Director Of Golf Named Southwest PGA Pro Of The Year

From the City of Phoenix:

Feb. 21, 2020

City of Phoenix Director of Golf Greg Leicht was honored as the Southwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year for 2019 during an awards ceremony held Thursday night at Paradise Valley Country Club. This is the highest annual award bestowed by the Southwest PGA on a PGA Professional. Leicht is the 46th recipient of the award.

"Words can't describe how honored I am to be named the Southwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year," Leicht said. "Being a PGA Professional in the Southwest Section means everything to me. I have been blessed to work at great facilities for outstanding individuals who supported me along the way. Throughout my career I have worked hard to always give back to the community, fellow PGA Professionals and the Section, and to be recognized by my peers with this tremendous honor means the world to me."

The Professional of the Year award is given to those who have great leadership qualities, strong moral character and a substantial record of service.

Leicht has served as the city's director of golf since 2018 and oversees the operation of its eight municipal courses. During his tenure, he's directed a variety of upgrades to those facilities, including renovated and re-branded restaurants that opened in 2019. Those improvements contributed to a 12.5 percent increase in rounds played during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

In 2015, Leicht was named to the general manager position at Cascata Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev., a high-end course owned by Caesars Entertainment. Under his leadership, revenues for the course grew to all-time highs. Also, during his time at Cascata he earned his PGA Certification in General Management.

Liecht has worked at number of courses around the Phoenix metro area, including the TPC Scottsdale, The Phoenician and Thunderbirds Golf Club, later named Vistal Golf Club. While at Vistal, Leicht hosted the Special Olympics State Golf Championships for 12 years and continues to be heavily involved with that event.

In 2014, Leicht served as the 22nd President of the Southwest PGA and he continues to volunteer with the Section on committees and as a rules official at Southwest PGA events. His resume also includes leading the charge to create the Southwest PGA license plate in Arizona. Thanks to his navigation of the legislative process, the plate was approved in 2016, with proceeds of the sales supporting Southwest PGA Foundation initiatives.

This is not the first time Leicht has been honored by the Southwest PGA, as he received the 2006 Southwest PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award for his work in mentoring fellow PGA Professionals, the Southwest PGA Player Development Award (formally the President's Plaque) in 2008 and 2009, and the National Special Olympics Conrad Rehling Award in 2011. Rehling was the founder of the Special Olympics Golf movement and spearheaded The PGA of America's efforts to introduce golf to Special Olympics. It is presented to PGA Professionals who give back to those with intellectual and physical disabilities.

This press release was produced by the City of Phoenix. The views expressed here are the author’s own.