By Kurt Kragthorpe
Ashley “AC” Cox is a marketing expert, making him a valuable resource to his fellow PGA professionals.
Even though he’s no longer working directly in the golf industry, he’s committed to helping other pros. That explains why he’s a member of the Utah Section PGA board of directors and how he earned the Section’s PGA Professional Development Award as a Salt Lake Community College associate professor of marketing and marketing department coordinator.
While immersed in the academic world at SLCC for six years, Cox has been determined to stay involved in golf. That’s partly because he recognizes the importance of diversity in the profession, and believes he can inspire other Black golfers to pursue PGA careers. He wants them to know, “This industry is OK for you, too.”
Having attended Mississippi State, Cox was the second Black person in the country to have graduated from a college’s Professional Golf Management program. He received an MBA from Campbell University and is pursuing a doctorate.
As a former GolfTEC manager in Colorado, Cox said his 20 years as a PGA member have been “rooted in educating professionals.” Along the way, he was nominated for the PGA Professional Development Award (formerly called the Horton Smith Award for education) in both the Carolinas and Colorado sections.
His expertise is in “understanding consumer behavior,” which obviously relates to the golf industry and why golfers make certain choices in deciding where to play and what to purchase. He’s eager to share that information.