Monthly Archives: February 2023

Many people seek out the game of golf, but for Quentin Sasser, PGA, golf came to him. He wasn’t looking for the game as a 10-year-old, playing with his friends in a big open field in Atlanta, Texas.

However, in that same field, between Booker T. Washington High School and Pruitt Elementary, Howard Warren, a high school teacher, would show up after school and during the summer with a six iron and some golf balls, using the old oak tree as his target since the nearest available golf course was 70 miles away.

“We would always bet him a dollar that he couldn’t hit that tree,” Sasser remembers. “And that’s kind of when I really knew anything about golf, or knew anything about African Americans playing the game of golf.

“Later on, when I was a freshman in high school, he ended up being one of my teachers, and he would talk about the Blacks in the game of golf, which was Calvin Peete, Teddy Rhodes, Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder. He created a passion within me for the game. But I didn’t know that at the time.”

Click here to read the complete feature by Jesse Dodson on PGA.COM.

The story below, written by Utah PGA member AC Cox, is reposted with permission from the PGA of America. This story was originally published Feb. 16 on PGA.com.

I was born and raised in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on the Gulf Coast, about an hour from New Orleans. My grandfather was introduced to the game as a teenager in Mississippi when he started caddying at a local country club. 

As was typical with most caddies in the 1920s, he learned the game from being around the golfers at the club and the opportunity to play the course on caddy play days. My grandfather taught his five sons to play the game, and they all became accomplished golfers. He gave me my first golf club (which I still have) when I was 10, and I’ve been playing the game ever since.

The aspect of the game that makes me continue to return is the challenge of conquering the unconquerable. As said in the movie Tin Cup, “perfection is unattainable,” and I think this is what motivates me.

I like the dynamic of golf being an individual game played with others, and I appreciate the value of spending time alone while being with others. One bonus to the coronavirus pandemic is that it brought me back to walking when I play — something that I missed for years.

Click here to read the complete story on PGA.com

It appears that Braydon Swapp, the 2022 Rolex Assistant Player of the Year, hasn’t missed much practice time since his win of last season’s Assistant Championship and his playing of the Assistant PGA Professional Championship in Florida. 

Wintering at Southern Highlands Golf Club near Las Vegas will do that for you. 

Swapp earned the winner’s trophy in the Championship division of the RMT/EZGO Winter Classic Feb. 7-9 after 36-holes of play at SunRiver and Copper Rock Golf Clubs. His two day total of 82 Stableford points was six points better than runner up Michael Yates and seven points better than Bruce Summerhays, Jayme Backos, Tele Wightman and Tommy Sharp. 

First round leaders Adam Whitt (74), Casey Fowles (73) and Zach Johnson (72) fell off their opening round pace in cold and windy conditions of the final round at Copper Rock while Dustin Volk completed the top 10 leaderboard with 71 points. 

Click here to read more about the Winter Classic in the February issue of PGA Monthly – Championships.

Utah PGA members and guests gathered Feb 7 for the 2022 Awards Banquet and recognition of last season’s champions. The event returned to the Courtyard reception center in St. George.

All 2022 award winners were recognized for their efforts in growing, improving and protecting the Section and Utah golf as a whole. Those in attendance gave acceptance speeches validating the importance of each award and its meaning in the career of those celebrated. 

As is tradition, the highlight of the evening was the honoring of Utah PGA Section Executive Director Devin Dehlin as the 2022 Professional of the Year. A very grateful Dehlin, who has been energized by his selection, spoke to the strength of the Utah PGA family and recognized that the Section officers and members are some of the very best in the country. 

All former Professionals of the Year in attendance posed with Dehlin, (front row, center) for a historic photo to conclude the evening.

Click here to watch the Professional of the Year tribute video.

After enjoying a few rounds of golf with Section officers and members, newly elected PGA of America Secretary Nathan Charnes gave the keynote speech during the Utah PGA Annual Meeting Feb. 8 in St. George, Utah. 

It was his first trip as a national officer of the PGA and his first address to any Section’s Annual Meeting.

Charnes echoed the “Utah PGA Family” theme quoting from a sign in his home that reads, “Family – A group of people that TRUST, CARE, and LOOK OUT for each other. 

“That’s why I do what I do. That’s what’s important to me. That’s what the PGA needs.” he said. “The people that I’ve met, you have some of the best, here. I can’t compliment it enough … you’re all very well represented on the national level, it is very impressive group of individuals. And you should be very proud of what they’re doing.”

A transcript of Secretary Charnes’ keynote speech is available by contacting Annie Fisher in the Section office.

Click here to learn more about PGA of America Secretary Nathan Charnes.