Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of PGA Magazine.
Hosting a major championship is a feather in the cap for any golf professional. Hosting the PGA Championship – featuring what’s traditionally the strongest men’s field of the year, along with 20 PGA of America Golf Professionals on the Corebridge Financial Team? That’s even more special, according to longtime Aronimink Golf Club Head Professional Jeff Kiddie, PGA.
With his background on the PGA of America Rules Committee and as the national 2023 PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year, Kiddie is used to being in the spotlight. PGA Magazine recently talked with him about his experience preparing for the 2026 PGA Championship and what he’s looking forward to most from Aronimink’s big week.
PGA Magazine: Aronimink is hosting the PGA Championship for the first time since 1962, but your history with the Championship also goes back quite a ways. What was your first time attending the PGA Championship?
Jeff Kiddie: The first PGA Championship I went to was in 1980. I was 9 years old when I went to the Championship at Oak Hill Country Club. Jack Nicklaus won by seven shots. Growing up in Rochester, New York, we were fortunate enough that the PGA Championship has been there a bunch of times, and it was special as a kid to see all those great players come to town.
You’ve gone through an extended run-up to this month’s PGA Championship to prepare Aronimink to serve as host. What has that been like?
Kiddie: It’s been an awesome experience. It was great to have Jackie Endsley take the reins as Championship Director – she was our Championship Director for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2020 (won by South Korea’s Sei Young Kim). So, she knows the membership, knows the facility, knows the township. She was able to hit the ground running, which is huge. The PGA of America team has been great, and obviously Kerry Haigh, the Association’s Chief Championships Officer, is the best in the business. He’s been working hard on the operations side and the course setup side with our superintendent, John Gosselin, on the golf course and the entire experience for players and patrons. I’m fortunate to have developed a working relationship with Kerry through the years at PGA Championships, and he’s been great with our leadership team here at the club.
Sei Young Kim won the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
How has preparation for this month’s PGA Championship affected play for members?
Kiddie: It’s been quite different for our members this year. We closed the golf course last Nov. 3, and we haven’t opened it for member play this year – our first member golf rounds of the year will be the Tuesday after the PGA Championship. That gave us a chance to really lean into getting the infrastructure ready for the Championship, while making sure the course is in pristine shape. We’re fortunate that 12 or 13 clubs in the area have provided access and opportunities for our members to play. It shows the strong golf community we have here in the Philadelphia area that’s willing to help us out because everyone understands what a significant undertaking it is for us to host a major championship.
How many PGA TOUR professionals have been through to see the course?
Kiddie: Obviously, no one was able to come through early this year, but we did have a few last year. Their schedules are so busy, so I think the majority of them will try to get in a day early. They’re so good, and their preparation is so thorough, that there’s not a lot of advance play the way there used to be. But Robert MacIntyre is one of the players who came through last year before the Ryder Cup. I got to play with him and he really liked the course and had good feedback for us.
Based on your knowledge of the course and what you’ve seen at other sites, what will the field encounter when they tee it up at Aronimink?
Kiddie: The biggest variable is going to be weather. It’s mid-May, so it could be great and it could be something else. We’re obviously hoping for great and hoping for a good lead-in so the golf course can play the way we want it to present – hopefully somewhat firm and fast, so we can challenge the best players in the world in the strongest field in golf. The rough will be tough. It’ll be spring rough – gnarly and thick – and it will challenge those who aren’t hitting fairways. And I know Kerry (Haigh) will set it up so there’ll be great intrigue and drama coming down the stretch. He always does. We’re hoping for a great championship, and we know that John Gosselin and his agronomy team will present it in the best fashion possible.
If the PGA Championship is coming down to the wire in the final round, what are you expecting out of the closing stretch at Aronimink?
Kiddie: I like how our finishing holes are going to set up. I think it’s going to provide a nice balance of opportunity and challenge. Our 13th hole – Kerry could possibly make it drivable as a par 4, which creates a scoring opportunity. Then the 14th is a long par 3, 210 to 220 yards, with some hole locations that can be hidden. The 15th will be a 546-yard par 4. Then a relatively short, gettable par 5 on No. 16 – another scoring opportunity. No. 17 is a dramatic long par 3 over water that can play in the 220- to 240-yard range. And then 18 is just short of 500 yards, an uphill par 4. So, I think it’s a really nice combination of scoreable holes, tough par 3s, and then a dramatic closing hole. I like the balance of our finish and what could happen as scores swing coming down the stretch.
Any advice for the Corebridge Financial Team, the 20 PGA of America Golf Professionals who will qualify through the PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes, as they get ready to play Arnonimink?
Kiddie: I think the beauty of Aronimink, even for our member play, is that it’s a very fair golf course – relatively right out in front of you. Good shots are rewarded. We’ve got some greens that can be super challenging, but iron shots need to be played from the right position. There’s not a lot of tricks or quirk to it. And if you look at the players who have won events here in the past – from Gary Player to Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley – they’re good all-around players. I don’t believe any of them were necessarily considered bombers, but they were long enough. They’re really good iron players, especially Keegan. This course lends itself to a good all-around player, and I think that’s probably what it’ll produce again with our next PGA Champion.