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For Jim Troy, PGA, golf was never something to discover — it was something to inherit.
Growing up in Chicago, Troy was immersed in the game from an early age at a family-operated golf facility that featured a driving range, a par-3 course with holes measuring 70 to 140 yards, and a Congo River–style miniature golf course. The range had been in place since 1976, with the par-3 course added shortly after, providing a constant backdrop to Troy’s childhood.
That property, now known as Zigfield Troy Golf Range and Par-3 Course in Woodridge, Illinois, was built on former farmland. When the Troy family took it over, the clubhouse was a converted barn that was expanded.
Jim’s grandfather, Zigfield Troy, had previously operated a different driving range on Chicago’s south side, beginning during the Great Depression. After decades at that location, changing neighborhoods and declining business forced him to relocate. He didn’t build the Woodridge facility until he was in his 60s.
Jim remembers hearing the story from his father.
“My dad told me my grandfather stood there and said, ‘I can’t believe I have to start over again.’”
The words weren’t defeat — they were resolve.
Zigfield Troy devoted more than 40 years to introducing golf to Chicago’s public community. He owned and operated Sheldon Heights Golf Range for 38 years before opening the Woodridge facility in 1976. Long before that, he competed on the embryonic professional tour from 1936 to 1941, at a time when the PGA of America functioned as both a professional organization and a competitive tour.
Zigfield played rounds with Denny Shute, the 1933 and 1937 PGA Champion, and embodied a generation of PGA Professionals who balanced competition with service. His contributions extended beyond the course — he served the Illinois PGA Section as tournament chairman, secretary, and president, and was named Illinois PGA Professional of the Year in 1968. He was later inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
His name lives on through the Zigfield–Troy Illinois PGA Section Championship Trophy, a symbol of longevity and commitment to the profession.
Zigfield passed away when Jim was just seven months old, but his influence remains deeply embedded in the family.
Jim grew up working at the range year-round. Winters were no exception.
In the early 1990s, he picked range balls in freezing conditions, earning $2 an hour while sloshing through snow with a bushel basket. Ball retrieval was done with a homemade tool — a bedspring welded to the end of a broken shaft — a device still in use today.
His father and uncle continue to work at the Woodridge facility, with his uncle overseeing the business side and his father serving as superintendent. Jim’s brother Mike, 57, has taught at the range for more than 25 years.
That connection to golf extends well beyond Jim’s immediate household. The next generation of the Troy family continues to impact the game in multiple ways. His nephew Will played collegiate golf at Illinois State and advanced to NCAA Regionals last spring, carrying the family’s competitive tradition forward. Another nephew, Jack, works as an assistant superintendent at Hinsdale Country Club near where Jim grew up, representing the agronomic and operational side of the profession.
The family’s reach even extends into golf media — Troy’s cousin, Gunnar Garrity, has spent more than 25 years as a cameraman on the PGA TOUR for Golf Channel and other national broadcasts, earning an Emmy for his work covering the Olympic Games with NBC. Across competition, course management, and storytelling, the Troy name continues to touch nearly every corner of the game.
Golf wasn’t discussed as a profession — it was modeled through work ethic.
Jim played collegiate golf at the University of Nebraska, a move that took him far from Chicago and into a new environment. He wasn’t chasing scholarship offers — he wanted an opportunity.
Nebraska provided that and more. Troy played four years, earned an individual collegiate victory, and served as team captain. Today, Troy notes with pride that at least five Nebraska alumni will compete alongside him at the upcoming PGA Professional Championship. The University of Nebraska was also special because it was where he met his now wife, Erin.
Like many elite players, Troy once believed the PGA TOUR was within reach.
From 2007 to 2012, he competed full-time in Florida, earning 28 mini-tour victories and a career-best runner-up finish in a Hooters Tour Winter Series event. He played alongside more than 30 eventual TOUR players, including Keegan Bradley.
One moment still stands out.
“I was standing in my sister’s living room watching Keegan win the PGA Championship as a rookie, and I couldn’t believe I had played with that guy.”
Despite his talent, TOUR status never came. Troy’s final year at Q-School coincided with the last era in which players could advance directly to the PGA TOUR.
Jim Troy became a PGA of America Member in 2017, joining his father, uncle, brother, and grandfather as the fifth PGA Member in his family.
When asked what that legacy means, Troy keeps it simple.
“I think the game is just in our blood. We’re hard workers, we love the game, and we’ve been doing this a long time.”
That history stretches back to 1934, spanning wartime shortages, public golf growth, and dramatic changes in the professional landscape.
Since earning his PGA Membership, Troy has become one of the most accomplished competitors in the Northern Ohio PGA Section. His achievements include:
● Six-time Northern Ohio PGA Rolex Member Player of the Year
● Three Northern Ohio PGA Professional Championship titles
● Eight Ohio Cup team qualifications (never missing since joining)
● 2025 Denny Shute Memorial Match Play Champion
Today, Troy serves as Director of Instruction at The Golf Dome, where he brings elite playing experience into a modern, year-round instructional environment.
In April, Troy will compete in the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes, joined by his brother Mike, who qualified from the Illinois Section. The two will also compete together in January at the PGA Senior-Junior Championship at PGA Golf Club, marking the first time they’ve teamed up in that event.
Two brothers. Two Sections. One family story.
For Jim Troy, PGA, the game hasn’t changed — it has simply carried forward the values that were instilled long before he ever picked up a club.
