How PGA Excel can enhance your career

10/01/2024

Tristan Crew MBE, PGA Executive Director - Member Services, reflects on the success of PGA Excel in 2023, outlines its importance to Members and employers, and provides valuable insight on how to complete a successful application in 2024.

PGA Excel was launched to replace The PGA’s old APAL system. This new, best-in-class assessment framework enables you to demonstrate your impact and achievement to employers, golfers and the wider industry.

So far more than 100 PGA Members have completed their application, with many more having started the process, and the system has proven its worth to both PGA Members and the golfing industry.

In today’s thriving golf industry, we understand that Members are busier than ever. Finding time to invest in your future can be challenging, but we encourage as many of you as possible to consider starting your PGA Excel application.

Simplistically, PGA Excel is about what you’ve done whereas your accredited status is about what you have learned. The PGA Excel system therefore recognises how you have used your learning and experience to deliver impact and achievement. It allows you to demonstrate where you sit in the hierarchy of Members in relation to what you’ve actually delivered. Gaining recognition from your peers and having an opportunity to celebrate your career and achievements is incredibly valuable.

Unlike the arduous process of the old APAL system that involved lengthy paper submissions, PGA Excel makes starting and finishing your application easier than ever.

The essence of this new system is gradual construction throughout your career. It’s not a matter of initiating and completing your PGA Excel submission in one go. Instead, you should focus on gradually developing your profile over time and dedicate your attention to submitting your application once you’ve gathered the necessary evidence in each section.

Feedback from individuals who have completed their PGA Excel applications suggests that they enjoyed the process because it provides an opportunity for self-reflection. It has allowed many Members to ‘reset’, ponder their future goals, and devise plans to achieve them.

We highly recommend that those PGA Members that achieve PGA Excel recognition use their new designations to promote and distinguish themselves from others. For those who haven’t obtained a higher designation yet, our commitment to promoting PGA Excel remains unwavering. We will continue to promote PGA Excel to the industry and beyond so that employers, deployers and golfers that use the services of PGA Members better understand the value of these designations so Members can continue to delineate themselves.

PGA Excel and these designations may soon become key parameters in future job applications, as employers begin to prioritise certain designations, raising the importance of these assets.

CLICK HERE to view a number of top tips to complete your PGA Excel application.

CLICK HERE to view examples and tips from successful PGA Excel applications.

Benefits of PGA Excel:

Recognition by industry & employers - Achieve levels of attainment that provide prospective and current employers – as well as golfers – with tangible, demonstrable value and proof of your expertise.

Progress your career - Ongoing learning, CPD and day-to-day experience will help you improve your skills, progress through the designations and elevate your career.

Specialise and thrive - The three designations – Professional, Coach and Manager – enable you to specialise in your chosen field and differentiate yourself from your peers.

Increase earnings - PGA Member survey data indicated accredited Members can earn significantly more than their peers, showing the value employers attribute to training and development.

Educate employers - Encourage and enable employers to recruit at specific and defined levels, meaning they get better-trained people with skills to match.