On Sunday, July 16, Quincy Heard, PGA – Founder and CEO of Summit Golf Foundation and Warner Pacific College Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach in Portland, Oregon, will be featured when CBS Sports presents “Turning Passion into Profession”. Also featured in the segment is Sherri Pla, PGA, Head Professional, Sandhill Crane Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The PGA of America was founded in 1916 and is the world’s largest sports organization. Heard and Pla represent the less than 150 estimated African American PGA Professionals in the nation today in an organization comprised of 28,000 men and women golf Professionals who are the recognized experts in teaching and growing the game.
The hour-long CBS Sports special is narrated by PGA Professional Gary McCord, and will introduce viewers to PGA Professionals nationwide and highlights the diverse roles they play as experts in the game and business of golf. The program will air on CBS at 2 p.m. ET, prior to final-round coverage of the John Deere Classic.
Quincy R. Heard, PGA
Heard, originally from Montgomery AL, has been in Oregon since 1988. The gentleman with a professional style of excellence has decades of experience in golf and was named head men’s and women’s golf coach in August of 2012. He entered into the PGA Professional Development Program in 1998 and was elected to membership in the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) in 2006.
RELATED STORY: Perseverance: The Quincy R. Heard Story
At Summit Golf Foundation (SGF), a junior golf program where we are Breaking Par for youth in the Portland-metro area, Heard’s program works to teach young people the game of golf while also instilling integrity, confidence, and leadership into their daily lives. the non-profit golf school and academy serves youth ages 6 to 18 and offers juniors a chance to learn, have fun, and play golf.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Heard entered the golf profession as one of the first African American PGA Professionals in the Pacific Northwest. He coaches the Warner Pacific College men’s and women’s golf teams; started the Summit Golf Foundation, which introduces boys and girls to the game, including kids in foster care; and mentored nearly 1,500 youth through the Portland Golf Association.
RELATED STORY: Sherri Pla, PGA –How She Turned A Passion For Golf into PGA Professionalism
Sherri Pla, PGA
Sherri Pla is the popular PGA Head Professional at a City of Palm Beach Gardens-owned public golf course. This year, she became the first PGA Member to establish a PGA Junior League Golf program in South Florida, with more than 80 boys and girls. Pla’s passion for junior golf is extraordinary, as she leads innovative programs that are attracting new players to the game.
A lifelong athlete. After a successful middle school and high school career, she attended Florida Atlantic University on a basketball scholarship. Her impressive stats, which included scoring more than 1,000 points, becoming a career leader in assists and stealing more passes than any other player in the school’s history, garnered Sherri a position in the FAU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009. As an all-around athlete, once the FAU Athletic staff recognized her talent, she was asked to join other fledgling programs at the university. Not only did she succeed in basketball, but she dominated in softball, cross country and golf.
The television show is designed to inspire men, women and children of all ages who are enthusiastic about the game to turn their passions into careers in golf. PGA Member career paths of Instruction, Golf Operations and General Management are showcased, along with other opportunities to enter the industry, such as an entrepreneur, college coach and golf foundation executive.
The full list of featured PGA Professionals and their highlighted career paths are:
- Joe Assell, PGA – President/CEO, GOLFTEC, Denver – In 1995, Assell took a leap of faith into golf instruction based on technology and computers to help people play better golf. From there, he built GOLFTEC into the world’s largest golf instruction company and one of the top employers of PGA Professionals.
- Alison Curdt, PGA/LPGA – PGA Director of Instruction at Wood Ranch Golf Club, Simi Valley, California – The youngest woman to ever become a PGA Master Professional, Curdt qualified for the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, her fourth appearance in this major. The 2015 LPGA National Teacher of the Year and one of Golf Digest’s “Best Young Teachers in America,” Curdt inspires others to play the game and pursue a golf career.
- Scott Davenport, PGA – PGA Head Professional, Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte – Davenport is only the second PGA Head Professional in Quail Hollow history. He offers a preview of the upcoming 99th PGA Championship and what is involved in hosting the Club’s first major. Davenport also enjoyed a special day of coaching Carolina Panthers players Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and Greg Olsen.
- Eric Eshleman, PGA – PGA Director of Golf, The Country Club of Birmingham (Alabama) – A PGA Member since 1995, and the recently elected Alabama-NW Florida PGA Section President, Eshleman is featured with his most recognizable student for the past five years, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and European Tour player Paul Dunne.
- Quincy Heard, PGA – Founder and CEO of Summit Golf Foundation; Warner Pacific College Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach, Portland – After serving in the U.S. Navy, Heard entered the golf profession as one of the first African-American PGA Professionals in the Pacific Northwest. He coaches the Warner Pacific College men’s and women’s golf teams; started the Summit Golf Foundation, which introduces boys and girls to the game, including kids in foster care; and mentored nearly 1,500 youth through the Portland Golf Association.
- Stephanie Jennings, PGA– Assistant PGA Professional at Meadowbrook Country Club, Northville, Michigan – Jennings is making her mark by growing the women’s golf program at historic Meadowbrook Country Club. Throughout her career, she has been involved in all aspects of golf from working as a PGA Assistant Professional to executive management at the Executive Women’s Golf Association to program administrator with the Middle Atlantic PGA Section.
- Michael Leemhuis, PGA – President, Ocean Reef Club
John Lyberger, PGA – Vice President, Ocean Reef Club, Key Largo, Florida – Beyond their club’s size and scope—more than 5,000 members and nearly 1,200 in-season employees across 98 departments—these two decorated PGA General Managers also oversee the operation of an airstrip, marina, hotel and three golf courses, making their operation on-par with the management of a small city. - Sherri Pla, PGA – PGA Head Professional, Sandhill Crane Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – Pla is the popular PGA Head Professional at a City of Palm Beach Gardens-owned public golf course. This year, she became the first PGA Member to establish a PGA Junior League Golf program in South Florida, with more than 80 boys and girls. Pla’s passion for junior golf is extraordinary, as she leads innovative programs that are attracting new players to the game.
- Jessie Walker, PGA – General Manager, Cypress Lakes at Travis AFB
Vacaville, California –Walker, who served in the U.S. Army for 20 years,
has guarded generals, ambassadors and heads of state during his military career. Now, a PGA Certified Professional, he brought the PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) program—which teaches golf to military veterans—
to Northern California in 2015, earning the Section’s Patriot Award in 2016.
