February 8, 2024 - The 2024 PGA of BC Education Seminar presented by TaylorMade Golf Canada was a massive success, with over 200 attendees joining us at the River Rock Casino Resort for two days of phenomenal presentations. Presenters covered a diverse range of topics applicable to Golf Professionals and the golf industry. The stacked lineup of speakers featured speeches that were powerful, informative, moving and entertaining.
The Association extends our gratitude to all the amazing presenters: Tara Llanes, Team Canada Paralympian and advocate for all-abilities athletics; Chris Mayson, Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher and Golf Digest Best Young Teacher in America; Mark Crossfield, Golf Coach and YouTube star; Sarah Spain, ESPN reporter, columnist and host; Dr. Harry Sese, "The Golfing Doc" and Clinic Director, Golfletica and Shawn Farmer-Sese, Director of Sports Performance, Golfletica; Jennifer Morton, CEO, Association of Golf Merchandisers; Jeff Stipec, Senior Executive, Oilers Entertainment Group; and Ralph Bauer, Golf Coach and founder, Tour Read Golf app.
Day One saw Tara Llanes open the Seminar by sharing her story of perseverance and resilience in overcoming a mountain-biking injury that left her paralyzed, and her journey in continuing to pursue athletic excellence which has seen her compete for the Canadian National Wheelchair Basketball team in the Paralympics.
Then, Chris Mayson shared his insights into golf instruction which included his experiences coaching some of the most elite golfers in the world.
Following lunch, we were joined by golf coach and YouTube star Mark Crossfield, who dove into his career as a premier golf influencer and shared many tips and tricks that have guided him to stardom.
Finally, Sarah Spain delivered an inspiring speech on the explosive rise of women’s sports and the need to prioritize women in athletics at every level from the amateur to the professional ranks.
Day Two kicked off with great insights on maximizing golfers’ performance through a fitness and health lens, with Dr. Harry Sese and Shawn Farmer-Sese sharing their wisdom gained through their work with many world-class golfers such as Jon Rahm and Wyndham Clark.
Next, Association of Golf Merchandisers’ CEO Jennifer Morton delivered a presentation which highlighted a plethora of tools and resources to help golf clubs maximize their pro shop profits and deliver excellence to retail customers. She also covered upcoming trends to focus on from a retail perspective, such as sustainability and expanding demographics of golfers.
Following Morton’s presentation, Oilers Entertainment Group Senior Executive Jeff Stipec spoke about his journey as a leader in the worlds of sports, hospitality and service, which has seen him work for professional sports teams as well as one of the world’s premier golf and ski companies. Stipec shared his insights into leadership, building a team and maintaining a culture that prioritizes both employees and customers.
To close out the Seminar, Ralph Bauer delivered a keynote speech which delved into his philosophies related to putting and green-reading. Bauer is a top putting coach whose wisdom has been utilized by many of the best golfers today, with cutting-edge ideas to help better understand the art of putting.
Jeff Palmer, Executive Professional at Highland Pacific Golf, attended the Seminar and expressed his appreciation for the wisdom and insights shared by all speakers.
“This has been a great education summit, really, really enjoyable. The breadth of topics, the diversity of knowledge being shared is awesome,” said Palmer. “My key takeaways are about providing opportunities for people that aren’t core to your facility or core golfers. Trying to lower the barriers for people who wouldn’t otherwise come to your facility is really important.”
We would like to offer a special thank you to TaylorMade Golf Canada and Sales Manager Lance Antonenko for their phenomenal support of our marquee education event. These experiences would not be possible without the generous support of our partners.
“It’s been a great event, helping with the development of PGA professionals in BC is very important to TaylorMade. We share many values with the Association: continuing innovation, getting better every day,” said Antonenko. “We try to get innovative, cool new products out in the marketplace and stay ahead of the curve, and that’s what the Education Seminar is going to do for golf pros as well. Get them smarter, get them thinking in some different ways and keep them ahead of the curve.”
“The camaraderie of the golf professional, getting everybody together in a room to brainstorm, seeing a lot of happy people together; it’s a really great thing.”
We would also like to thank our Seminar supporting sponsors: Thunderbolt Sign and Golf Supply House. Members are encouraged to reach out to Thunderbolt Sign Sales & Marketing Manager Carl Rivera at carl@thunderboltsign.com and Golf Supply House BC Territory Representative Kevin Kyle at kevin@gshcanada.com.
To learn more about the Association’s 2024 Education schedule and for any additional questions, please reach out to PGA of BC Executive Director Mark Strong at mark@pgabc.org.
