The PGA has revealed the names of the first batch of awardees for its new PGA Excel assessment framework.
Replacing the Association’s previous APAL system, PGA Excel enables PGA Members to demonstrate their impact, achievements and value to employers, golfers and the wider industry.
With awards made every quarter, PGA Excel recognises and rewards PGA Members, enabling them to move up through The PGA’s membership designations and differentiate themselves from their peers.
Following an extended period of assessing and marking submissions, more than 40 PGA Members have been awarded a new designation that demonstrates their impact and achievement within their specialist membership category (PGA Professional, PGA Coach and PGA Manager).
The following PGA Members have been awarded in the following categories:
PGA PROFESSIONAL
Advanced Fellow: Adrienne Engleman, Fame Tate.
Fellow: Graeme Fish, Mark Daubney, Keith Baxter, Adam Keogh, Rodney Holt, Robert Irvine, David Patrick, Simon Race, Mike Shrieve, Chris Long, Nicola Stroud.
Advanced: James Thomas, Martin Hastie, Natasha Gobey, William Farley, Chris Gill, Darrel Ranson, Jordan Gallagher, Paul Wilkinson, Jordan Massey, Stewart Pilgrim, Robert Daw
PGA COACH
Advanced Fellow: Ben Knight, Daniel Grieve
Fellow: Sally Hinton
Advanced: Daniel Lacy, Mark McGeehan
PGA MANAGER
Master: Simon Wordsworth
Fellow: Gary McGlinchey, Bert Mackay, Matthew Sandercock, Brendan McDermott, Daniel Barton, Charles Molony
Advanced: Nick Daniels, Sean Clark
Commenting on the success of the first batch of PGA Excel awardees, Tristan Crew, PGA Executive Director of Membership, said: “We are delighted to announce our first PGA Excel awardees and I would like to congratulate them all on their success. These quarterly PGA Excel awards are designed to reflect and reward the achievements of PGA Members for their impact across the golf industry, and these individuals have met the progression criteria and have succeeded in their chosen fields.
“As PGA Excel continues to grow, we expect to see more PGA Members taking an interest in their career progression and advancing their designation status upwards to Advanced, Fellow, Advanced Fellow and Master. In doing so they are not only meeting their career needs but also the needs of the golf facilities or companies that employ them.”
One of the awardees, Simon Wordsworth, has joined an exclusive club by attaining the Association’s highest honour. Wordsworth, CEO of PGA Partner 59club, has attained PGA Master Manager status, becoming only the 61st person to receive this accolade.
Commenting on his achievement, Wordsworth said: “Being a Yorkshireman, very few things bring tears to my eyes apart from scenes in Coronation Street, onions, or a stray cricket ball, however receiving Robert Maxfield’s call regarding being recognised as a PGA Master Manager by my peers did just that. I feel humble and honoured to join a lifetime list that is just sixty long, and in many ways in awe of these fellow professionals who have been at the pinnacle of their sport.”
Wordsworth continued: “So many have helped me along the way, and I will be forever grateful to my first PGA Professional mentors Paul Shepherd at Hickleton Golf Club and Mark Pearson at Bondhay Golf Club, who set many of the principles I have used throughout my PGA training and golf career. Fifteen years at The Belfry, two Ryder Cups, many tour events were thrilling to be part of, but mainly I thrived due to a working environment where teams were built, and creativity encouraged which certainly allowed me to flourish and grow.
“59club was just an idea, a concept created out of not accepting good, when better is in reach. However, the world is full of good ideas, the majority come to nothing but to make them into a good business is to realise that you can’t deliver it yourself, and within 59club I have built a team of the highest quality. The strength of the group, PGA Professionals Mark Reed, Matt Roberts and Andy Etherington who have been with me since those early days, being far greater than me, the simple founder.
“There is no substitution for serious hard graft, add to that a little luck and belief, and anything is possible. Professional golf is a maze of opportunities available at every turn. In my case it has taken me from a council estate in South Yorkshire to some of the most stunning places in the world and meeting so many inspiring people on that road. When life presents an opportunity, don’t be afraid to grab it, run with it and enjoy it – I did and I am, and feel unbelievably proud that that running has been recognised by The PGA.”