West Palm Beach, FL - For the fifth consecutive year the South Florida PGA defeated the North Florida PGA in the 20th Annual Senior Challenge Cup Matches, played October 28-29 at The Breakers Rees Jones Course at Breakers West Country Club. The South Florida PGA, captained by Roger Kennedy Sr., PGA Life Member, earned 20.5 points to North Florida’s 10.5 points in the annual Ryder Cup style matches. The two-day event was broken up into four separate formats, played over 36-holes.

As the Head Professional at Tatnuck Country Club in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the early 2000s, Dr. Tara McKenna, PGA, was approached by a member asking if she had any interest in being an adjunct professor at nearby Anna Maria College. Confused by the question but later intrigued by the opportunity, as someone who is passionate about continued education and had already earned a Master's Degree in Exercise and Sport Science, McKenna took the opportunity and began teaching Sports Ethics. “Teaching that class was frightening; it was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done because I had no idea what I was doing," McKenna explained of her semester teaching. While the experience was daunting and involved a huge learning curve compared to her traditional Club Professional role, it gave McKenna a glimpse into what an academic career could be like. “It put my foot in the door for academia, and little did I know how much that would benefit my career now,” McKenna said. “Just having that experience on my resume really put me in front of this opportunity to run a PGM program in 2010.” Fast-forward several years, and McKenna, now the Director of Golf Management at Florida Gulf Coast University for over 15 years, has been named the 2025 South Florida PGA Professional Development Award recipient. This award honors Professionals for outstanding contributions to professional education. McKenna previously won the same award in 2015. Coming from a golfing family in upstate New York, McKenna always demonstrated a passion for golf while consistently striving to set herself apart academically. Her talents took her to James Madison University, where she competed on the women’s golf team and earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology. Still uncertain of what she wanted to pursue as a career, McKenna accepted a scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to work as a graduate assistant (GA) while pursuing a master's degree in Exercise and Sports Science. During her time at UNC Greensboro, McKenna, as part of her GA role, kick-started and began coaching the women’s golf team, which had been dormant for 10 years. In addition to coaching the women’s golf team, McKenna served as a GA under Dr. Debbie Cruz, an LPGA Member and Hall of Famer. At the same time, McKenna was working at The Farm at Greensboro Country Club, learning golf instruction from MaryBeth McGirr, the 2015 LPGA Coach of the Year, and Dot Gunnels, the 1993 NCAA National Women’s Coach of the Year at the University of North Carolina. Upon completing her master's degree and with the knowledge gained from her experiences and mentors in North Carolina, McKenna began working towards her Class-A PGA of America Membership. She accepted an assistant professional role at Normanside Country Club in Delmar, New York, the facility where she grew up. She even won her first Women’s Club Championship there at the age of 14. “I went back to the club I grew up at, spent four years there, and got my PGA membership,” McKenna recalled. “I knew once I started working there as an assistant golf professional, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to run things, I wanted to wear all the hats.” Up until 2003, McKenna moved seasonally between New England and South Florida, serving as an assistant professional at several facilities until she earned a full-time head professional role at Tatnuck Country Club. She remained the head professional until 2009, when she came across a job posting at Florida Gulf Coast University looking for a Professional Golf Management Director. “I’d been on the green-grass side for about 18 years and saw this as an opportunity to have a little bit of a more normal schedule," McKenna explained. “But I can still stay connected to golf, I can still play and contribute to a Chapter and Section. It was more like the normalization but still tethered to golf, which really was the cool thing.” In 2010, McKenna started full-time at Florida Gulf Coast University. Still not completely sure what she was getting herself into, she quickly fell in love with helping her students grow. “It is so rewarding when your first graduate comes up to you and says, ‘Wow, thank you, that was an amazing experience, and I would not be where I am without your help,’” McKenna recalled when she knew she was in the right place. While seemingly instantly passionate about the role, McKenna admits the transition from the green-grass side of the industry was difficult. However, she is incredibly fortunate to have had 2013 South Florida PGA Professional Development Award recipient and FGCU Assistant PGM Director Marty Hall, PGA, by her side the entire time. “Marty’s been here longer than me, but I think we complement each other so well, and that was right out of the gate,” McKenna said. “We also buy into the mission and are here to make our students incredibly successful. I don’t make decisions here without running things by her first.” Within her first five years at FGCU, McKenna won her first SFPGA Professional Development award, solidifying herself as a leader within the SFPGA and incredibly talented in her new role. McKenna was still not done furthering herself as a professional educator. In 2022, she began working towards her Doctorate in Education, which she successfully completed in June 2024. This only added to her resume, which also includes being an LPGA Professional. Lastly, McKenna is well on her way to achieving her PGA of America Master Professional honor, the highest educational designation for a PGA Professional. A decade after receiving her first PGA Professional Development Award, McKenna still shares the same passion and mission for helping others. “I want to help students find their way.”

West Palm Beach, FL - Karl Bublitz, PGA General Manager at Collier Rod and Gun Club, and Jack Shoenfelt, PGA Director of Golf and Owner of Oriole Golf Club, have been inducted into the South Florida PGA Hall of Fame, making up the 2025 Class. The SFPGA Hall of Fame has long honored those who have extraordinary leadership, commitment to the game of golf, and service to the SFPGA and SFPGA Foundation. First established in 2001, the SFPGA has inducted 52 Professionals and leaders into the Hall of Fame, the highest honor an individual can receive within the Section.

“At some point, you ask yourself, what's your purpose and how do you want to leave your mark.” For 2025 South Florida PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award recipient, Danny Butts, PGA, “it’s through people, relationships and building others up. I want to have an impact on as many lives as possible.” Now as the Head Golf Professional at West Bay Club in Estero, Florida for over five years, Butts exemplifies what it means to be a recipient of the Bill Strausbaugh Award, which recognizes the professional who by their day-to-day efforts have distinguished themselves by mentoring their fellow PGA Professionals in improving their employment situations and through service to the community. In addition to being an active volunteer for the South Florida PGA Foundation, volunteering numerous hours to various Habitat for Humanity home builds, helping with the Smiling Fore Life program and more, Butts and his family willingly open their own home to those in need. “We have had six people that we housed while raising our own family with two kids,” Butts shared. “We are helping support not just golf professionals but our friends and community members.” As the leader of his team at West Bay, Butts takes a family approach in his leadership style, ensuring he is doing everything he can to put his team in the best possible position. “They are not just my assistants, they are borderline family,” Butts said. “I am always trying to help them to make sure they can take care of their families and get them into the jobs they want as fast as possible. That's what you do with family members and your deepest friends.” That family approach for Butts along with his wife, Courtney, who is a Fort Myers High School Teacher, goes far beyond helping golf professionals as they share a genuine interest in helping individuals in their community. Growing up in rural, blue-collar Western New York, a town full of farmers and factory workers, Butts was exposed to the value of hard work at an early age and continues to hold that same identity today. As a kid, Butts revered the local golf professionals in his small town, looking up to them as “outstanding people of the community and local celebrities that everybody knew.” While reading through golf magazines, Butts saw names like Jim McLean and Bob Ford and thought to himself, “what a great life that would be.” His early passion and obsession for golf led Butts to the Golf Academy of America - Carolinas to pursue a career in the golf industry. Upon graduation he began working as a first assistant at Bartlett Country Club in Olean, New York, a small, private 18-hole facility that still maintained a blue-collar membership. While already demonstrating a strong work ethic, Butts was introduced to and eventually obtained a seasonal position at Royal Poinciana Golf Club in Naples, Florida by a common Bartlett member. “I didn’t know anything about South Florida or Royal Poinciana, all I knew is that I had a job," Butts explained. “I didn’t have a place to stay, I slept in my car for a couple weeks, but I came down to work.” For the next several years, Butts maintained a seasonal position before eventually earning a full-time role with Royal Poinciana, a facility he would stay with for over 15 years. Early on Butts understood the importance of building a network of people around him and connecting with individuals to build strong relationships. “It occurred to me that when you look up to the legends of the game, a lot of golf professionals are legends not because they won a PGA Championship but they are legends because they have this unbelievable network,” Butts shared. “They turned out great professionals and I realized my impact on the game was not going to be playing, it was going to be through people.” That moment of realization changed the outlook Butts had on his career. For him, it is not about individual success or where that next job may be in the hustle of climbing the ladder of employment, it's about the number of people you can elevate in the process. “While I am still alive, I want to have 40 either General Managers, Directors of Golf or Head Professionals that I helped get there,” Butts explained his lifetime career goal. As someone who has spent his career not chasing individual success or accolades, Butts’s biggest accomplishments are simply helping others around him achieve their own goals. That's what motivates him every day. When notified that he would be named the 2025 Bill Strausbaugh Award recipient, Butts response was short but immensely meaningful. “I cried,” he shared. “We are all striving to be like someone else and to even be considered for an award after a guy that did it best is special. It is the most meaningful award to me because it's what I believe in the most.”

Bethesda, MD - Todd Frey, South Florida PGA HOPE graduate and recently elected PGA HOPE ambassador joined 19 other HOPE graduates for the 2025 PGA HOPE National Golf and Wellness Week, October 8-13 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) introduces and teaches golf to Veterans and Active Duty Military to enhance their physical, mental, social and emotional well-being. Led by PGA of America Golf Professionals, the program is inclusive of a developmental 6-8 week curriculum. All programs are provided at no cost to all participating Veterans. The PGA HOPE National Golf and Wellness Week annually welcomes 20 PGA HOPE Graduates to an immersive five-day event that includes golf instruction from PGA of America Golf Professionals and wellness training from the Cohen Veterans Network — covering topics from social media, public speaking, stress management, mental health and more.

Bradenton, FL - For the fifth consecutive year the South Florida PGA defeated the North Florida PGA in the Annual Challenge Cup Matches, hosted at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club, October 15-16. Team South Florida earned 17 points to North Florida’s seven points in the Ryder Cup-style matches played yesterday and today in Bradenton. This win marked South Florida’s 29th Challenge Cup victory, while North Florida remains at 14.

Yes, she is Kellie Stenzel, who has been named the 2025 South Florida PGA (SFPGA) Teacher of the Year. And yes, she is Kellie Stenzel, a PGA Master Professional who has been named a GOLF Magazine Top 100 Teacher each year since 2009. She's also Kellie Stenzel, whose professional development soared throughout what she terms "a masterclass in golf instruction" under the tutelage of 2016 PGA Teacher of the Year, Mike Adams. Yet, before she was any of those versions of the elite instructor she is today, she was (and still is) Kellie Stenzel, loving daughter of Bob Stenzel, whose "positive influence and outlook still are a part of my core beliefs," she says. "Without question, my father is one of the largest influences on my life," adds Stenzel, the PGA Director of Instruction at Dutchman's Pipe, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Bob Stenzel, now 91, owned a Chevrolet/Buick dealership for 31 years in her hometown of Geneva, New York. "He never missed a match or one of my brother Matthew's games. My Dad instilled great confidence in me, and there was never a doubt that I could do anything I set my mind to with a lot of hard work." Such persistence and dedication to her craft rightfully earned Stenzel the SFPGA Teacher of the Year Award, which is based on overall performance in teaching; unusual, innovative and special teaching programs that the Professional has initiated or played a key role in implementing; articles published in books and magazines; as well as outstanding golfers the Professional has instructed. "I have been fortunate to work around so many amazing teachers, and I have done my best to learn all their methods and be able to apply them based upon the students' needs," says Stenzel. "Those outstanding instructors have greatly influenced my career, and they are all part of this award. I am so excited and honored to be the South Florida PGA Teacher of the Year." Stenzel is the author of three women's golf books, and at Dutchman’s Pipe, she runs monthly golf schools in addition to her one-on-one teaching. She also oversees three-day corporate golf schools with as many as 60 students being taught by upwards of 15 top PGA of America instructors. Furthermore, Stenzel's Skillest web page allows her to help students improve their swing, and game, no matter where they may be. Stenzel has deep PGA of America roots, minus a certain talent. You see, her late grandfather, Robert Stenzel, was the longtime PGA Head Professional at Spencerport Golf Club outside of Rochester, New York, and he was a member of the Rochester Philharmonic, playing the bass. As for his granddaughter, well, Kellie sums it up this way: "I certainly did not get his musical talent," she says, "even though he tried to help me with the flute, it was not meant to be. However, when I was a young golfer he would look at the callouses on my hands, and the more I had, he would give me a few dollars. This impressed upon me the value of hard work." What Kellie Stenzel may have lacked as a potential musician, she more than made up as a talented golfer. Stenzel played four years at the Division I level at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where she was a key contributor to the Paladins finishing second in the nation at the NCAA Finals in her senior year, in 1987. She went on to play professionally for the next five years in a variety of locales, some close to home (the Futures Tour), and some on tours far, far away, in Asia, South Africa and Australia. Stenzel, who earned a business degree at Furman, said she "always figured that I would work in the business world in some way." Indeed, she pursued that route after her playing days ended, but "couldn't stand being inside" as a money manager. So, she started teaching at The Club at Admiral's Cove in Jupiter, Florida -- "at first, I was a terrible teacher" -- and after running some women's events there, she eventually got her first taste of being involved with large-scale golf schools under Adams, at PGA National Resort & Spa, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Adams regularly oversaw clinics of upwards of 40 players then, as he still does today at both Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. "I could see right away that Kellie had the desire to be the best she could be," says Adams. "Kellie had a great personality and put people at ease. She just needed to learn how to teach. I'm so proud of the instructor she has become, and she continues to improve, to look at ways to be a better teacher. She just has that thirst for knowledge. Kellie's a star, and she is absolutely at the level of being a national PGA Teacher of the Year." Stenzel says watching Adams be able to fix the ball flight of a student based on one swing was a breakthrough for her, as she was part of a stable of 20 instructors who then taught the students in groups at PGA National. "Mike has that rare ability, and he has been so willing to share his knowledge with me," she says. "By far, Mike has had the biggest influence on me professionally, and my ability to run large golf schools today is simply because of my time with him. My teaching philosophy involves working with the student in front of me and their goals and physical abilities. Having Mike Adams as a mentor, understanding body typing and how to best understand cause and effect allow me to improve ball flight and improve the overall game of my students." As Adams did with her, Stenzel now pays it forward by helping develop the next generation of golf professionals who assist her with schools, so they have the opportunity to advance in their respective careers. "It's really important to me to help other teachers," says Stenzel, a current member of the SFPGA Teaching Committee and a member of the PGA of America Teaching and Coaching Committee in 2024 and '25. "I mentor several professionals and make myself completely available to any teacher who needs help with improving their students or better negotiating their business contracts." Giving back. Yes, that's one reason why Bob Stenzel is proud of his daughter. Hearing that she is now his award-winning daughter? Yes, that's enough for this Dad to get a tad emotional. "Kellie always told me that I was a wonderful father," he says, "but she has always been great. We've played so many rounds of golf together and have such special memories. I'm thrilled for her because she earned this honor. She's a terrific teacher who just keeps improving. She's the best daughter a father could ever have."

Naples, FL - The South Florida PGA held its second annual West Coast Play Yellow Birdie Bash, today at The Glades Golf & Country Club to raise funds for the Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida and the South Florida PGA Foundation. A total of $258,896.50 was raised, including 671 total birdies. Donations will continue to be accepted until Friday, October 17th. If you would like to donate, please click here . “It is such an amazing event,” said Golisano Children's Hospital Program Director Toni Primeaux. “Everybody is so friendly and when you hear the pros say it is the best day of the year for them, that is huge and then to think of all the members that support the pros and to think of all the funds that goes directly to the kids. Is there a better event? No.” This year’s Bridie Bash welcomed 24 South Florida PGA of America Professionals completing 81 holes on The Pines and Palmetto courses at The Glades, making as many birdies as possible in a team scramble format. Each birdie was backed by donor pledges and funds raised will support the missions of the SFPGA Foundation and Golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.

West Palm Beach, FL - Justin Hicks, PGA, and Chris Hatfield (A) won the South Florida PGA Global Golf Sales Senior/Super-Senior Pro-Scratch at The Club at Ibis - Heritage Course with a total score of 8-under. After a cancelled 2024 event, the 2025 Championship welcomed 33 teams of a senior SFPGA Professional over the age of 50 and a senior amateur over the age of 50 playing in a best-ball format. Hicks, a Teaching Professional at Stonebridge Country Club, and partner Hatfield managed a clean scorecard, including six birdies and an eagle on the par-5, 4th hole. After winning his third consecutive Pro-Scratch Championship earlier in the season with Bear Lakes Country Club Member Robbie Wight, Hicks teamed up with Hatfield, who is also a Bear Lakes Member. In the 2025 season alone, Hicks has won seven championships at both the Chapter and Section levels.