PGA of Canada Podcasts

In this episode, host Nkele Martin sits down with Liam Moffatt, a PGA of Canada apprentice professional at Whistler Golf Club and a two-time Olympian in Snowboard Cross. Liam takes us behind the scenes of the Beijing and Italy winter games, sharing what it’s really like to stand in the Olympic start gate and how he managed the transition from a "snowboarding addict" in Nova Scotia to a dedicated golf professional in BC. We dive deep into the mental parallels between the two sports—specifically the challenge of maintaining a "70% performance state" in golf versus the 110% explosive energy required on the slopes. Whether you're a golf nut or an action sports fan, Liam’s story of pursuit, pressure, and finding a "fall-forward" career in the golf industry is not to be missed.

PGA of Canada Professional and Founder/Director of Instruction of the Tour Development Academy in Richmond, B.C. Nathan Leonhardt recently worked as the Golf Consultant on the new Apple TV+ series 'Stick' starring Owen Wilson, premiering on June 4. In this podcast, Nathan talks about working on the set of a hit TV show and how his experience as a PGA of Canada professional provided him the skills necessary to help produce the show.

Amaya Athill joins Brendan Stasiewich on the PGA of Canada podcast to discuss the work that earned her the 2024 Warren Crosbie Community Leader of the Year Award. Amaya started her career as an attorney-at-law and was called to the Bar of England and Wales, Antigua, and Ontario. Amaya spent the first 10 years of her career practicing in Antigua and the United Kingdom in the areas of civil litigation, international law, and human rights. A golfer since the age of 5, after moving to Canada in early 2022, Amaya began working in the golf industry. Currently she is the Manager at Golf Canada where she manages the implementation of First Tee in Ontario, a program that provides opportunities for young people from historically excluded and systemically marginalized communities to access golf. Amaya qualified became a PGA of Canada Apprentice Professional in May 2023 and is one of the few black women members. Amaya has a passion for introducing BIPOC women to golf and her coaching is primarily focused on instruction of groups of beginner golfers within this demographic. In 2022 she founded Black Women Golfers, a group dedicated to creating space for Black women to learn, practice, and play golf. Amaya is an avid advocate for accessibility and diversity in the sport and utilizes her social media (IG: @golf_interrupted) to conduct interviews with BIPOC women in golf, highlight the importance of municipal golf, and collaborate with BIPOC golfers of varying levels.

On today's PGA of Canada podcast we are joined by Golf Canada's amateur and young pro squad coach Derek Ingram, who has picked up five PGA of Canada National Awards in his career including a pair of Coach of the Year and Teacher of the Year titles. He currently coaches PGA TOUR winners Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners, who was just named to the Canadian Olympic Men's Golf Team. Host Brendan Stasiewich spent some time chatting with Derek about his career and his approach to coaching at all levels of the game.

The relevancy of the PGA Professional is no more important than it is today. In this energy filled episode, Golf Industry Guru co-founder James Cronk describes what he means by a 'powered-on pro' and the leadership traits and characteristics of the modern day professional. James and host Mark Roe dive into the challenges facing today's leader, how your club become the employer of choice in your market, the evolution of the role of a PGA member, the opportunities in a post-COVID workforce, and much more. Don't miss this invigorating episode that is bound to give you the motivation, energy, and tips and tricks to elevate your role in the industry and beyond. About James Cronk James Cronk is a club industry leader with over 30 years-experience in the golf and service industry. He has presented keynote sessions and workshop seminars at major golf industry events around the world, including the NGCOA National Conference (16 times), the Asia Pacific Golf Summit (6 times including India in November 2019), the European Golf Business Conference (3 times including Portugal 2020), the CMAA World Conference (twice) and many more. In 2022 he was the keynote speaker at the Australian Club Managers Conference in Melbourne. A former golf professional and club manager, James’s has real life experience in the industry, and his success as a leader is evident in the recognitions bestowed upon himself and his teams, including his facility being recognized by Golf Digest as having the ‘5th Best Customer Service in North America’ and being rated by BC Business Magazine as one of British Columbia’s ‘Top Ten Employers’. His company CRONK GROUP helps clubs and organizations achieve their goals and increase their profits by improving their systems, their service, and their people. In 2022 James and his business partner Scott Masse launched GOLF INDUSTRY GURU, a global on-line training platform for golf clubs featuring tools, tips, templates, videos, and blogs from many of the world’s leading golf and hospitality industry gurus.

He was a former keynote speaker at Tee Talks Live in 2019 in Halifax and is back by popular demand. He's a global innovation strategist, a best selling author, recognized as Edify's Top 40 Under 40, in 2021 was named Forbe's best virtual speaker ever seen...welcome to this week's guest, Shawn Kanungo. Back with our incredible host from TSN, Mark Roe, we get Shawn's spin on Steve Job's 'crazy one's' concept, what went wrong with companies like Sears and Blockbuster, the consequences of maintaining status quo for PGA professionals at their club, facility, or business, how PGA of Canada leaders can unleash their innovation, where Shawn goes for innovative ideas, and so much more.

Fresh off a championship run this past December/January in Halifax with Hockey Canada's World Junior Men's team, we sat down with Head Coach Dennis Williams to talk leadership in this episode. Host Mark Roe from TSN talks about he as a leader responded after the opening night loss to Czechia, getting the most out of your team and a group of individuals, managing different personalities and the changes in 'today's' generation, career highlights and low lights and how he responded and persevered even through the tough times, the importance of culture, and how he as a coach and leader focuses on being better every day. Whether you are teaching and coaching or leading a team on the operations side of golf, this podcast is a can't miss episode. Everything from performance to culture and leadership and everything in between, we were thrilled to connect with Dennis fresh off this event that brought the nation together. About Dennis Williams: Dennis Williams, 43 (8/14/79), is in his sixth season behind the bench as Silvertips head coach and second season as general manager. Under Williams, Everett has earned four U.S. Division titles, three Conference regular season titles and a Western Conference championship, as well as success in the classroom and on the international and professional stage. Williams presently has a record of 203-66-11-11 behind the bench in his WHL career, earning his 200th career win on Oct. 12, 2022. He was promoted to the dual position of general manager and head coach on Jul. 12, 2021. And of course, he led the World Junior hockey team to a gold medal this past holiday season in Halifax.

We can all benefit from disagreeing just a little more. Going along to get along is going to be far more successful - being a dissenter can be equally as successful. Challenging the status quo can bring much needed change to any organization. These stalwarts are arguing out of compassion with an aim to improve ideas. Andrew Millar sits down with host Mark Roe to share the keys to how being a serial dissenter can strengthen your golf club, business, and mindset. Andrew Millar considers himself a serial dissenter and has questioned, challenged and argued his way from one job to the next. From Playstation to Swatch to Infiniti and now PVH, Andrew enjoys driving sales and his colleagues a little crazy. He is passionate about the importance of dissent and will argue with anyone who doesn’t agree. Millar holds an MBA from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He is currently growing and curing olives, batches of passata, and plans to someday make homemade wood-fired pizza.

Steve Graves, current golf professional and President with Creative Golf Marketing since 1990, stops by the podcast to share his knowledge and expertise on how golf has grown over the past couple years. Steve talks about how to grow and create momentum after the pandemic, how to drive interests in golf and how PGA professionals are a BUY now stock.

In the journey of working as golf professional, not everyone takes the same route. In this sitdown with Brian Siddle from Strong Coffee Marketing, Luke Rundell discusses his journey after becoming a pro in 2009 and how he eventually moved away from working at courses, and into running his own business In Alberta, training young golfers. The last two years saw a spike in golf, as it was one of the only activities that allowed us to see others. Luke goes over how these years have influenced his business with all factors. He goes over the satisfaction he gets training talented young golfers and helping all his students improve. He likes to think he provides the tools for young golfers to succeed and is even starting to see golfers coming to train and learn the game at the age of 6. Tune in to learn marketing techniques and other tips for running a golf training business in this growing market.

We’ve all heard the adage that people don’t leave bad companies, they leave bad leaders. So, for young and aspiring club managers to succeed, building effective leadership skills needs to be a top priority. For Rob Roxborough, relationships are the currency of how he conducts business, and his leadership style focuses on building and nurturing authentic relationships with not only his team but with everyone that he meets along the way. The human element of leadership is even more essential during today’s unprecedented times than ever before which is why Rob’s ‘making a difference’ leadership style results in him being continually recognized as one of Canada’s most exceptional club industry leaders. Highlights from this podcast episode that you don’t want to miss: 4:22 – Learn about how Rob was chosen for the role at Magna Golf Club and what attracted the ownership group to him and led them to bring him on board. 11:51 – Find out what inspired Rob to take on his current role at The Pulpit Club and how it compares to his other stops. 18:44 – Uncover the qualities and traits that Rob believes define his leadership style. 27:47 – Hear about if Rob learned to be a leader from being exposed to other great leaders, or if it just came to him naturally. 37:15 – Get Rob’s thoughts on accountability and why it’s an important part of being a great leader. 47:31 – Find out what structured ways there are to communicate the vision of your club to every single member of your team. 53:50 – Learn about the differences between how you manage your “bosses” versus how you manage your team. 59:11 – What advice Rob has for all the future leaders working in our industry today. About Rob Roxborough Rob is a 25 Year Member Class "A" Executive Professional of the PGA of Canada and has been the General Manager at The Pulpit Club in Caledon, Ontario since May 2020. Rob was honoured to be awarded the 2020 Executive Professional of the Year by the PGA of Ontario, and was a finalist for the 2020 Dick Munn, PGA of Canada Executive Professional of the Year Award. Other career highlights and milestones include: 2015 – 2020: Executive Director, The National Golf Club of Canada, Woodbridge, ON. 2013-2015: Chief Operating Officer (COO), Hamilton Golf & Country Club, Ancaster, ON. 2001-2013: General Manager & Executive Professional, Magna Golf Club, Aurora, ON. 1999-2001: Director of Golf, Deer Creek Golf and Country Club, Ajax, ON. Played events on the Canadian Tour, provincial / sectional events, and PGA of Canada Championships. Jacksonville State University, NCAA, 4-year varsity letterman. Alumni member of the JSU College of Business, and Gamecock Club Athletic Association. Organized, directed, and facilitated fundraising event featuring President Bill Clinton, Clinton Foundation, Magna Golf Club 2001. Organized, directed, and facilitated the inaugural Tiger Woods Invitational, Magna Golf Club 2005 (made for tv event). Organized, directed, and facilitated several Scotiabank Charity Challenges 2006-2009, annually featuring Annika Sorenstam accompanied by Natalie Gulbis, Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp and Morgan Pressel and the nation’s top ranked junior girls (all made for tv events). Organized, directed, and facilitated three Golf Town charity matches, all made for television events 2008-2010 featuring, David Toms, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els, J.J. Henry, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer (all made for tv events). 2014- Present, Board of Directors, Mike Weir Foundation mikeweirfoundation.com 1999-2000 built from a start-up the Jim McLean Golf Academy at Deer Creek, the #1 ranked golf school program in Canada (National Post) with renowned U.S. based instructor Jim McLean. To contact Rob directly, he can be reached via email at rroxborough@thepulpitclub.com. About Golf Industry Guru Golf Industry Guru is an online education community that helps golf club owners and managers improve their people, their business, and their profits. GIG’s mission

In our 60th PGA of Canada podcast, PGA Head Professional Kate Weir is joined by Ted Talk speaker and CEO/Founder of Experience Investigators™ by 360Connext, Jeannie Walters. Kate and Jeannie expand on Jeannie's keynote presentation at the 2021 Tee Talks Live Digital Series and will uncover topics like how you can resolve your club or facilities micro moments, taking a proactive approach to build trust with your customers, supporting your seasonal employees at golf courses to live your customer promise, how to handle reviews on your club or facility, and so much more. As part of this podcast, sign up for free downloadable tools to help create a CX Mission and more at YearOfCX.com by visiting www.experienceinvestigators.com.

How do you get your message out to your consumer? This podcast, Strong Coffee Marketing, focuses on how to select the right channel for your audience, understanding where your audience 'hangs out', and understanding your consumer personas.