00:00Terry, we're glad we got you here today. Thanks so much.
00:02Thanks for having me.
00:03You know, six months since you took the job, came to Frisco.
00:07Bit of a different job from being the Chief Marketing Officer of United Health Group
00:10to now running PGA of America, which moves headquarters here in 2022.
00:15What do you think so far?
00:17I've loved it. It's been great to be part of the PGA of America.
00:19I was involved before on the board, but seeing it obviously from a very different seat,
00:24it's a great time to be in golf. Golf has never been at a better moment,
00:28and it's a great time to be leading this, and it's been really fun to be here in Dallas.
00:32Of course, important to point out here, PGA of America represents the teaching professionals,
00:36but it still owns and operates the Ryder Cup, the Men's PGA Championship,
00:40the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, and the Senior PGA Championship.
00:45The Men's PGA Championship will be in Frisco next May.
00:48Any idea about the economic impact that you're expecting from that?
00:51Yeah, we see a great opportunity to bring a substantial impact to the community here,
00:56and we've seen, you know, past several PGA Championships have exceeded more than $100 million
01:02in economic development. We see that coming as an impact to the entire community.
01:07Businesses, travel, some of the employees that we bring in,
01:13really looking at this as being a boom for the area, not only for one time,
01:17but introduce more people to the area and have them come back.
01:20Yeah, tickets already sold out for Thursday through Sunday.
01:23What was your reaction when you saw how quickly those went?
01:26Yeah, it's both the tickets and all the hospitality.
01:29I mean, it's been record-breaking for us.
01:31It's bent-up demand for golf in this region at the highest level has been really supportive,
01:37and it's just been fun to see, you know, this community and how energized they are
01:42about championship golf coming back.
01:44Now, PGA Frisco, while very well-known around here,
01:47it's not as well-known overall as an Oakmont or a Southern Hills.
01:50So what are you doing to draw attention to the course itself,
01:53and what lessons are there from the Women's Championship in 2025?
01:57Yeah, so we've had, you mentioned it, we've had the Women's Championship.
02:00We've also had the Senior PGA Championship here.
02:03So we've learned a lot from how do we think about how we talk about the course
02:08and bring it forward, and we're excited to show it to everyone.
02:12So what we're really doing is, you know, starting to introduce that to the golf community.
02:16It is a new course.
02:18It's a major, and they don't come that often to newer courses.
02:21So we've got an incredible designer in Gil Hance talking about that,
02:25and we've got great partners and our media partners that are really bringing those out as well.
02:28Now, the whole area around the PGA of America headquarters, which moved here again in 2022,
02:33it's a public-private partnership.
02:35So how has that really helped everything come to fruition from an economic standpoint?
02:40Yeah, well, first let me start with the area.
02:42The region, you know, here in Dallas-Fort Worth area, has been so pro bringing in businesses
02:50and looking at those opportunities for the future.
02:52And then we partnered with Frisco, and, you know, really Frisco is not about, like,
02:56what we can do to create an event or how we can bring a sports team here or how we
03:00can bring a building.
03:01They were really around how do we build something for the future that is a great public and private partnership.
03:06We have, you know, over 600 acres of development, two courses, retail, commercial, residential, really built,
03:14and we want it to be a really modern home of golf, and that's what you'd see.
03:18You'd see that on any given day out there.
03:19Community comes out.
03:21We have, you know, lots of public areas and access for the community to be involved in.
03:26We have short courses where people can play under the lights until late in the evening,
03:29and it's just been a great way to bring golf and the community together in a really meaningful way for
03:35economic development as well.
03:37You know, you keep pointing to this.
03:39We're sitting here at a time where golf is really growing.
03:42The National Golf Foundation reporting golf has grown 41% since 2019.
03:48Yeah, golf is really in a great place right now from a growth standpoint.
03:54It's becoming younger.
03:56It's becoming more female, and it's becoming more diverse.
03:59And you see all of those demographics really changing and shifting, and it's coming in a lot of different ways,
04:04but we really believe that PGA Professional has a big place in helping to not only grow it but keep
04:10those golfers in in the future.
04:11People are engaging with golf in all different ways.
04:14They're golfing from, you know, off green grass and on green grass.
04:18They're engaging with social media and other ways to really introduce them in unique ways.
04:23When you talk about the off green grass, are you surprised how many people are using it socially at a
04:28place like at a Topgolf or a situation like that, getting to the simulators?
04:32I'm not surprised because I have kids that are living that all the time, and the social aspect of golf
04:37is becoming so big.
04:38All of those different formats are introducing people to the game in unique ways, and I think we've got to
04:43embrace it.
04:44The Ryder Cup already almost a year ago.
04:47Now, even though the U.S. had a great comeback on the last day, and they really did, they did
04:51not win that cup on home soil.
04:53Complaints about fan behavior.
04:55Now you have a new captain.
04:57What needs to change in 2027?
04:58Yeah, as we look forward to 2027, and for those who don't know, 2027 is in Ireland at Adair Manor.
05:04It's going to be great.
05:05We're going to bring it back here to Hazeltine after that in 2029, and we're really focused around how do
05:10we create a really competitive team for the future,
05:12and then how is that product great, and looking at all aspects to really enhance that to be, you know,
05:18winning formula.
05:19So we're really focused on the Ryder Cup being great for everyone involved.
05:24You know, what do you learn from the past one?
05:27Yeah, I think you learn we're always constantly looking at ways to improve.
05:32We're looking at, certainly you talked about fan behavior and how do we think about that.
05:35We've built that into how do we think about our championships and what's the code of conduct for the future.
05:41We think about it from how do we competitively put ourselves in a position with the USA team to win
05:46in the future and take that forward.
05:49And then we look at it from our product and services, like how do we think about the fan experience
05:53inside the venue,
05:55and how do we think about it from the broadcast as well.
05:57Now this obviously much more of a PGA Tour issue than the PGA of America, but another high-profile golfer,
06:03John Rahm, reportedly leaving the Live Tour.
06:06That merger has not come to fruition.
06:08What is the best step forward?
06:11Yeah, well, first off, we run championships that we've always wanted the best players to play in them.
06:17So we've had Live players in our championships for years, and there's dynamics that are changing in the space right
06:23now.
06:24And all I can say is when we can get the best players playing together, that's really good for the
06:30game.
06:30We do that through our championships.
06:32The Tour is trying to look at other ways to do that as well.
06:34Really appreciate you coming in today, Terry.
06:36Thank you so much for having me.
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