From the south florida pga
WEST PALM BEACH, FL – In 2022, Joe Downey, PGA made a career-changing decision. Downey decided to move on from his role as Director of Golf at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club in Jupiter to become a Sales Representative with Holderness & Bourne. A vastly different avenue within the golf industry but a new endeavor he took head on, increasing sales in the Florida and Caribbean territory by 235%, making it now a top-3 territory in sales for the company.
The significant increase and level of customer service Downey delivers earned him the recognition of 2025 South Florida PGA Salesperson of the Year. The Salesperson of the Year Award annually honors a sales representative serving the Section who has made significant contributions to the game of golf at the Section level and within his/her company and those overall performance as a sales representative including service to accounts, overall integrity, courtesy and professionalism is second to none.
Downey’s journey in golf began in high school, when he first started taking the game seriously. He knew that making it as a touring professional was a long-shot, but with his uncle as a PGA Professional, Downey was intrigued by the idea of working in the business. Upon graduating high school, Downey headed off to Campbell University in Bules Creek, North Carolina where he set out to study Professional Golf Management. During this time, Downey interned at Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, New York.
Upon graduation, Downey moved into an Assistant Professional role at Atlantic Golf Club, serving under longtime Head Professional, Rick Hartmann, PGA who turned into a valuable mentor for a young Downey. Hartmann was genuine with members and guests, making everyone feel welcomed, and he knew how to create a comfortable atmosphere, an essential skill trait that Downey observed early on.
“You don’t have to change who you are to be the best,” Downey said about the important lessons he learned from Hartmann.
Downey also worked seasonally at Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, where he had his first experience with sales and merchandising. At Floridian, it was solely the job of the golf professionals to oversee the merchandise, and Downey was tasked with the responsibility. Under the leadership of Morgan Jewell, the PGA Head Golf Professional at Floridian National, Downey experienced first-hand how growing sales and revenue in a golf shop can be fun, treating it like a game with the goal of growing year after year.
“It was my first time being involved and engulfed in the business side of golf,” Downey said about his experience at Floridian National Golf Club. “I loved it!”
After five seasons working between Atlantic Golf Club and Floridian National Golf Club, Downey decided to make Florida his permanent home. His move included working summers at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club while being led by then PGA Director of Golf, Neil Lockie. After one season of working at both Floridian and Jonathan’s Landing, Downey transitioned to Jonathan’s Landing full-time.
Downey was hired as the Head Golf Professional at Jonathan’s Landing under the guidance of Lockie, a mentor and friend to Downey. After three years as the Head Professional and with Lockie accepting a role in Texas, Downey was promoted to Director of Golf. Downey stayed in the role for three years before ultimately accepting the position with Holderness & Bourne.
Since joining the Holderness & Bourne team in 2022, Downey has had incredible success with the line, and believes in the product and brand..
“I was fortunate enough to join Holderness & Bourne, a company that I already knew and believed in,” said Downey. “This gave me the ability to ‘sell’ without ‘selling.’”
Secondly, maintaining communication and transparency with partners is vital to success by building a “two-way street of trust.” Some examples Downey gives of communication and transparency are lead dates, pricing, and revenue statistics.
Downey explains, “by being transparent, a sales representative becomes an asset, molding the partnership into a collaborative effort between salesperson and partner.”
Thirdly, a salesperson has to be likable. Be the person that people feel comfortable being around. Through this, better relationships and trust can be built.
“When you get to know someone, you ultimately develop a deeper and more trusted relationship with them,” Downey says about the importance of likability. “I want partners to enjoy their hour-long meetings with me or when I am there for events.”
Downey also emphasizes the importance of providing excellent service by assisting clubs when they need product at an event or providing last-minute tournament packages at a member-guest, as an example.
“Every club gets the same attentiveness that Augusta National does,” Downey says, “It is well worth whatever challenges we're going to go through to get this done, and I think that's how we see things.”
Downey’s journey, working seasonally in the Hamptons and in South Florida, to becoming Director of Golf at Jonathan's Landing, and now paving the way in sales at Holderness & Bourne, reveals how each step of the way has led him to earning the Salesperson of the Year Award. Now, after significantly increasing his territory’s sales revenue over three years, Downey presses forward to continue the path of growth at Holderness & Bourne.
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