA name to help sell his Palm Beach Gardens development. It took several sessions for both parties to finally reach the agreement that was finalized on Oct. 30, 1964.

In March 1965, the Association moved into 10,000 square feet of office space in the east wing of the clubhouse in MacArthur’s new country club, which for the next eight years would be known as PGA National Golf Club. A year after the move, the Association celebrated its 50th anniversary, with more than 5,800 members.

Players Split
Throughout the 1960s golf continued to gain popularity as a spectator sport and conversely, golf events became attractive television and radio products. Names like Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus had captured the public’s imagination, with the latter two winning their first PGA Championships in 1962 and 1963, respectively.

When The PGA of America was formed, there was no distinction between club and touring Professionals. As The PGA began to develop and promote tournaments, it became easier for the touring Professionals to devote their efforts to playing tournaments and exhibitions. The money that television and sponsorships provided allowed the touring professionals to earn comfortable livings and gave them the influence and desire to negotiate their own terms with the networks and tournament sponsors.

In 1968, PGA tournament players, who comprised a small percentage of the membership, broke away from the Association to form the Tournament Players Division, thereby acquiring more control of the tournament schedule. In 1975, the Tournament Players Division was renamed the PGA Tour, which today is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Most professional golfers maintain dual membership in the organizations.

While the tournament players were forming their own organization, The PGA moved to create additional playing opportunities for its club professional members. Hence, the inaugural PGA Club Professional Championship was held at Century and Roadrunner Country Clubs in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December 1968. Howell Fraser, an assistant professional from West Caldwell, N.J., won the newly named Walter Hagen Cup.

In 1971, the 53rd PGA Championship, the first major golf championship ever held in Florida, was played at PGA National Golf Club. Nicklaus, who now lived just a few minutes east of the course, claimed his second PGA Championship, becoming the first ever to win all four modern majors twice.

Two years later, The PGA’s relationship with MacArthur ended, and the national office was moved to a two-story office building in nearby Lake Park, Fla.

Expanded Member Programs, Rise of the Ryder Cup
In an effort to recognize its most highly skilled members, The PGA initiated the PGA Master Professional Program in 1969. James D. Fogertey of Kirkwood, Mo., was the first PGA Professional to achieve the designation in 1972, which today is held by more than 338 PGA Professionals.

The PGA also initiated the PGA Professional Golf Management (PGM) Program in 1975 at Ferris State University in Michigan. The four and one-half year college curriculum endorsed by The PGA entails a combination of golf and business-related subjects and includes between 16 and 20 months of an on-course internship in the golf industry. Today, it is offered at 17 colleges and universities throughout
the U.S.

For most of the 1970s, The PGA of America searched for a permanent home, one that offered enough space for an expanding staff and the golf facilities to accommodate a growing tournament program. An agreement eventually was reached with developer E. Llwyd Ecclestone Jr. Ecclestone built a multi-course development on which the national office of The PGA of America is located, within a 2,300-acre complex known today as PGA National. The PGA of America staff moved into its present national office in February 1981, with a staff of 63.

The Ryder Cup underwent a major change in 1979, when the Great Britain and Ireland Team was expanded to include players from all of Europe. Also in 1979, The PGA’s foursome of major professional events was completed with the inauguration of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, which matches the winners of each year’s four majors head-to-head.

The ever-expanding PGA Merchandise Show moved several times in search of more spacious accommodations in the 1970s, going indoors for the first time in 1975 in Orlando, Fla. After The PGA relocated to its new headquarters at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens in 1981, the PGA Merchandise Show was held at the Miami Beach Convention Center for three consecutive years, before finding a permanent home at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando in 1985.

The year 1985 also saw the Americans lose the Ryder Cup for the first time in 28 years, as the European Team triumphed at The Belfry in England, 161⁄2 to 111⁄2. Two years later, the Americans would fall for the first time ever on their own soil at Ohio’s Muirfield Village, and in 1989 the Europeans retained the Cup when the ensuing matches at The Belfry were halved.

All of which led up to the dramatic showdown on Kiawah Island, S.C., forever to be known as “The War by the Shore.” With NBC Sports and USA Network providing live coverage of the Ryder Cup for the first time, the U.S. and European Teams battled to the final hole in the final match of the final day, with Europe’s Bernhard Langer’s par putt just avoiding the hole, thus allowing the Americans to regain the Cup after eight years.

The ensuing buzz thrust the Ryder Cup into the spotlight of must-see sporting events, and its value as a television and sponsorship property skyrocketed.

Increased Revenues Benefit Members
Expanded revenues realized from the popularity of the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship allowed the Association to continue to expand member programs and acquire valuable assets throughout the 1990s. In 1992, for instance, The PGA debuted the Golf Professional Training Program for apprentice members.

In 1992 The PGA also purchased the rights to the 13-year-old International Golf Show, the world’s second largest golf exposition, from the Southern California PGA Section. Today, it is the PGA Fall Expo, featuring some 500 exhibitors and nearly 35 educational conferences, second in size only to the PGA Merchandise Show.

In 1998 the Association gained additional revenues when it sold its equity interest in both golf expositions to Reed Exhibition Companies of Norwalk, Conn., while maintaining a strategic alliance with Reed that would promote the growth of PGA Expositions into the 21st Century.

The PGA long held a goal of establishing a “home away from home” for its members, and that goal was realized in 1996 with the opening of PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla. That year two of three 18-hole public golf courses opened at PGA Golf Club. The North Course made its debut on Jan. 1, 1996, and the South Course on May 16, 1996. Later, the Dye Course was opened on Dec. 10, 1999. The PGA also purchased St. Lucie West Country Club, two miles from PGA Golf Club, and developed the course, now named PGA Country Club, into an award-winning layout that complements the nearby PGA Golf Club complex.

The first PGA Learning Center, a 35-acre state-of-the-art practice facility, made its debut at PGA Village on Dec. 27, 1999. And as part of its directive to acquire world-class sites to host the PGA Championship, The PGA acquired Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. The complete purchase was solidified following the 2000 PGA Championship, which was won in dramatic fashion at Valhalla by Tiger Woods in a playoff with Bob May.

Expanding its educational vistas, the PGA Education Center was erected adjacent to the PGA Learning Center and opened on Nov. 8, 2001. The PGA Education Center, a 23,560-square-foot facility, features more than 11,000 square feet of classroom space and provides cost-efficient education programs to serve both PGA members and apprentice professionals. The PGA Education Center was designed to provide PGA apprentice professionals with affordable education, while eliminating waiting lists.

On Dec. 4, 2002, the PGA Historical Center was dedicated at PGA Village. Located between the PGA Education and Learning Centers, the 8,300-square-foot facility celebrates the growth of golf in the U.S., as paralleled by the advancements of The PGA of America. The PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame, which honors PGA members who have made significant and lasting contributions to The PGA of America and the game, is located at the back portico of the PGA Historical Center.

The PGA Today
Recent years have seen the Championships of The PGA of America continue to grow in stature. Concurrently, the benefits and services available to its membership have grown as well.

Today, The PGA conducts more than 30 tournaments for its members and apprentices; provides education opportunities through the PGA Certified Professional Program and employment support through the PGA Employment Center; spearheads the industry growth of the game initiative Play Golf America; and offers a host of member-oriented financial and operational programs, including Golf Retirement Plus and PGA PerformanceTrak.

Through a network of 41 Section offices, the Association maintains a total commitment to the PGA Professional, helping the membership meet the demands of today’s marketplace and addressing vital issues, such as pace of play, environmental concerns and accessibility.

The PGA of America has established new standards of excellence, by expanding opportunities, programs and services for its members, and by operating some of golf’s most compelling events. From Robert White to Roger Warren, from Walter Hagen to Tiger Woods and from Bill Gordon to Bill Eschenbrenner, The PGA has stood firm and continues to flourish on the principles first set forth 90 years ago.

“The PGA Professional individually, and the game of golf in general, always has been, and always should be the focus of this great organization,” says Warren. “It is our predecessor members who have written these 90 years of history, and they have written it well. It is an honor to salute them in 2006.”