For the first decade of his career as a PGA of America Golf Professional, Sean Palmer’s morning routine as a Head Professional and Director of Golf involved checking the tee sheet and looking at the staff schedule. Since becoming a General Manager in 2021 and a Chief Operating Officer in 2024, however, days start a little differently.
“Now I wake up and think, ‘Gosh, where am I going today?’” says Palmer, the COO of The Union League of Philadelphia, who oversees all operations – including golf – for a city club with more than 4,700 members and eight locations.
“My schedule changes every day, so I’m driving to a different property and going to staff meetings, working on capital projects and strategic plans, and attending board meetings. I still have the responsibilities of being Director of Golf, but at the executive level I also oversee all the general managers and executive managers, and work on the broader business systems of the organization.”
Building The Union League’s golf membership from zero to more than 1,200 and golf revenue to more than $22 million annually across three golf facilities – and growing the club’s overall annual revenue from $34 million to $117 million – helped Palmer earn 2026 PGA of America Golf Executive of the Year honors.
The award, and Palmer’s growing portfolio of responsibilities at The Union League, show the evolution of a career that started in the Penn State University PGM Program and with an internship at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he hoped to emulate the celebrated career of Head Professional Gene Mattare, PGA. Palmer gained valuable and varied experience along the way, such as working with 1994 PGA of America Teacher & Coach of the Year Jim McLean at his golf school, interning at Pinehurst (North Carolina) Resort & Club and working on merchandising at Augusta (Georgia) National Golf Club before becoming a PGA Assistant Professional at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
Palmer joined The Union League as PGA of America Director of Golf in 2015 as the historic club was entering the golf business, and the potential of the position changed his goals and the trajectory of his career. The club acquired three golf facilities – now known as The Union League Golf club at Torresdale, Union League Liberty Hill and Union League National Golf Club – over the next seven years, giving Palmer the chance to put his own stamp on a unique set of golf and non-golf venues.
“It interested me because rather than going to an established club with established policies, I had the opportunity – at 29 years old – to build a golf program from scratch,” Palmer says. “I had tremendous resources, but an unproven market. But I was hooked on the idea of building a team and a collective vision and a culture, and that’s what’s kept me going in the executive management direction.”
Palmer explains his PGA of America education and background created a solid foundation for learning how to manage multiple facilities focusing on hospitality, food & beverage and, of course, golf. His network of PGA of America Golf Professional peers helped him learn the particulars of first general management and then being a chief operating officer responsible for more than 1,400 employees.
“I certainly jumped into the Club Managers Association of America (CMAA) world to learn some of that side of it, but so much of what I’ve learned in golf applies to other parts of being an executive,” Palmer says. “The values of the PGA arm people with skills that they might not even know they have: team building, communication, coaching, soft skills, setting standards. They are easily translated to other departments, and that’s been successful for me.” —Don Jozwiak
