VACAVILLE, Calif. – The Northern California Section of the PGA is pleased to announce that Darcy Milligan of Bayonet Black Horse Golf Course in Seaside, Calif. has garnered the 2014 NCPGA Assistant Apprentice of the Year Award. She was chosen for her leadership, strong moral character, promotion of the game among young people, and service to the Section.
Milligan began the PGA Professional Golf Management Program as an Apprentice in October of 2011, when she began working full time as an Assistant Golf Professional. She was elected to PGA Membership in December 2013.
“I am very excited to be a part of the PGA as a Class A Member, and I am incredibly lucky to have received the education I did through the PGA’s Professional Golf Management Program,” added Milligan.
Milligan stands out by identifying opportunities to improve operations and then leading the effort to create a more favorable experience for customers. She saw an opportunity to improve communications and streamline processes and therefore volunteered to be the facility’s first Tournament Coordinator.
She said, “I developed a passion for catering to the needs of our clients while also balancing what was manageable and realistic for our staff to accomplish, making sure the tournament went smoothly and also making sure that our facility’s image was positive.”
Through this experience, she was able to understand the intricacies of tournament operations and worked in this position for two years until December 2013.
“Her professionalism and commitment in every endeavor has led to a major upgrade in the level of service that Bayonet and Black Horse provides,” said NCPGA Awards Chairman Mark Naylor, PGA.
Becoming a Well Rounded Golf Professional
Milligan has spent time working in various roles at Bayonet and Black Horse as well as within the local community. She became the facility’s first Merchandise Manager in January 2014. In this role, she is responsible for buying merchandise, managing an open-to-buy plan and budget, inventory control, merchandise displays, and creating new programs to increase merchandise sales.
She served alongside PGA Director of Golf Pat Jones as the Co-Chairperson of the Volunteer Committee for the 45th PGA Professional National Championship in 2012. She was responsible for overseeing 10 volunteer committees and managing nearly 500 volunteers. She helped recruit volunteers, develop training programs, promote the event, and manage the volunteers during the Championship. She was also the main contact for the caddy program for the Championship, successfully recruiting 112 outside caddies and managing changing requests and resources, ensuring that no player was left without a caddy during the week of the event.
For the 2012 NCPGA Monterey Bay Area Chapter Patriot Golf Day Scramble tournament, Milligan planned, promoted, and ran the event from start to finish. The event included a four-player team scramble format with an active duty service member on each team, tee prizes for each player, a BBQ dinner buffet, raffle prizes, and on-course contests.
Helping promote golf to young people, Milligan was one of two instructors of the facility’s Get Golf Ready beginner classes. She also joined The First Tee of Monterey County from 2008 until 2011 as a Volunteer Coach. Her main focus there was assisting with the “Girls Only” program.
Milligan is among 19 recipients of the NCPGA’s 2014 Annual Section Awards. Section awards are given to PGA Professionals and industry leaders who have excelled in the game and business of golf. The NCPGA will recognize its 2014 Annual Section Award winners on Sunday, December 7 at the NCPGA Special Awards Ceremony & President’s Dinner at Silver Creek Valley Country Club in San Jose, California. This event, a highlight for the year, will be held the evening prior to the NCPGA Annual Meeting. There are more than 200 golf professionals and industry leaders expected to attend. E-Z-Go Textron is a presenting partner and PGA Resort & Spa and the Northern California Golf Representatives Association are supporting partners of the Awards Ceremony & Annual Meeting.
About the Northern California Section of the PGA of America (NCPGA)
Organized in 1920 to promote interest in the game of golf, the birth of this association was heralded as an important step to the advancement of the game in this district. The Northern California Section is one of the forty-one designated Sections of the PGA of America, the world’s largest working sports organization. With over 1,100 dedicated PGA Professionals and apprentices at over 500 golf facilities in Northern California and Northwestern Nevada, the association continues to have a positive impact on the game of golf and communities both regionally and nationally. For more information, please visit www.ncpga.com.
Contact:
Jennifer Noel – jnoel@pgahq.com
Nancy Maul – nmaul@pgahq.com
(707) 449-4742