Emily Palmer
Bringing ideas to life
As someone who works at an office called Golf House, the New Jersey headquarters of the USGA, Emily Palmer is comfortable with those confines because, as she said, “golf has been part of the fabric of our family for as long as I can remember.”
Her parents, Jim and Jennifer von Doehren, were full-time teachers and also volunteers in junior golf in the state of Washington when Palmer and her younger brother, Brendan, were kids. The von Doehrens still reside in suburban Seattle and remain steadfast junior golf volunteers. Brendan is a PGA Tour vice president who serves as executive director of PGA Tour University.
“I remember playing in a four-holer, actually, it was two holes cut in half,” Palmer said with a chuckle. “We played everywhere and didn’t belong to a private club growing up. In the summers, I worked at a municipal course while I was in high school.”
Palmer is the USGA’s chief member services officer, a position she has held since late 2021. Within that role, she oversees all USGA-Allied Golf Association relationships and services, USGA committee relationships and assignments, the Green Section, USGA Transformational Initiatives, and serves as the liaison between the Executive Committee and the association’s senior leadership.
Palmer’s career in golf administration has its roots in the USGA’s renowned P.J. Boatwright Internship Program, which was established in 1991 to honor the late executive director and legendary rules expert.
After playing four years of college golf and earning a bachelor of science degree in business economics at Northern Arizona, Palmer applied for the year-long internship offered by the USGA at the Southern California Golf Association.
“I moved to Arizona on my own, so I figured I could do it in L.A., too,” said Palmer, who lives in New Jersey with her husband.
About six months into her SCGA internship, a full-time job opened internally in handicapping and membership, and she was hired. “I didn’t know much about handicapping even though I grew up in golf,” she said.
Under the tutelage of longtime executive director Kevin Heaney, Palmer immersed herself in a nine-year stay that included four years as the managing director of the International Association of Golf Administrators.
“Seeing that kernel of an idea blossom into something that is real and alive out there locally, that’s pretty cool.”
emily palmer
In 2012, she joined the USGA staff as the senior director of regional affairs. She and her staff helped fashion the new face of the Allied Golf Associations that now includes 57 entities. Former USGA CEO Mike Davis tabbed her as chief of staff in 2018, and she “learned about the organization in a much broader way” through all of its activities and events as well as direct involvement with the Executive Committee. She is one of six on the USGA’s senior leadership team, reporting directly to CEO Mike Whan and serving on the executive branch, tasked with setting strategy and fulfilling the association’s mission to work for the good of the game.
Her latest assignment is a joint strategy for the USGA and the Allied Golf Associations. “It is a monumental undertaking with the 57 AGAs,” Palmer said. “We are building a game for the future.”
An unassuming person who doggedly pursues the details of the job, Palmer offered what gives her a smile.
“Seeing that kernel of an idea blossom into something that is real and alive out there locally,” Palmer said. “That’s pretty cool.”
Pete Kowalski
Photos courtesy USGA
