Dawes Marlatt, PGA, is in a unique place as the Association’s Senior Director of Education and Talent Development, a position he’s held for more than a decade. The PGA Master Professional finds himself overseeing the education and advancement of the golf professionals who take on the responsibility of growing the game for millions of recreational and competitive golfers across the country.
In recent years, Marlatt has helped drive the PGA of America’s focus on the three career paths of Golf Operations, Teaching & Coaching and Executive Management, as well as new learning ideologies and technologies. Marlatt recently sat down to talk with PGA Magazine Senior Editor Don Jozwiak about how the evolution of PGA Education is benefiting PGA of America Golf Professionals and the game as a whole.
How would you summarize the evolution of PGA Education over the past few years?
Dawes Marlatt: We’ve certainly invested in new technologies to help create a better experience. There’s an intersection between education and entertainment, and I think we’ve struck the right balance in the new associate program and in how we’ve handled member education through workshops at the PGA Sections.
The hard part is that we live in a world where everybody’s trying to be efficient, and the solution to efficiency is virtual experiences. But while virtual experiences are necessary at times, what I’ve observed is that PGA of America Golf Professionals prefer face-to-face. They prefer being in their communities, and when we get them in workshops, they share experiences better.
That doesn’t come without a responsibility on the PGA of America side. We have to be super prepared, engaged and deliver relevant content. We want to provide the most contemporary technology and blend it with experiences that are relevant, because adults need to be educated, they need to apply what they’ve learned, showcase their results and get instant feedback so they can continue to improve.
It’s like everything you and I do in our daily lives. We try to compress decades into days by putting people in an environment where a network they are involved with can offer really valid feedback.
How is the way today’s young adults learn different from the way current PGA of America Members might have learned 20 or 30 years ago?
Marlatt: There’s no doubt young people today have a much better PGA Education experience because there’s so much more engagement through technology. Things are a bit different now since training used to rely more heavily on mentorship. Golf professionals are still invested in their staff and their people, but today everyone is so busy that there isn’t always as much time for that.
We’re making sure to fill in any gaps in the process with the information and resources available through PGA Education, and also provide opportunities for young professionals to network with each other and with experienced PGA Members. These communities can share a similar passion for their career track of choice – it’s exciting for them. They can learn quickly, talk through things and create best practices. Success leaves clues, and the most successful people surround themselves with networks that support them.
What are some areas you’ve been able to integrate into the curriculum in recent years?
Marlatt: Anything that allows for greater relevance, we will include it. AI is a perfect example – we quickly pivoted and made sure AI was part of what we teach in real time.
On the instructional side, the applied learning speaks for itself. The group in here right now (at the Home of the PGA) is done with their seminars around 4 p.m. and they stay in the building until 6 p.m., just using the technology on their own.
On the business side, we use business simulations that help them build consensus within a team, solve challenging problems and really critically think through decisions. That’s increasingly important because one of the things I observe with the younger generation is that critical thinking — deeply working through a problem — has diminished. Not gone away, but diminished. They rely heavily on technology, which can be a little scary, because there’s nuance in everything we do, especially in a specialized industry like golf.
The Home of the PGA of America in Frisco has been up and running for a few years and hosts Levels 2 and 3 of the PGM Program. What have you learned about how to best use it?
Marlatt: We’ve learned that we almost don’t have enough space. We’ve grown. It’s become a focal point for the Association.
The men and women who come through here are genuinely inspired to do better. We have groups in the building now – one in Executive Management, one in Teaching & Coaching – and I asked them who wishes they could stay longer, and most of them raised their hands. They’re highly engaged, satisfaction is up, and the hope is that through all this hands-on, instructor-led learning, they go home and create an even greater impact. It’s transformational, and participants grow their networks and become stronger for it.
There’s a huge emphasis on recruitment and getting more Associates into the business, but what about current PGA of America Members who are interested in pursuing lifelong education?
Marlatt: Great question. The challenge we’ve faced is that a new Associate going through PGM gets access to all the latest curriculum – the technologies, the simulations, the career tracks. And a member who came up before all of this might think, “PGM is for them, not for me.”
For PGA Members who haven’t gone through the current program, this information is all available through the Specialized PGA Professional program. A member who enrolls in Specialized gets the latest PGM curriculum, plus leadership-centric content. They’re just as relevant and just as fluent in all the career paths, with an opportunity to take advantage of curriculum as it’s being developed.
Once members are enrolled in the Specialized program, they can see all career tracks, access all the digital PGM materials within their field of interest, and get everything from a member perspective, as well. Previously, they couldn’t – it was all analog, paper-and-pencil. Now they have access to digital files for everything in PGM within their area of interest.
It’s a great value for PGA of America Members to stay relevant. If someone has an opportunity for a new role, the instant access to the Specialized program gives them resources to help them get current quickly, or pick up a skill they might be missing – whether that’s AI, revenue management, teaching with technology or financial issues for private club management. It used to be hard to access and took too much time, but now you can go in, learn what you need and be prepared.
How can a PGA of America Member get started using these tools for lifelong learning?
Marlatt: You can go to PGA.org, or I’d really like to encourage people to call our mentor hotline at (866) 866-3382 and choose option 6. You’ll get to talk to an actual person on our staff to answer questions, whether you’re a PGA of America Member or an Associate. The line is always staffed during business hours – and if we miss a call, you’ll get a return call within a day.
What’s your advice for PGA of America Members who have interns or Associates in the PGM Program to help them get the most out of the process?
Marlatt: Stay engaged with your team. Share your network and your resources. What I would ask them not to do is try to reteach the curriculum. The better role is to support your people with your experiences and help them understand how to use the resources around them to advance their careers as efficiently as possible.
