Stafford, VA – Linda Gaudi, the PGA/LPGA Director of Instruction at the Country Club of Fairfax (Fairfax, Va.) has been selected as the Middle Atlantic PGA’s 2014 Youth Player Development Leader. This award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional who is a leader in youth golf, reflects the image and qualities that youngsters can emulate, and provides opportunities for youth to learn and play golf. Gaudi will be recognized in front of her family, friends, and peers at the MAPGA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet to be held on March 8, 2014 at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Va.
Gaudi’s time spent at the Country Club of Fairfax has given her the opportunity to inspire the future of golf through her development and support of youth programs. She coordinates three distinct programs at CCF and regularly supports Section youth programs like PGA Junior League Golf, Junior Interclub, and the MAPGA Junior Tour. Her ability to inspire and her motivation to teach have made her the deserving recipient of this award.
A native of Pennsylvania, Gaudi grew up in Jeannette, Pa., a short 30-minute drive from Latrobe, the hometown of golf legend Arnold Palmer. She graduated from Slippery Rock State University and decided to become a golf professional a few short years following graduation. She played on mini-tours in the late 1980’s, and worked as a Tour Official/Sales Representative for the Gold Coast Tour in Orangevale, California. Continuing to hone in on her game, Gaudi earned a spot in the LPGA’s 1991 Phar-Mor Classic and later returned to the LPGA Tour to play in the 2000 and 2001 First Union Betsy King Classic.
Gaudi came back to Pennsylvania in 1992 to work for the Golf Club at Hidden Valley; starting as an assistant then earning the Co-Head Professional position. In 1993, she earned Class A status with the LPGA’s Teaching and Club Professional division and took her talents to Nemacolin Woodlands Golf Academy in Farmington, Penn. Following a one-year stint at Nemacolin, Linda moved south to Virginia, accepting an Assistant Professional position with her current place of employment, the Country Club of Fairfax (CCF).
Since earning her PGA Membership in 1996 and becoming CCF’s Director of Instruction, Gaudi has made an impact on many young golfers and given them opportunities to challenge their abilities. On a Section level, she was one of four MAPGA Professionals who spear-headed the growth of PGA Junior League Golf (JLG). She hosted a team in 2012 and shared her experiences with colleagues to help grow the program from four teams in 2012 to 61 teams in 2013. As one of her three junior programs at CCF, Gaudi created a JLG JV Team that would develop the skills of younger players who would eventually become members of the traveling JLG team.
Her second program is a weekly summer program for children ages 7-17 that incorporate not only golf instruction but also movement skills influenced by the PGA Sports Academy and the Titleist Performance Institute. As part of this program, Gaudi incorporates the CCF Cup that mimics the FedEx Cup of the PGA Tour. Students in the CCF Cup are awarded points for their skills, on-course conduct, and performance. Finally, her third program, the CCF Golf Team, is designed for youth golfers who are more serious about the game and plan to play at a higher level; whether that is on their high school golf team or a college golf team. The team completed its third season at the end of 2013 and in that year, the program helped launch the careers of six players who either made their high school teams or elevated their games as members of a current team.
The Country Club of Fairfax under Gaudi’s guidance has also been an active participant in the D.C. area’s Frank Emmett Junior Interclub for the past 20 years. The club has maintained teams for both the 9 and 18-hole divisions and she has served as the 9-hole Division Commissioner for the last two years.
Gaudi has constantly been a strong professional in growing the game of golf and is continually seeking ways to inspire others to get involved. She was awarded by the LPGA’s Northeast Section with the Professional of the Year award in 1999 and Coach of the Year in both 2000 and 2005 for her past efforts in teaching and coaching. In her community, Gaudi coaches the golf teams at both Chantilly High School and Paul VI High School and assists with the Capital Area Golf Tour as a Tournament Director and Rules Official. A proud moment for her was seeing the progress of the players at Paul VI. They went from a 6-3 record in 2012 to winning their conference tournament and finishing third in the state of Virginia in 2013. The Chantilly Chargers also won their conference tournament and Gaudi helped four of the girls qualify for their Zone Qualifier.
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and small portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Stephanie Jennings, PGA
sjennings@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 116
