The sport of golf suffered a loss early last month when PGA of America Golf Professional Brian Stubbs passed away at 54. Stubbs, the 2025 Georgia PGA Golf Executive of the Year, was the Executive Director of the Haskins Foundation – which awards the Fred Haskins Award for the top male collegiate golfer and the Annika Award for the top female collegiate golfer each year – for the past 13 years. Golf Channel ran a story on Stubbs’ passing from natural causes, noting his tenure as the PGA of America Head Professional at Country Club of Columbus (Georgia) and his stint as Georgia PGA President. Stubbs was known for his love of the game and promotion of collegiate golf, and was a regular presence at the sport’s NCAA Championships over the years – often driving cross-country with the Haskins and Annika trophies in his car. The story also mentions college players planning to pay tribute to Stubbs by wearing buttons with his famous saying: “Thank you for voting.”
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April’s PGA Professional Championship brought a great deal of media attention to the competitors at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon (see review of the PGA Professional Championship). Golf week posted several stories from the Championship, including a mid-event profile on PGA of America Golf Professional Allie Knight, one of the nine women professionals in the field. Knight was tied for 13th after the first two rounds, and addressed how she keeps her game in shape while working as a golf instructor at Fairways and Greens Golf Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Knight also talked about how playing four rounds across Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes would be good preparation for her upcoming appearance in this month’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Knight – the 2026 PGA Women’s Stroke Play Champion – ended up finishing T-62, but made her share of birdies and a pair of impressive eagles on Bandon Dunes’ par-5 ninth hole.
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Another PGA of America Golf Professional who was recently in the news is Joe Grochmal, a PGA Life Member Active who is enjoying his 74th season as a golf instructor. According to a story in Mass Golf, the last 35 years of Grochmal’s coaching career have been spent at Springfield (Massachusetts) Country Club, where he continues to teach lessons, give junior clinics and work with Veterans through PGA HOPE. The feature story includes Grochmal’s long history in the game, from success as a junior player to eventually getting his PGA of America Membership in 1995 after a long career working at a Smith & Wesson factory. The story ends with Grochmal explaining why he’s enjoyed getting to know so many golfers on the lesson tee over the years: “They’re all friends. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
link: https://bit.ly/3QQ6BQQ
After losing its iconic clubhouse to a devastating fire more than four years ago, Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mi chigan, recently opened a new clubhouse that blends modern building techniques with the classic design touches that marked the original century-old facility. Oakland Hills has hosted three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup, and is currently scheduled to host a number of USGA championships, including the 2034 U.S. Open. The Associated Press reported that unlike the original wood structure, the new clubhouse was built with steel and boasts a number of modern technologies to make it much more than a replica. However, the classic 10-column design of the original clubhouse’s rear veranda overlooking the first tee area remains as a familiar backdrop to club activities. The project to rebuild the clubhouse and update the facility cost nearly $100 million and includes new glass cases with memorabilia from players like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Andy North.
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