Bangor Municipal Golf Course assistant pro Rob Jarvis is the first Maine pro to be named the president of the New England Professional Golfers’ Association.
“It’s pretty awesome,” said Jarvis, 39, who was elected in a vote among other New England PGA pros at their annual fall business meeting held last month at The Haven Country Club in Boylston, Massachusetts.
“I’ll have input into everything that goes on in the New England PGA,” Jarvis said. “It is certainly a nice chance to be able to help shape it.”
Jarvis will serve a two-year term. His vice president is Maine native Rob Bibeau.
Jarvis has a number of objectives.
“Golfer development is one of the biggest things I’m focusing on,” he said. “We want to create programs for PGA golf pros to take back to the golf courses that will help them reach more golfers. We want to target veterans, ladies and juniors.”
He noted that there is an initiative across New England to entice more women to get involved.
“We want to find out what barriers there are,” Jarvis said. “Some clubs have a very active group of women like we do and others don’t. There’s a big market segment that isn’t engaged [in golf], and we’re going to change that.”’
He also said New England PGA, which has 1,100 members, has a big focus on employment.
“Right now, only 50 percent of the golf courses employ a PGA professional,” he said. “One of my tasks will be to work with communities and their leadership and show them the value of having a golf pro at their course and what [the pro] can do for that facility.”
He did add that hiring a golf pro “isn’t a viable option” at some places.
A golf pro also is involved in the business and financial end of running a golf course including merchandising, marketing and promotion.
Jarvis graduated from Bangor High School in 1994 and played basketball for the Rams. He began working at the golf course that year and turned pro in 2000. He received a degree in marketing from the University of Maine in 2001.
“This is something I take very seriously. We want to do some great things in New England as we have been for a long time. We have a lot of pride in our section, and that’s what makes it so exciting. I’m being entrusted with the presidency among golf pros who are rich in tradition and want good things for the game in our region,” he said.