NNY native is new PGA CEO
MALONE — A golf professional with ties to the north country was recently named the new chief executive officer of Professional Golfer’s Association of America.
Derek Sprague, formerly of Malone, who golfed at Franklin Academy and grew up near the Malone Golf Club, where he would go on to become the course’s general manager for 26 years, was named PGA of America’s CEO in December.
“I grew up on the first hole, it was only 18 holes at the time, but I grew up on the first hole of Malone Golf Club,” Sprague told the Telegram in a phone interview on Thursday, “As my mother used to say it’s the safest playground in America and as millions of people do they were able to drop their kids off at a golf course and know they will have a good upbringing at a golf course and be in safe environment.”
Sprague said starting to golf at a young age led to his interest in the sport and his future career.
“It was easy for me to get hooked on golf when I saw golfers all day long and my mom could just send me to the golf course and I had a number of members of the club raise me,” he said, “When I was 7 or 8 years old we had a great PGA professional, Jim Little, he was at Malone Golf Club and he helped get me into the game with junior golf clinics.”
After graduating from Franklin Academy, Sprague went on to graduate from James Madison University, in Virginia, in 1988.
“I played on the varsity golf team, starting in seventh grade, and just played all the way through high school,” Sprague said, “Then I went to James Madison on a partial golf scholarship.”
At James Madison, Sprague competed on the school’s golf team and earned a degree in business administration.
“I worked at Malone Golf Club before I went to college, I worked at the club as well, not only played but worked there from age 15,” he said, “While I was there I thought of golf as a business not just recreational and when I got to college I interviewed for some other sales jobs and I thought I could combine golf and business and run the club as a manager.”
According to Sprague, he was hired as Malone Golf Club’s general manager when he was 22 years old, holding the position from 1989 to 2015.
“I wrote a business proposal to the board in Malone before I went to my last semester in college and asked them to consider me as a general manager and they hired me right out of college to run the club,” he said, “I really learned a lot just by on the job training.”
Sprague was a member of Malone Central School District’s board of education from 2003 to 2013. He has been a PGA of America member since 1993, and has served as the general manager of TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., since January 2018, according to a press release from PGA of America, and he previously was the managing director of Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., in 2016 and 2017, when the course hosted the Presidents Cup.
“Derek is the consummate PGA of America golf professional,” Don Rea Jr., PGA of America President, said as he described Sprague in the release, “His dedication to the association, his passion for empowering PGA of America golf professionals and his service as an officer position him for success as CEO. To have a leader at the helm who knows every detail of the association and what it means to be a PGA of America member will enable our association to succeed far into the future.”
As part of his new position with PGA of America, Sprague said he will be relocating to Frisco, Texas where the association’s headquarters are located.
“A lot of people get it confused, PGA Tour and PGA of America are separate organizations,” he said, “This is a totally new position being the CEO of PGA of America.”
Sprague said he is looking forward to his new role with the association.
“I think there’s a lot of great opportunities in the golf industry right now. There are a lot of new leaders coming on board around the world. The R&A (Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) will have a new CEO and Mike Whan is relatively new at the USGA (United States Golf Association) and the European Tour has a new leader as well,” he said, “I know a number of these people and it will be nice to rekindle those relationships and continue to make the game of golf stronger around the world.”
According to Sprague, one of PGA of America’s missions is to elevate the profession through education and by working with career consultants to help PGA members find the right positions, while also growing the sport at the youth level.
“PGA of America owns and manages the PGA Jr. League, a national program that is both a social and competitive program around the country that PGA professionals administer,” he said, “There are nearly 100,000 juniors who participate in that program around the country and we are also very involved with the Drive, Chip and Putt program which culminates each spring at Augusta National, where the finals are held.”
Sprague said it is important to ensure young golfers continue to be introduced to the sport moving forward.
“The beauty of golf is it’s a lifelong sport and you can play it early in your life all the way until your 90s if you want, and if you reach 100 you can play then too,” he said.
Sprague previously served as president of PGA of America and succeeds Seth Waugh, who was the association’s CEO from 2018 to 2024, according to the PGA of America release.
“When I was president of the PGA of America back in 2015 and 2016 that was a volunteer role. You are the chief spokesperson for the organization and you are the chair of the board of directors but the CEO manages the day-to-day operations of PGA of America,” Sprague said, “We have about 300 employees in Frisco and around the country at different offices.”
Sprague described PGA of America as the largest working sports organization in the world.
“We have over 30,000 men and women in the PGA of America that are members and associates and we have spectator championships including the Ryder Cup, the PGA Championship, the Senior PGA Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship,” he said, “We own majors in all the different tours, senior, women’s and regular tours. With the Ryder Cup, which has been around since 1927 we own half of that asset with Europe owning the other half.”
Under Sprague’s leadership as president, the association was instrumental in growing the game through player development and youth programs, according to PGA of America.
“We also have a number of PGA member events that are hosted throughout the year for our PGA members,” he said, “We have national championships, a winter series, we have events for PGA professionals, we have a Junior PGA Championship, a major on the junior circuit as well. We are very involved in running events and that’s what our PGA professionals do, one of the hats they wear, managing and administering top quality events.”
In New York, Sprague said he has been a part of tournaments hosted at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester.
“I have been there a few times, Oak Hill has been a great venue for PGA of America,” Sprague said, “We have hosted Ryder Cups there, PGA Championships and a Senior PGA Championship there.”
Sprague co-chaired the Ryder Cup Task Force, which created a blueprint for success in the event. Additionally, Sprague served the association as PGA Vice President and PGA Secretary. Since 1998, he has held leadership roles at both the national and section levels, according to the press release, which states he was a member of the PGA board of directors from 2007 to 2010.
Sprague began his service to the association on the Northeastern New York PGA board of directors in 1998 and served as section president from 2003 to 2004. “Throughout my career I have made it a priority to bring people together around a common cause,” he said, “At a time of profound change in golf, there is also great opportunity for our Association and our Members. I have cherished being a PGA of America golf professional, and serving our members and associates as a board member and officer. To now serve the association as CEO is a tremendous honor.”
After being involved in the sport for decades, Sprague said he still loves golf and enjoys going to work everyday.
“I love coming to work and being around people in the industry. It’s addictive to talk about the game of golf,” he said, “For me, since I love business as well, to combine both passions for the game as well as for business and to bring those two together really energizes me to work with the team here at TPC Sawgrass. I will get to do that again at PGA of America, meeting the team and working with them on common goals and visions, and really trying to make a difference in the game.”
