Dan Ross of Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex Leads Indiana PGA Special Awards List

Monday, February 9 the Indiana Section PGA recognized their 2015 Special Award Winners at the Ritz Charles in Carmel, Ind.  Leading the Special Awards list was Dan Ross of Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, who was named the 2015 Indiana PGA Golf Professional of the Year.

The PGA Golf Professional of the Year award is one of the highest honors the Association can bestow on a working Club Professional whose total contributions to the game best exemplify the complete PGA Professional. This award embraces a wide range of services executed by the club professional including leadership, strong moral character, a substantial record of service to the game and a model PGA Golf Professional. 

Ross is the Head Professional and Director of Instruction at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.  There, he manages a staff of 50 people, including two Assistant Professionals, four Seasonal Interns, 15-20 Seasonal Clubhouse and Cart Barn Staff, and 30 starter, greeter, and player assistants. 
 
As the Director of Instruction, Ross strives to keep learning prospects a high priority, especially given the complexes affiliation with Purdue University. Opportunities for instruction are available in four areas: private lessons, group clinics, junior golf programs, and university golf classes.  The most impactful program at Birck Boilermaker proved to be in the areas of Golf Classes for the Purdue University Students and the Get Golf Ready clinics for beginning golfers. 
 
Last year, Ross received the first annual Indiana Section Player Development Award for success with these programs.  In 2014, the classes remained steady with 300 students instructed, and the participation in the Get Golf Ready clinics increased from 144 in 2013 to 156.
 
Ross is also very involved with the Indiana Section PGA.  In 2006, he was elected to the Indiana PGA Board of Directors as the Apprentice Chairman, and was re-elected to the Board in both in 2008 and 2011.  In 2011, Ross was named Membership Chairman.
 
Ross also volunteers his time to teach for Play Golf America functions, as well as participates in as many Indiana Golf Foundation activities as possible, including the first Indiana Golf Charities Day, which raised over $40,000 for the Foundation and multiple local charities.
 
During his time spent at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, and as a member of the Indiana Section PGA, Ross has always been working towards the common goal of growing the game of golf. 
 
“I strive to be my absolute best every day on the job,” Ross said.  “Whether it is giving a lesson, teaching a class for Purdue, doing club repair, merchandising in the shop, or playing golf with a member, I strive to be the best I can be.”
 
Jon Hoover of Prairie View Golf Club was recognized as the Indiana PGA Teacher of the Year.  The Teacher of the Year Award bestows special recognition on a PGA golf professional who has performed outstanding service as a golf instructor. 
 
On a daily basis, Hoover spends about 70% of his time with junior golfers, 10% with amateur golfers, and 20% performing club fittings.  Almost all of his students take instruction through a series of multiple lessons or on a monthly retainer fee, allowing Hoover enough time to evaluate, identify weaknesses, and construct a program that is specific to improving each student’s game.
 
Hoover created a Junior Development Program called The Leading Edge, which is designed for juniors ages 12 to 18, who are looking to play junior golf on a state and national level, competitively in high school, and eventually college golf.  The program is broken into four seasons and students receive 47 hours of private instruction and directed practice, 69 hours of group instruction and directed practice, 12 hours of fitness activities, 8 to 12 hours of on course time, TrackMan, V1 Video, SAM Putt Lab, AimPoint, Edel Putters, and Megsa Training, as well as resume writing for potential college programs.
 
Hoover is also the coach of the Boys Westfield High School Golf Team, where he has led the team to a State Championship in 2013 and a State Runner-up finish in 2014. 
 
Brian Natzel of Swan Lake Resort received the Indiana PGA Player Development Award.  The Player Development Award is designed to recognize a PGA Professional for extraordinary and exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of player development.  This award considers the PGA Professional’s growth of the game leadership commitment at the Section and National levels and the impact made at the facility.
 
Natzel is the Director of Instruction at Swan Lake, and his primary responsibility is to grow the game of the golf at his facility.  With the help of a committed staff and certified PGA Professionals, Swan Lake has hosted Get Golf Ready programs, a free junior program, a Boys and Girls Club program, a Ladies Golf School and Academy Stay, Play, and Learn Packages; just to name a few of the Player Development programs they are offering.
 
In addition, Natzel manages all of The Golf Academy at Swan Lake Resort Programs as the Director of Instruction.
 
“One of my top priorities as a director is to surround our players with as many tools and professionals as possible,” Natzel said.  “I try to give customers as many opportunities as possible to learn from many different angles, professionals, and resources.”
 
Since Natzel has joined the team at Swan Lake, he has assisted with membership growth and increased total rounds played per year. The Academy student survey results have shown a 98.7 customer satisfaction rating. He has increased driving range revenue, increased growth and decreased expenses of the academy and the number of private lessons given and revenue have doubled over the last two years.
 
Ben Weaver of Prestwick Country Club received the Youth Player Development Award. The Youth Player Development Award is designed to pay recognition to a PGA Golf Professional who is a leader in junior golf, reflects the qualities and ideals of those who work with our nation's youth, and provides opportunities and experiences for juniors to learn and play golf. 
 
For the last two years, Weaver has served as the Head Coach of PGA Junior League Team Prestwick.  Both years’ Weaver has been a part of the PGA Junior League Program his team has advanced to the National Championship, finishing fifth in 2013 and runner-up this past year. In 2014, the Prestwick All Star team went undefeated until the national tournament where they lost to eventual champion, Team California.
 
Weaver has seen over 22 of his students go on to play collegiate golf at various schools around the country.  He is also actively working to make Prestwick a host site for The First Tee of Indiana, which will hopefully happen sometime this year.
 
Prestwick has recently created a Student Golf Membership, allowing anyone under the age of 18, or still enrolled in college, to play golf for a discounted rate.  In addition, they have also created a membership for Avon High School golf teams, allowing them to practice and play at the facility.  Recently, Prestwick took over the Hendricks County Junior Golf Tour, and saw the numbers of the program triple in size in the first year of Prestwick’s involvement. The Tour now has over 175 players from 7 different counties.
 
Jason LePage of Broadmoor Country Club received the Bill Strausbaugh Award.  The Bill Strausbaugh Award is presented to those PGA members who by their day-to-day efforts have distinguished themselves in the field of club relations, causing dramatic improvements in employment conditions in their local Section and/or for the PGA of America. 
 
LePage has served as a mentor for over 15 men and women during his time as the Head Golf Professional at Broadmoor CC.  Several of those individuals have gone on to become Head Golf Professionals, Directors of Instruction, and in some way or form have furthered their careers in the golf industry.
 
LePage believes the best way to influence his fellow professionals is to lead by example and conduct himself in a professional manner whether he is at Broadmoor Country Club or off property. He wants to portray a positive image that reflects positively not only on him but on the PGA Profession as a whole.
 
Nick Marucci of Nike Golf was the 2015 Horton Smith Award recipient.  The Horton Smith Award is designed to recognize individual golf professionals for their outstanding and continuing contributions to developing and improving education opportunities for the PGA Golf Professional.
 
Marucci has served on the PGA Board of Directors since 2008.  During his time on Board, he was instrumental in putting together an education program launching Golf 2.0 that provided all attendees a roadmap on implementing this National program at their own facilities.
 
In addition to serving on the Education Committee, Marucci is also very involved with the Indiana Special Olympics program.  Last summer, he hosted an event at Prairie View Golf Club, for athletes headed to the National Special Olympics games.  The event included prizes, multiple PGA Professionals conducting clinics, and video analysis for each athlete.
 
Our 2015 Merchandisers of the Year are Patrick White of Woodland Country Club in the Private Category, Amber Pasel of Hickory Stick Golf Club in the Public Category, and John Swan of the Fort Golf Resort in the Resort Category.
 
Patrick White, the Head Golf Professional at Woodland Country Club, strives to develop customer loyalty through his golf shop’s “customer comes first” mantra.  Woodland offers demo days, trunk shows, holiday parties, gift wrapping, and special orders to meet the needs of all customers.
 
A very large part of Woodland's merchandise sales in 2014 came under less than optimal conditions as the golf shop went through a total teardown and rebuild. Forced to use a former children’s playroom in the Clubhouse which was less than 350 square feet, White made the most of the situation by using other spaces throughout the clubhouse to highlight specific lines.
 
Amber Pasel, the Head Professional at Hickory Stick Golf Club, is in the same position as many head golf professionals, trying to find time to designate to all of her areas of responsibility that include golf operations, tournaments, food and beverage and of course merchandising. She estimates that she spends about 20% of her time each week on merchandising related activities. 
 
In 2014, Hickory Stick sold over $162,000 worth of merchandise despite rounds being down nearly 22% over a 3 year period.  Part of Pasel’s success was due to growing women’s apparel sales by 79%. This was done by adding life style apparel to the women’s golf apparel lines. The life style apparel allowed women’s customers to be stylish on and off the course which lead to increased sales.
 
John Swan, Director of Golf at The Fort Golf Resort, spends 40-50% of his time focused on merchandising. He dedicates his time and energy to keeping the golf shop looking fresh, while paying attention to the needs of all public golfers the resort attracts.  Swan recently refocused the golf shop with an emphasis on club fitting and promoting the sale of custom clubs to golfers of all skill levels.  This, in turn, increased club sales from $15,000 to $120,000 in just one year.
 
In 2014, the Fort sold $264,000 worth of merchandise, which was $100,000 more than the previous year.  In 2015, their projected gross merchandise sales are $300,000.
 
Dane Brummett of Fort Wayne Country Club was recognized as the Indiana PGA Assistant Golf Professional of the Year.  Brummett has made it a point to build positive and constructive relationships with everyone he encounters.  From PGA Professionals, to club members, to guests, to vendors, and to coworkers, Dane has conducted himself in a manner above and beyond what is expected.
 
Brummett’s current responsibilities include running the FWCC Caddie Program, two distinct ladies golf leagues, overseeing the golf shop and bag room staffs, and assisting with a junior golf program.  The FWCC Caddie Program is something Brummett really enjoys.  He has the opportunity to work with over 80 caddies, including several Evans Scholars. 
 
This winter, Brummett served as a guest Professional at a Q & A hosted by Trine University to talk about the Golf Management Program.
 
“I am always excited for the opportunity to provide information and guidance to anyone considering a career in the golf industry.”