PGA of America Announces Get Golf Ready Employee Talent Development Program

(PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.) - The PGA of America has launched the Get Golf Ready Employee Talent Development Program, a unique professional development benefit designed specifically for executive-level leaders and other employees to learn the game of golf through Get Golf Ready. This dynamic program features key benefits including health and wellness, relationship and team building, leadership development and business enhancement.

This resource has allowed employees from Fortune 500 and 1,000 companies such as CSX Corporation, Lexmark International, Reed Exhibition Companies and Jackson Spalding to integrate golf into their personal and professional lives.

Business building benefits of the Get Golf Ready Employee Talent Development program:
* 90% of executives view golf with a business associate as a way to establish a close relationship and build new contacts
* 50% say there is no better way to get to know fellow associates and clients
* 45% say prospective clients are more likely to give you their business if you golf together

Get Golf Ready offers five lessons that concentrate on basic skills, instruction and information on the Rules of Golf, etiquette and values. Participants learn chipping, putting, as well as the full swing and bunker play. They also are provided with the fundamental guidelines of the game, such as the use and maintenance of golf equipment, keeping score and navigating on the course.

“There is tremendous power in one's ability to leverage golf as a business tool,” said The PGA of America’s Director of Women’s and New Market Initiatives, Sandy Cross. “We are so pleased with the increasing number of companies who are recognizing the value of making a professional development investment in their employees through Get Golf Ready. It's proven to be a perfect on ramp to the game."

“For Lexmark, golf has always been important to us – it isn’t just a game, it’s a connection tool,” said Ron Binkauskas, Lexmark’s Vice President and General Manager of Imaging Solutions and Services North America. “Implementing Get Golf Ready at Lexmark made sense because it allowed us to easily introduce our employees to golf. Now, the Lexmark team is equipped to better connect with their business contacts, and most importantly, their families, friends and their health.”

The program is a new turn-key solution for corporations across America to deliver PGA and LPGA Professional golf instruction to their employees through five fun and easy sessions. Employees graduate with the basic golf knowledge and skills that become an important professional development tool as it relates to relationship and team building, leadership development, business generation and offers health and wellness benefits that contribute to a healthy and active lifestyle.

Any companies interested in exploring a Talent Development program should contact Sandy Cross at (561) 624-8477 or scross@pgahq.com.

Contact: NEOhioGolf@yahoo.com