When Seth Waugh got the call in 2018 asking if he would become the new CEO of the PGA of America, he wanted affirmation that he would be making the right move.
A financier at the highest level for years as CEO of the Americas for Deutsche Bank, Waugh already had deep ties in the game. The chance to lead the PGA of America with its then 28,000 members reached beyond the parameters of the job to touch what might be called the golfer’s soul.
Waugh called Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, and asked what he thought of the opportunity.
“He said, ‘If you love sports and have a chance to take a job in sports that can make a difference, you’re supposed to say yes.’ He was right,” Waugh said in a phone conversation last week.
“Not many people get the chance to reinvent themselves. I did.”
Waugh’s tenure as leader of the PGA of America officially ended Sunday when his contract expired, a few days after he announced that he was stepping away. It is a happy choice.
“Nobody died here,” Waugh said.
It’s worth noting that Waugh has a natural style that fits him like a favorite pair of jeans.
There is a long list of achievements under Waugh’s watch including the new PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas, creating a deferred-compensation plan and better pay for the membership which now numbers more than 30,000, helping guide the game through COVID and strengthening the organization across the board.
Waugh’s greatest contribution has been his presence, his thoughtfulness, his grace and his leadership. He is one of those people who makes every room he enters, every meeting he attends, every interaction he has better.
Born in Massachusetts 65 years ago, Waugh is the son of teachers, and their lessons live in him. He attended the high school where his father, Jim, was a teacher and coach, and all these years later, the imprint endures.
On a trip to Ireland two years ago, Waugh was approached by a man and asked if he was Jim Waugh’s son.
“The man said [my dad] changed his life and was one of the most important teachers and coaches he ever had,” Waugh said.
Waugh is that way. He listens – an increasingly rare trait these days – and he knows how to get to the essence of whatever he’s doing. He has made golf better and, while remaining a special adviser to the PGA of America, he hopes to still have a voice on the game’s future. The game’s leaders would be wise to keep his number on speed dial.
It’s worth noting that Waugh has a natural style that fits him like a favorite pair of jeans. This is how my Global Golf Post colleague John Hopkins describes Waugh:
“I love the thought that he has enough confidence and chutzpah to attend USGA functions sockless and in moccasins (and often in white chinos). At the annual DP World Tour party at the Augusta Country Club on the Tuesday evening of the Masters, that’s how he would dress,” Hopkins wrote in an email.
“He has the looks of an ageing film star and the manners of a courtier. I can see him more easily at a cocktail party in East Hampton than either a slightly more starchy PGA of America function at Frisco or USGA HQ at Far Hills among all those blue blazers and Brooks Brothers shirts, ties and trousers.”
That’s Waugh, who does have a home in the Hamptons and memberships at a handful of the most prestigious golf clubs. What he lacks in pretension, Waugh makes up for with a conviction to do the right thing.
It has served as Waugh’s north star in leading the PGA of America and, by extension, the game itself. He would never take the credit, but Waugh’s voice and vision have been instructive in expanding the game beyond its traditional base.
“My premise is, if we can make the game look more like the rest of the world, maybe the world will behave more like the game. The loss of civility in society is tragic and has taken us down,” Waugh said.
“Golf at its core is all about its civility. You look for someone else’s ball; you don’t hit out of turn; you take your hat off at the end; you call a penalty on yourself.
“The charity, the lessons you learn … it’s an incredible engine for good and worth spending a decade of your life giving back to.”
The members of the PGA of America – primarily the club pros who give lessons, run events and bring the game to life every day – are the true boots on the ground. Waugh is proud that during his time in charge he has found ways to increase pay and create a more balanced work life for a traditionally overworked group.
He has been at the center of Ryder Cups, helped bring the leaders of the game’s most important organizations together and been a voice of reason in a turbulent time. What stays with Waugh, he said, aren’t the big moments as much as the small ones.
“It’s when one of our pros comes up in a supermarket and says thanks for everything you’re doing,” Waugh said. “It’s an association of serving hearts. Our people are teachers and coaches, and that’s been a beautiful full-circle thing for me.”
There are moments, Waugh said, when he feels a twinge of seller’s remorse, wondering if this is the right time to step away. Then he thinks about the summer ahead with an overdue honeymoon trip with his wife of six-plus years, Jane, the wedding of one of his five children and the freedom to do as he pleases.
Waugh has surrendered the daily duties of a boss, but he carries with him the soulfulness that the game engenders, and his impact will resonate into the future.
“I’m a big believer in the properties of the game, the values, the people you meet, the lessons you learn, the character you expose and develop. It’s the essence of the game and why we all fell in love with it,” Waugh said.
“We have to protect that, and we have to evolve toward the next generation. We can’t just protect our grandparents’ and our parents’ game. We have to make it for our kids while still protecting the ethos of the game.
“[This job] has been incredibly fulfilling, probably the single most fulfilling thing I’ve done in my professional career. Hopefully, we left the room a little better than we found it.”
He has, and that can be Waugh’s legacy and his enduring contribution.
Well done.
E-MAIL RON
TOP PHOTO: Ryan LOCHHEAD, PGA OF AMERICA