Jack Barber, current president
of the Indiana PGA Section and head professional at Meridian Hills Country Club
in Indianapolis, has developed a reputation as a leader. Whether servicing the members at Meridian
Hills, assisting other PGA Members or Apprentices or serving his Association,
Barber has followed his core belief that one leads by example through
work ethic, integrity, people skills, and honesty. “On a day to day basis, I am
cognizant that I am being observed by my staff,” says Barber, “as well as my
members and fellow professionals, and it is imperative to exhibit the above
traits at all times, even in the most difficult of circumstances.”
He developed a reputation among his peers as a leader and had greatly
influenced all who have worked for and with him. He encourages those core
beliefs in others, and through that Barber has influenced countless other PGA
Members and Apprentices during his 24-year tenure at Meridian Hills. “Jack
taught me to do things right the first time and has shown me how to take care
of people,” said Todd Firestone, PGA
Professional at Fort Wayne Country Club and a former assistant of Barber.
“Nobody works harder than Jack,” added Ted Bishop, the Director of Golf at The
Legends of Indiana and the current PGA of America Secretary. “I have observed
Jack at work, and his members have a great deal of respect for him.” Nick
Marucci, head golf professional at Tippecanoe Country Club and another former
assistant under Barber said, “Jack is so well known for his service that even
members at other clubs hold Jack in the highest regard.”
“I’ve seen Jack interact
with his members, with amateur golfers from around the state and with his
peers, and I can’t imagine a person representing the PGA Professional in a
better way than Jack,” said Mike David, Executive Director of the Indiana Golf
Office. “It’s an overused phrase, but Jack is truly the epitome of the PGA
Professional.
That feeling was recently
shared by the PGA of America Special Awards Committee as they selected Barber
as the 2009 PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year. “This is the highest
form of recognition that any PGA Professional can receive. There is no greater
honor. It is the ultimate professional achievement,” explained Bishop. Barber, 59,
is a 33-year member of The PGA of America and follows the late Don Padgett in
1961, as the second member of the Indiana PGA Section to be so honored.
When he’s not taking care of members or his family, or
competing in Section events, Barber devotes his time to serving the game he has
grown to love so much. As the current Indiana Section President, he has stepped
up as a leader and motivated his fellow members. “Jack has taken the position (of
Section President) to a higher level,” said Bishop, a former president himself.
“He instructed his Board to do a phone survey that made the feel like somebody
cared about their opinions. Then, he organized activities involving spouses and
kids, which demonstrates to families there is a human side to the PGA. Jack
just gets it.” At his first board meeting serving as the president, he began
his term in a memorable way by calling on all of Indiana’s members to step of
to the challenges of the job and represent the true golf professional. “The
inspirational speech Jack prepared at the Spring Meeting had every ear in the
room listening to his words of wisdom,” admired Firestone, who serves as
Indiana Section Secretary. “He used a number of hats as his props and really
hammered home the point of the many roles that the PGA Member is required to
fill.”
“Jack brings a tremendous
level of respect to the Indiana Section Board,” said David. “Not that we
haven’t had that in the past but I think Jack brings a new level of enthusiasm
to his position as Board president and I don’t think there is any doubt that
his enthusiasm is contagious. We had several people say it was the best Section
Meeting ever. I think that is a direct result of Jack’s enthusiasm and
leadership abilities.”
During his tenure at Meridian Hills, Barber has often
been asked to speak to various groups, and continues to use the “Hat”
presentation Firestone refers to. “One of the things that excited me is the
number of hats that PGA Professionals wear,” said Barber. “I brought a variety
of hats and pulled them out one at a time and put them on my head while
speaking about being a teacher, player, merchandiser, businessman, Rules
official, accountant, etc. Of all the hats we wear, it is vitally important
that I wear each of them very well.”
Another one of his many ‘hats’ is his devotion to growing the game
through junior golf. The Indiana Golf Foundation, which exists to promote golf
and its inherent life lessons to juniors throughout the state, has also
benefited from Barber’s service as a board member, advocate and fundraiser. At
Meridian Hills, he grew the junior program from 15 participants in the beginning
to over 150.
All of his talents and efforts
have been recognized over the years as Barber has been named the Section Merchandiser of the Year award
three times, the 1993 Section Teacher of the Year, 1996 Golf Professional of
the Year and the 2003 Bill Strausbaugh Award. Kentucky presented him with the
1981 Kentucky PGA Horton Smith Award and the 1985 Kentucky PGA Golf
Professional of the Year. He also served as President of the Kentucky PGA board
in 1984-85.
“Even with all of these honors, his legacy will be his
mentorship of all the assistant golf professionals he has had over his 30 plus
year career and the devotion he has had to helping over a dozen of them land
head golf professional positions across the country,” said Marucci, one of
those former assistants who is now in a head professional position.
While at Meridian Hills Country Club, Barber has
mentored 20 assistant professionals and countless club personnel. Currently,
nine of Barber’s former assistants are now PGA head professionals.
Kentucky is Barber’s home and where he originally
developed a passion for the game at age 14. Playing golf until dark, putting
under the lights of a car, Barber was unable to afford golf lessons. He gave up
a dream to be a professional baseball player while he improved his golf skills
and went on to help Russell
High School finish
runner-up in the 1968 Kentucky State High School Golf Championship. He went on
to earn a golf scholarship to Eastern
Kentucky University
where he competed four years and graduated in 1972. During the summer, Barber
competed in the U.S. Amateur and Western Amateur Championships.
Barber married his high school sweetheart, Becky
Salyer, and began his professional career as a non-member head professional at
nine-hole Ironton (Ohio)
Country Club, where he handled all duties with the exception of greens keeper.
In 1974, he received an invitation from a former Eastern Kentucky assistant
coach turned PGA Professional, John Dunham, to serve from 1974-76 as an
assistant at Highland Golf and Country Club in Indianapolis.
From there, Barber was hired at age 27, as the head
professional at Lexington (Ky.) Country Club. One month on the job,
Barber was faced with a career-challenging moment.
“One member of the club complained to a board member
that they had hired a kid to do a man’s job,” said Barber. “I heard that and
was more determined than ever to show that they had made the best decision.
After one year, that member came to me and apologized. He became a close friend
over the next eight years and one of my biggest supporters at the club.”
When the Meridian Hills CC post opened in late 1985,
Barber was asked to submit an application one day before the application deadline.
The following morning, Jack went to work as usual and his wife, Becky, made the
three-hour drive from Lexington to Indianapolis to deliver
her husband’s résumé. Barber was interviewed, hired, and began work on Jan. 1,
1986, where he has worked for the past 24 years.
“Becky is definitely the pillar of strength for our
family,” said Barber. “The demanding job of golf professional requires long
hours from me and unlimited patience and understanding from my wife. In my
absence, she provided the strength and guidance for our two sons of whom I am
most proud. My wife and sons have always been there supporting me every step of
the way.”
Among Barber’s on-course successes include his winning
the 1978 Kentucky State Open, and finishing runner-up in 1979; competing from
1979 to 1986 in the PGA Professional National Championship; competing from 1979
to 1986 in the PGA Professional National Championship; capturing the 1983
Kentucky PGA Match Play Championship and the 2002 Indiana Senior PGA
Championship.
One case of interacting with his club personnel,
Barber says, helped enrich his career. Two weeks after being hired, Barber took
the lead in guiding a longtime club employee, 25 years his senior, out of
alcoholism and into a rehabilitation program. That employee, the late John
Pearsey, went on to turn his life around, earn a driver’s license, get married
and build a savings account.
Barber gave the eulogy at Pearsey’s funeral and later
established the John Pearsey Spring Tournament for women; renamed the men’s
Hole-In-One Club in his friend’s honor and began a scholarship for a member of
the bag room staff or deserving caddie who may not have qualified for the Evans
Scholarship program.
“I was blessed to be in the position that I was to
show compassion for others,” said Barber. “One of my concerns about the golf
business is that we need to get back to the business of taking care of the
people. We need to get out from behind the counter or from behind the desk and
take care of golfers that have come to enjoy our facilities and our game. I
stress how important that is to anyone I’ve hired. We can have such a
tremendous influence on people’s lives.”
That lesson of going the extra mile to service his
customers didn’t go unnoticed by Firestone. “It sounds simple but it has gotten
me where I am today,” he said. “Jack
taught me how to build relationships with people. That has gotten me to where I
am today.”
Marucci has also seen Barber’s philosophy at work.
“Jack Barber’s philosophy to becoming a great PGA Professional is simple –
serve the members and guests you come in contact with and promote the game of
golf enthusiastically.” Marucci added, “He takes pride in going above and
beyond what is requested by a member.”
Jack and Becky live in Indianapolis, and are the
parents of sons, Jason, 30, and Jesse, 27. Jason and his wife, Jenny Ann, are
parents to Barber’s first granddaughter, Addisyn Brooke.
The PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award was established
in 1955 to honor the working PGA Professional whose total contributions to the
game best exemplify the complete PGA Professional. Barber will be recognized at
The PGA of America Awards, Jan. 28, 2010, during the 57th PGA
Merchandise Show at the Orange County Convention Center’s
Linda W. Chapin Auditorium in Orlando,
Fla. The program also will honor
the following recipients:
- Mike Bender of Lake Mary,
Fla. – PGA Teacher of the
Year - Derek Hardy of Santa Ana,
Calif. – PGA Horton Smith
Award - Dennis Satyshur of Timonium,
Md. – Bill Strausbaugh Award - Vikki Vanderpool of Murfreesboro,
Tenn. – PGA Junior Golf
Leader - Kyle Heyen of Arvada,
Colo. – PGA President’s Plaque - PGA Merchandisers of the Year –
- Brian Morrison of Flossmoor, Ill. – Private Facilities
- Nevin Phillips of St. Thomas, V.I. – Public Facilities
- Caroline Basarab-Dennison of Hilton Head Island, S.C.
– Resort Facilities
The PGA of America also will honor the recipients of
two additional national awards, Nov. 14, at the 93rd PGA Annual
Meeting at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New
Orleans, La.
- Andy Weissinger of Portsmouth,
Va. – The Patriot Award - The Midwest PGA Section – Herb
Graffis Award
“Our 2009 award winners reflect the best of our
Association,” said PGA of America
President Jim Remy. “The recipients have each left an impact upon the game long
before they were designated for this past year’s accomplishments. By their
example in benefiting the lives of others, working with their members and
inspiring both juniors and young professionals they have made us very proud to
say that PGA Professionals are experts in the game and the business of golf.”