14 PGA Professionals Earn Advanced Certifications

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (May 22, 2018) – The PGA of America announced that 14 PGA Professionals have completed the requirements to achieve advanced certification through the PGA Certified Professional Program 2.0 (CPP 2.0), a valuable achievement that is aimed at further enhancing the skillset of PGA Professionals and advancing career opportunities.

The PGA’s enhanced, all-digital training and education curriculum, PGA CPP 2.0 is a state-of-the-art platform that ensures PGA Members have the skills, competencies, and training demanded by employers and customers throughout the golf industry. Since the PGA Certified Professional Program’s original inception in 2004, a total of 1,467 PGA Professionals have earned a combined 2,541 certifications in their desired career paths.

Designed with direct input from employers and industry experts to immediately enhance the expertise and performance of PGA Members in the workplace, PGA CPP 2.0 is an intuitive program available on PGA.org that offers certifications in Golf Operations, General Management, Player Development and Teaching & Coaching.

These distinct certification programs encompass seven defined Career Paths (Golf Operations, Retail, General Management, Executive Management, Ownership and Leasing, Teaching & Coaching, and Player Development), supporting PGA Members who are committed to continuously enhancing their golf management skills, in order to stay ahead of the increasing demands of the industry.

The following PGA Professionals recently achieved certifications in one (or more) of four categories:

General Management

• Gary Botkin, PGA, Prior Lake, Minnesota Stonebrooke Golf Club, Minnesota PGA Section
• Kenneth Johnson, PGA, Hingham, Massachusetts Hatherly Country Club, New England PGA Section
• Brian Phelps, PGA, Canton, Connecticut Golf Club of Avon, Connecticut PGA Section

• Nicholas Pollock, PGA, Shoreline, Washington Seattle Golf Club, Pacific Northwest PGA Section

Golf Operations

• Kirk Gleason, PGA, Renton, Washington Maplewood Golf Course, Pacific Northwest PGA Section
• Vincent Pulizzano Jr., PGA, Brookfield, Wisconsin Westmoor Country Club, Wisconsin PGA Section
• Sean Racki, PGA, Philadelphia, Mississippi Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, Gulf States PGA Section
• David Vazquez, PGA, Raleigh, North Carolina The Hasentree Club, Carolinas PGA Section

Teaching & Coaching

• Stephen Caruso, PGA, Peabody, Massachusetts Ferncroft Country Club, New England PGA Section
• Brent Johnson, PGA, Venetia, Pennsylvania Lindenwood Golf Course, Tri-state PGA Section
• Evan Moser, PGA, Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro Country Club Irving, Carolinas PGA Section
• Michael Robinson, PGA, Wayland, Massachusetts Shelter Harbor Golf Club, New England PGA Section
• David Thompson, PGA, Avon Colorado Red Sky Golf Club (Norman), Colorado PGA Section
• Michael Valicenti, PGA, Jupiter, Florida Jonathan's Landing At Old Trail, South Florida PGA Section

About the PGA of America

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Contact:

Michael Abramowitz PGA of America mabramowitz@pgahq.com 561/624-8458

Jared Minski Mastro Communications jared@mastrocomm.com 732/469-5700