By Valerie Vaughn, PGA
The PGA of America is on target with its recent “We Love This Game” brand campaign referring to its over 30,000 PGA Members. I am one of those members who loves this game and has successfully implemented PGA of America and PGA REACH programs including Play Golf America, Get Golf Ready for Adults, PGA Jr. League, Drive Chip & Putt, PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), among others. These initiatives have positively impacted the lives of thousands of new junior and adult golfers, lapsed golfers, active golfers and our military veterans.
Golf has been a vehicle for me to journey through life with a purpose, fostering lifetime friendships, leading with integrity and giving back to the game. Family, friends, mentors, leaders and volunteers in golf paved the way for me as a PGA member, and integrity was a shared trait among all of them. I am grateful for my parents’ sacrifices and support plus the Women’s Alabama Golf Association and Southern Women’s Golf Association for encouraging me as a female junior golfer. They demonstrated kindness and patience on the course along with educating and advocating for girls’ golf. These two powerhouse golf organizations offered scholarship opportunities and are largely responsible for keeping girls in the game. Girls and women on the range are vital to the growth of this sport.
Growing up in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, I was introduced to golf at age seven by my grandfather. Attending The Masters Tournament at age 13 with my twin sister and grandparents and then decades later watching the Masters final Sunday stretch on television with my twin and 99-year-old grandfather are lifetime highlights. In my youth, I played golf with family and friends on the 9-hole Par 3 walking course at Vestavia Country Club and in local and statewide junior competitions, lettered on the high school golf team, earned collegiate golf scholarships and volunteered at PGA and LPGA tournaments.
Vince Delbrocco, a man of integrity, PGA Lifetime Retired, launched my career, and his mentorship carried me forward decades later. Vince hired me right out of college as Merchandise Coordinator and promoted me to Assistant Professional at the new 18-hole upscale public Eagle Point Golf Club in Birmingham. He encouraged me to enter the PGA program, and I quickly applied my skills acquired from past part-time jobs as a teen and college student – customer service, inventory management, merchandising, time management and strong work ethic.
My wealth of experience under Vince’s mentorship carried me to my next employment at the new 54-hole Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham. During my tenure, we encountered over 90,000 annual golf rounds and ran 750 tournaments. An in-demand public junior golf program skyrocketed with 400 juniors and 150 US Kids golf club sets sold in less than two hours.
Riding the wave in the 1990s, my achievements included hosting over 1,000 events and over 500,000 rounds of golf played. Helping launch these new courses, I was on the front end of women breaking industry barriers.
Experience in resort, private, semi-private and public sectors led me to a new venture in 2015 at Golf House Tennessee Learning Center in Franklin, Tennessee. I was hired by the Tennessee Golf Foundation (TGF) to grow the game at The Little Course, a walking 9-hole Par 3 family course owned and operated by the TGF. Golf House Tennessee is the headquarters for three allied golf associations and is known for its collaborative culture. In 2023, over 21,000 rounds were played at The Little Course. Our teaching professionals have given golf instruction through junior development programs, lessons for homeschooled youth, an in-school winter golf program, adult beginners programs and private lessons. We emphasize the nine core values in junior golf: Integrity, Courtesy, Respect, Responsibility, Confidence, Sportsmanship, Judgment, Honesty and Perseverance.
PGA HOPE has been the most rewarding program in my career. The Little Course, with Tennessee PGA Section support, launched PGA HOPE Tennessee in 2016 graduating two veterans and will graduate its 300th veteran in 2024. PGA HOPE Tennessee is experiencing exponential growth and strong support statewide. My influencer was the famous Charley Boswell, an Alabama football player who was wounded in WWII at Battle of the Bulge and was an international blind golf champion and author of Now I See. Charley, my friend, gave amazing golf exhibitions during my tenure at Oxmoor Valley, inspiring hundreds of junior golfers in the early 1990s.
My vision as a PGA HOPE leader is to educate our industry professionals on the importance of involvement in PGA HOPE. This purposeful military therapy golf program is saving lives. Rand Rohrer, PGA HOPE graduate at the Little Course stated, “For 32 years I’ve been depressed about my post-battlefield disabilities, but PGA HOPE gave me confidence and encouraged me to enjoy meaningful recreation with new friends while playing the wonderful sport of golf. Thank you PGA HOPE!”
The TGF Mission Statement is significant: promoting golf and its life-enhancing values with an emphasis on helping youth, veterans and the disadvantaged. In 2022, under the leadership of Whit Turnbow, Tennessee Golf Foundation President, the word “veterans” was included in the TGF Mission after witnessing such rapid growth in PGA HOPE Tennessee.
It is both humbling and an honor to receive industry awards through the years which I credit to God, the PGA of America and other countless organizations and individuals, specifically those who surrounded me with their example and support. My hope is that my love of the game will be my legacy!
