Colorado PGA Professionals Honored Nationally and Locally

Hajek, Assell head list of award winners

Although the golf season is far from over, the PGA of America and Colorado PGA Section have announced their awards for 2015.

For the seventh time since 2007, the PGA of America will honor a Colorado Section member at its Annual Meeting November 11 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

This year, Jim Hajek, the PGA Head Professional at Fossil Trace Golf Club in Golden will receive the PGA of America's Public Merchandiser of the Year award.

“Many look at merchandise as something they “have to do” or as a service that is simply implied with managing a golf shop,” noted Hajek on his merchandising philosophy.  “I choose to view it as something I “get to do,” somewhere the opportunity exists to set ourselves apart.  Merchandising offers a tremendous opportunity for a PGA Professional to make substantial financial differences at his/her club while increasing guest satisfaction and loyalty.”

It’s that philosophy that truly sets Hajek and his operation at Fossil Trace apart from the rest of the industry.  He and his staff have embraced the technological side of the business and have incorporated it in their offering of a comprehensive club fitting program.  

“We have greatly expanded that area of our merchandise efforts,” noted Jim on the changes at the club.  “We included the training and certification of a fitting staff, the inclusion of multiple manufacturers (PING, Titleist, Cobra, Callaway, Mizuno and TaylorMade) & their respective fitting systems and the purchase of a Foresight GC2 Launch Monitor and Ping nFlight Software.”   

Originally from South Dakota, Hajek began his career in the golf industry managing a country club in his hometown of Tyndall.  He moved to the Denver metro area in 1989 and went on to become the Head Professional at The Meadows Golf Club in Lakewood.  Prior to taking his position with the City of Golden early 2003, Jim spent eight years as the Head Professional at Foothills Golf Course. 

Hajek is the sixteenth member of the Colorado PGA to be honored by the PGA of America and the fifth member to earn the honor of Merchandiser of the Year.

On the local front, the following individuals will be honored Friday, November 6 at Colorado Golf Club in Parker. 

Golf Professional of the Year: Joe Assell GolfTEC

As Co-Founder, President & CEO of Denver-based GolfTEC, Assell’s contributions to golf are monumental. He leads the company on a day-to-day basis overseeing overall strategy and multiple divisions within the company, including finance, legal, sales, technology, and marketing.  The company, launched in 1995, has experienced rapid growth, often times by more than 50% annually, to become the undisputed leader in indoor golf instruction.  The company has expanded into Canada, Japan, and Korea and today brings in more than $80 million in annual sales.

While the success of GolfTEC has been enormous, Assell feels that his performance as a PGA Professional is rooted in two key areas; player development and mentoring.  In terms of player development, GolfTEC delivered more than 700,000 lessons in 2014 and by lowering the handicap of nearly 100,000 people, has increased their skill and abilities.  As far as mentoring goes, GolfTEC started with one employee in 1995 and today employs approximately 450 PGA Members and Apprentices and another 150 who aspire to join the PGA ranks; collectively that number amounts to just more than 2% of all the golf professionals in the US.  

Assell, who graduated cum laude with B.B.A. in Marketing from the PGA – Professional Golf Management Program at Mississippi State University, served on the Colorado PGA Board of Directors from 2001 to 2004 and was re-elected to serve a second term from 2005 to 2007.  He continues to serve to this day on the Colorado PGA Finance Committee and prides himself on helping the Section operate with a balanced budget due to sound financial principles.

On the national level, he currently sits on the PGA of America Workforce Taskforce Committee and has spent time serving on the Get Golf Ready Advisory Board, the Player Development Advisory Board for Golf 2.0, and the PGA Member Benefits and Marketing Committee.

Assell's influence extends well outside the Colorado PGA and the PGA of America. He serves on the Associate Board for the Boys and Girls Club of Denver and he has a seat with the Centennial Club, a group of business professionals dedicated to bring a PGA Tour event back to Colorado. 

Teacher of the Year: Dennis Murray, Valley Country Club

Murray, a PGA member for close to 30 years, has spent time teaching the game of golf at notable facilities such as Columbine Country Club, Torrey Pines Golf Club and Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club.

Murray’s philosophy on teaching the game of golf is rooted in the fundamentals of the swing.  He has developed teaching programs such as “Uncomplicated Golf” with the simple goal of getting students to play better golf.  Based on the inspiration he gained from becoming a Certified PGA Professional in Teaching and Coaching in early 2015, Murray is now working on developing a new model of instruction for beginning golfers titled “The Model Golf Instruction and Learning.”

“The future of golf depends on making the game fun,” noted Murray.  “If we can elevate our ability to make the game of golf less intimidating, easier to learn and easier to play for entry level players, we can all make a difference in the game of golf.”

Murray is the first Colorado golf professional to win both the Section's Player of the Year Award (in 1982) and Teacher of the Year Award. 

Assistant Professional of the Year: Tristen Fay, Denver Country Club  

Fay is a leader among the staff at Denver Country Club, where it is his goal to help the staff understand the operational objectives of the club and to do so in a positive and supportive manner.  In his role, he oversees all of the hard good categories at Denver Country Club and piloted a new recruiting and training program for PGA PGM students.

Fay’s leadership at Denver Country Club is a by-product of years of dedication.  Growing up he worked his way up through the Boy Scouts of America to earn the rank of Eagle Scout, a distinction less than 6% of all scouts ever earn. After entering the UCCS PGA PGM program, Tristen served as the President, Vice-President and Class Representative of the Student Society.  He went on to hone his skills during internships at Southern Hills Country Club and the Broadmoor.  And since his tenure at Denver Country Club began, he has worked for the past three years in the merchandising operation at August National Golf Club during the Masters Tournament.

Player Development Award: Kyle Voska, The Links Golf Course

A PGA Assistant Professional, Voska, who moved to Colorado from the Southern Ohio Section, earned the same award there in 2014.

Since his relocation to The Links, Voska has focused his attention on two underserved demographics: juniors and ladies. For juniors, he has developed new junior golf leagues, a junior golf academy, and re-designed all of the junior camps at the facility.  These simple changes have resulted in a significant increase in not only beginning golfers at the club, but all levels of talent.

For the ladies, he has launched a Lady 9ers League, five Golf Fore Women classes, and eight On-Course Women’s classes.  The Lady 9ers League was featured recently in PGA Magazine when they highlighted the fifty-plus members who now come out and compete in a fun, social atmosphere on Sunday afternoon.

Youth Player Development Award WInner: Rudy Castaneda, Indian Tree Golf Course

Castaneda is the second PGA Professional from Indian Tree Golf Club to win the award; Alan Abrams was a four-time winner of the award and earned the PGA of America Junior Golf Leader Award (the award has since changed names).  Both Alan and Rudy followed Charles “Vic” Kline at Indian Tree Golf Club.  Vic was President of the Colorado PGA for five terms and was named the PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year in 2000.

While the junior program at Indian Tree has a storied history, Rudy has been pivotal in its continued growth and expansion since he took over in 2004.  This past year alone Rudy and his staff fielded teams in PGA Junior League; taught a Golf in Schools program at Sunset Ridge Elementary School for 350 juniors; hosted nearly 1,000 juniors from other Golf in Schools programs; served as the host facility for eight high school golf teams; and continued to run one of the most successful and influential junior programs in the Denver metro area.

Warren Smith Award: Alan Abrams, Indian Tree Golf Course

Based on his entire career as a PGA Professional, Alan Abrams, PGA Director of Golf at Indian Tree Golf Club has been named the 2015 Warren Smith Award winner.  The award is given annually to a PGA Professional for special contributions to the game of golf, the Colorado Section, junior golf, and their facility; Abrams epitomizes each and every one of those qualities.

“I hope I inspire by walking the talk,” noted Abrams.  “My tenure as a PGA Professional is one of the proudest and most humbling accomplishments of my life.”

A past president of the Colorado PGA, Abrams served two terms on the Board of Directors before his election.  He was named the 2007, 2008, and 2012 Colorado PGA Golf Professional of the Year and in 2013 was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

Horton Smith Award: Andy Hilts, GolfTEC 

Andy Hilts, the Vice President of Instruction and Education at GolfTEC and a PGA Master Professional in Instruction, has been named the 2015 Colorado PGA Horton Smith Award Winner.  This is the second time Hilts has won the award, having also earned the distinction in 2008. 

In addition to developing a training program for more than 1,000 instructors at GolfTEC, Hilts has been a presenter at multiple PGA of America Teaching Summits.  He has written countless articles for publications like Golf Magazine and Golf Digest and was named the 2005 Colorado PGA Teacher of the Year.

“By constantly learning and growing myself, I can help other coaches do the same,” noted Hilts.  The more educated they are as coaches, the better the lessons they will teach.”

Given annually to a member who has made exceptional contributions to promote and improve The PGA’s educational programs, the award is named after former Masters Champion and PGA of America President Horton Smith.

Bill Strausbaugh Award: Kevin Sanger 

For his efforts in mentoring fellow PGA Professionals in improving their employment situations and through service to his community, Kevin Sanger has been named the 2015 Colorado PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award Winner.

Sanger, the PGA General Manager at Colorado Springs Country Club, has spent his career being a leader by dedicating himself to be a mentor with the foundation of truth, honor, compassion, and respect.  Under his direction at Colorado Springs Country Club, a number of his staff has moved onwards and upwards into new positions, including Colorado PGA Board members Cathy Matthews-Kane, who took over as the Club General Manager at the Country Club of Colorado and Ty Thompson, who moved up to the Director of Golf position at Colorado Springs Country Club.

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