Kathy Swanson: A Champion For The Game

So many things happen behind the scenes at a golf course that translates into customers playing well, enjoying the experience, meeting new people and driving revenue for the business side of the operation. An average patron will take most of what happens for granted, oblivious to the preparations and hard work that go into a successful course. There is one person at the course that doesn’t take any of that for granted, that would be the PGA Professional on staff who is responsible for a good portion of what the customers enjoy. If you peel the onion one more layer you will find a person who is dedicated to supporting those PGA Pro’s, that person in Minnesota is Kathy Swanson. Kathy is a 20-year PGA and LPGA member, her title is PGA Director of Player Development and Member Services.

The Minnesota PGA is one of 41 Sections across the country whose primary objective is to promote the enjoyment and involvement in the game by providing services to golf professionals and the golf industry all under the umbrella of growing the game. Kathy is a bundle of support and energy who tirelessly travels and works should-to-shoulder with local PGA Professionals delivering everything from youth programs, marketing events, tournament logistics, specialty charity programs and a number of other player initiatives. If that works well, as it does in Kathy’s case, the courses reputation grows, the rounds per year grow and ultimately revenue grows. Smiles all around.

The numbers on the impact Kathy is having speak for themselves. For the first time in U.S. history more than one-third of the junior golfers are girls. Growth in Minnesota for that demographic went from 150 participants in 2010 to just over 60,000 in 2018 in the LPGA USGA Girls Golf Program. What golf course wouldn’t want to see that type of expansion in their customer base? The goal is to have over 100,000 girls participating by the year 2020. That should be a slam dunk at the current rate.

There are roughly 500 courses in Minnesota, of those, 276 employ a PGA Professional. As you can see, Kathy has a lot of places to visit and a lot of people to support. When that all clicks and Kathy can provide her expertise as expected, she achieves her personal goal… to make these pro’s look like rock stars.

There are a handful of key focus programs that she promotes, shares best practices on and helps courses facilitate events for. One such program is the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere). Jack Nicholas is a high profile supporter of the program which provides veterans with an outlet to socialize on the course, take golf lessons, learn to adopt their disabilities to the game, share comradery and enjoy the great outdoors. Golf can be a form of therapy, a person can play as individually as they like or as socially as they like. No forced agenda’s, only support and encouragement.

Kathy is also a driving force behind her Sections Youth Drive, Chip and Putt Program. She is proud of the fact that last year at the Regional Finals at Interlachen, 5 of the 8 finalists were from her Section. It should be noted that her MN Section also includes North Dakota, South Dakota and the northern tier of Western Wisconsin. These results speak to quality of coaching and overall support the young players are receiving from their home course PGA Professionals, which in turn is a sure sign Kathy is delivering value and enriching the player pool here in the Midwest.

In her travels and on-course work developing players under the PGA Junior Program she sees a very positive ‘team effort’ mentality coming out of the sessions. The training and events themselves are formatted to leverage total involvement. Even when individual players aren’t swinging for birdies during these sessions they have a role to play and are learning such aspects as turf care, bunker grooming, ground rules and course etiquette. One would think that the participants in this Junior Program are the elite, serious-minded golfers in their respective schoolyards, but that is not the case. The program is made up of 40% beginners, 40% recreational and 20% competitive youth golfers. Again, this is a trend that the PGA likes as it seeks to attract more youths to the great game of golf.

These programs are administered through local courses where the PGA Professional takes the initiative and leverages the resources that Kathy and the MN PGA Section can provide. There are a handful of exemplary PGA Pro’s that conduct multiple events every year, a short list of these local champions of the PGA Jr. League would include Steve Whillock, PGA Oak Marsh GC; Dean Zahn, PGA  Moccassin Creek CC, Aberdeen South Dakota and Chris Larson, PGA Moorhead CC among many others. For elementary and middle school students the First Tee Organization has combined efforts with the MN PGA to drive the National School Program which reaches over four million students nationwide at over 9,000 schools. Kathy and her partners have again worked long and hard to make Minnesota’s participation in the program second to none. Funds to support the on-going program are generated through the Minnesota Golf License Plate initiative which was introduced to support youth golf development and involvement. It is working very well thanks to the above-and-beyond efforts of Lori Money, PGA Deer Run GC; Jon Tollette, Minnesota PGA and Paul Kelley, PGA Woodhill CC.

As an avid golfer Kathy finds less and less time for her own game as she travels the region to provide support. Kathy is a 20-year member of the PGA and LPGA, including fourteen years on the Section’s Board of Directors, being named President of the Minnesota Section in 2006. She has also served on national and sectional committees that include the PGA of America’s Play Golf America and the Junior Golf and Growth of the Game. She continues to build bridges and tear down walls bringing the game she loves to her constituents. You may not notice her work during your next course visit but trust me, many individuals large and small are feeling it, so we are all benefiting. Thank you Kathy.