If a man is indeed known by the company he keeps, count Karl Bublitz as one who reveres the class of elite individuals with whom he will now forever be associated.

Along with Jack Shoenfelt, his fellow classmate for 2025, Bublitz recently was inducted into the South Florida PGA (SFPGA) Hall of Fame, the highest honor an individual can receive within the Section. For a guy who once spent a summer of his youth moving sprinkler heads late into the night from one hole to another at a course in his native St. Clair County, Michigan, there is something almost surreal about sharing the spotlight with a "who's who" among the other 51 SFPGA Hall of Fame members.

"I mean, to know my name is now there with Jack Nicklaus, Jim McLean, Bob Murphy, Bob Toski, and [former PGA of America CEO] Joe Steranka, wow," Bublitz says as his voice trails off. 

Achieving immortality within the second largest of the 41 PGA of America Sections is the ultimate byproduct of a career that Bublitz describes in its simplest form and with the highest of ideals. "I'm a servant," he says, "and we, as a team, do not fail. We're not going to lose. The product and experience that we provide to our customers, will not be duplicated anywhere else. Their ROE, the Return on Experience for our customers, will not be beaten."

That mantra of leadership has extended to his commitment to the SFPGA itself, with Bublitz serving as the Section's President from 2019-21 and being named the 2012 SFPGA Golf Professional of the Year.

Bublitz, a PGA of America Member since 1995, is the PGA General Manager for the Collier Rod and Gun Club in Naples, Florida. He is currently assisting with the planning and development of the County's first facility to feature sporting clays, archery, a trail system, and a championship 18-hole golf course, expected to open in 2028.

In many respects, Collier Rod and Gun Club represents the exclamation point for Bublitz, who has worked at five other facilities in South Florida since he made the area his permanent home in 2004. Bublitz got his start in the golf business at Rattle Run Golf Course in Michigan, where those muggy summer nights spent changing the sprinkler heads -- typically from 8:30 p.m. to as late as 1:30 a.m.-- for owner Lou Powers afforded him the opportunity to play the game when the sun came back up.

Yet it wasn't until PGA Professional Dan Hansen offered Bublitz an assistant professional position at The Moors Golf Club in Portage, Michigan, that the vision of golf as a career began to come into focus for him. For it wasn't until then that Bublitz met the man for whom, as he admits, "I owe my success."

When Jim Butler left The Moors to become an assistant professional at The Forest Country Club in Ft. Myers, it created an opening on the staff among assistant professionals. Bublitz then rose in the ranks. And before long, as he would spend his winters in Florida, Bublitz went to work with Butler at The Forest. 

Ultimately, Butler saw in Bublitz the myriad of skills he admires in a PGA Professional, and when Butler became the General Manager, he hired Bublitz to be his PGA Director of Golf at Grey Oaks Country Club, the sprawling, 54-hole facility in Naples, where Bublitz oversaw a team of 22 golf professionals.

"Look, I was a kid who could have gone in any direction," Bublitz admits. "I needed mentorship, and Jim was my guiding light. He helped me look at things in a bigger way than just the day-to-day activities, both in my personal life and my professional life. People are everything in this business, and you absolutely want to be around someone like Jim."

Butler, now the CEO of Club Benchmarking, a leading online management tool that provides key data for clubs, says that Bublitz stands alone. 

"I had many PGA golf professionals work for me and with me, and Karl, by far, is the best one on many levels. Karl is the absolute best at customer experience for any PGA Professional who I have worked with in my 35 years of being a PGA Member. He is organized, he's a leader, and he always puts the club members first. Karl trains his staff to be warm and receptive to the customer, and make each member feel that they are the most important person in the golf shop.

"Karl's operations in golf tournaments, merchandising, training staff, business planning and financial performance exceeded expectations on a continuous basis at Grey Oaks. The highest compliment that I can give Karl is if I was starting a facility today, he would be the first person I would call to lead the facility because he is a proven winner."

Rich Ter Haar was the PGA Head Professional for Bublitz at Grey Oaks, and he succeeded his boss as Director of Golf when Bublitz took on the opportunity at Collier Rod and Gun Club.

"I can think of no one more deserving of induction into the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame than Karl Bublitz," Ter Haar says. "His passion for creating the best member experience possible, respect for the traditions of the game, and genuine care for people have defined his entire career. At Grey Oaks, he created an environment where the golf experience is not just about the game itself but about belonging, camaraderie, and shared pride in the club. His leadership raised service standards and inspired his team to embrace excellence every day. Karl has not only achieved great professional success but has also made everyone around him better—through mentorship, friendship, and example. His influence extends far beyond his own club, as he has shaped the character of the South Florida PGA community itself."

So true. In fact, Bublitz worked closely with Geoff Lofstead, the longtime executive director of the South Florida PGA, to frame a comprehensive business plan for the Section, which counts more than 2,100 PGA Professionals in its ranks. And he did so with his term as President coinciding with the devastating effects of COVID-19.

"My whole focus during that time was to help Geoff and his team with whatever they needed," Bublitz says. "Communications was everything, so Geoff and I were on the phone multiple times a day and we stayed in touch with as many of our golf professionals as we could."

Caring for, and mentoring his fellow Professionals, is evident through the more than 20 PGA Professionals who have worked for Bublitz who now have titles of Head Professional or higher. "It's a source of great pride," he says.

His caring for his community shines through with the time Bublitz has spent installing windows and helping with other needs for the Habitat for Humanity homes that the SFPGA, through its Foundation, has constructed in 13 of the 14 counties it encompasses. "We'll get all 14," Bublitz is quick to add.

He talks about culture, which surely will be unmatched when Collier Rod and Gun Club welcomes its members in a few years. Led by Bublitz, ever the servant. That kid who needed direction and got it, and who, as a man, has paid it back in mentoring and caring for others.

And then one day, the phone rings, and you're told that you're going to be up on the mountaintop of your profession. Alongside legends named Jack, Jim, Murph and Toski. And you're thunderstruck. Wow.

"I am so humbled," Bublitz says. "You know, I love what I do, and I want to do it for as long as I can be helpful. Next to having my children, it's the greatest honor of my life to be inducted into the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame. This is it."