The PGA
Experience
During PGA Championship Week, The PGA of America offers a wide range of activities
AMAJOR CHAMPION WILL BE CROWNED THIS WEEK AT HAZEL- tine National Golf Club, but the PGA Championship “Experience” isn’t confined to those standing behind the gallery ropes.
By Bob Denney
A Play Golf America Day is scheduled for Aug. 10, at Chaska Town Course. Below: PGA Professional J.R. Roth helped out at the 2008 Play Golf America Day held in conjunction with the 90th PGA Championship.
From celebrating one of the pioneers of the game, to building important community and business relationships, to free PGA Professional instruction and touring a priceless historical exhibit, The PGA of America offers a wide range of activities to engage golf enthusiasts surrounding the 91st PGA Championship.
The PGA of America pays its highest tribute to a contributor to the game by bestowing the PGA Distinguished Service Award upon William “Bill” Powell of East Canton, Ohio (for more, see page 160).
A pioneer in establishing diversity in the game, the 92-year-old PGA Life Member is the only African-American to build, own and operate his own public golf course. Powell is to be honored Aug. 12, at an invitation-only ceremony at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.
Golf enthusiasts can get a special advance tour of the history of the Season’s Final Major by making a visit to the Galleria in nearby Edina, Minn., 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and some 20 minutes from Hazeltine National Golf Club.
The PGA Championship History Exhibit, which opened in May at the Galleria, offers free of charge through the end of Championship Week a tour of both golf artifacts and memorabilia that reveals the tradition of the PGA Championship and its past 90 Champions.
The exhibit is open daily from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m., while visitors can combine their shopping visit at the Galleria’s upscale blend of more than 70 local and national retailers, restaurants and specialty shops.
The exhibit traces the history of the PGA Championship, from its origin in 1916 when Jim Barnes was the first to capture the Wanamaker Trophy to last year when Ireland’s Padraig Harrington became the first European-born PGA Champion since 1930.
Just inside Hazeltine National’s main entrance, visitors can enjoy a pair of special stops, including a personalized photo opportunity, on the way to following the game’s premier players. Spectators may view and purchase a photo souvenir of their visit that will be available online after Championship Week.
The PGA Learning Center presented by American Express is open to all spectators, featuring an indoor air-conditioned 6,000 square-foot area that includes a golf simulator, four hitting bays, swing capture video analysis, video screens for live tournament feeds and instructional videos,