Jack Connelly - Retired Golf Professional and Former President PGA of America
Manage episode 446206803 series 3527849
Jack Connelly was the 32nd President of the Professional Golfers Association of America who began his golf career as a caddy in South Jersey. A US Army veteran, upon returning from Vietnam Jack obtained his PGA membership and joined the PGA tour. He joined Huntingdon Valley C.C. in 1973 and became Head Professional in 1975 until retiring in 2010. Jack has distinguished himself as a player, winning four Philadelphia Section Player of the Year Awards, and was elected to the Philadelphia PGA Playing Legends in 1990.
After being elected he served two years each as Secretary and Vice President and became President of the Association in 2000. His greatest responsibility as president came after the horrific attacks on 9/11 when he and the Board of Directors made the decision to postpone the Ryder Cup matches for one year because of security concerns for the high profile athletes on the Ryder Cup teams. Just two weeks after the 9/11 attack Jack represented the PGA of America at a “Tribute to America” on September 25th at the Valerio Open in San Antonio, Texas. At that tribute the Ryder Cup players committed $520 thousand and the PGA joined with an additional $500 thousand making a total 1.2 million dollars donation to the United Way.
Jack was honored by the Philadelphia Golf Association with the organization’s highest award, the “Arnold Palmer Lifetime Service Award” in 2010. Jack was inducted into the Philadelphia PGA Section Hall of Fame in 2000, the PGA of American Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Inaugural Hall of Fame at Deptford High School, in New Jersey in 2007. In 2015 he was honored as a PGA Legend at the PGA Annual Meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Kevin Walsh and Jack Connelly share a Philly and Purdue University connection. In this episode, we meet Jack Connelly as he regales us with great stories of his fascinating career. There are some great moments that golfers and non-golfers alike would love. Golf is like life and if you play golf, you are my friend! This episode is well worth watching and we hope you enjoy the show!
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For more info about Jack, check out the following...
https://montco.today/2018/10/former-pga-president-jack-connelly-tops-list-of-inductees-to-pa-sports-hall-of-fame-montco-chapter/#:~:text=He%20joined%20Huntingdon%20Valley%20C.C.,1975%20until%20retiring%20in%202010
https://www.pga.org/history/past-presidents#:~:text=Jack%20Connelly%20was%20PGA%20president,to%20the%202002%20calendar%20year.
https://www.thereporteronline.com/2002/11/06/huntingdon-valley-ccs-jack-connelly-is-a-pros-pro/
https://vimeo.com/146146989
45 episoder