STPGA Announces Staff Realignment

Feb 06, 2023Southern Texas PGA

Shift allows for enhanced quality, more opportunities, and better overall customer experience.

As the STPGA looks to the future, we are excited to announce some realignment within our valuable junior golf department. This shift comes at a time where we continue to see record numbers across all programs but a new focus in areas that we believe will continue to sustain our growth.


Amanda Hill, J.T. Milner, and our 15 Area Directors will oversee the first five steps of our player pathway that creates lifelong golfers. This includes Drive, Chip, and Putt, PGA Junior League, Little Linksters, Junior Links, and Junior Tour. Their responsibilities will also include our three season Championships, the Texas Junior Cup Matches, and most importantly our 400+ 1-day events that are the fabric of our program.


Hill grew up playing in our junior golf program, was an intern, and then became full-time in December 2020. She is excited about this new role that will balance the importance of our customer experience and the consistency we want to see across all 7 of our metro areas. She will be supported by J.T. Milner who also started as an intern and then became full-time in June 2022. Milner has a dedication to growing the game and a passion for making things better.

Our Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour will now be managed entirely by Matthew Coughlin as our Senior Prestige Tour Coordinator and supported by Jackson Gunnels as our Prestige Tour Coordinator. This tour which started in 2012 with only five events will have a record 37 events in 2023. Coughlin, who also started as an intern, has been with the STPGA since May 2021, and is ready to ensure our quality remains first class but also focus on the details needed to run the best 2-day tour in Texas!


Gunnels who started in June 2022 has great experience working for the Gulf States PGA as well as PGA of America Championships and looks to take his golf experience and use it to bring new ideas and new energy to this tour.


Hill and Milner will be supported by Andrew Gridley, our Director of Business Operations and former Junior Golf Manager while Coughlin and Gunnels will be supported by Scott Archer, our Assistant Executive Director who has been in this role for 5 years.


In partnership with these enhancements, the STPGA’s Internship Program will continue to evolve and grow to support both departments and be a feeder to full-time employment. Summer internships are available as we speak and can be found by Clicking Here.  


After just being announced as the 2023 Herb Graffis Award Winner, the STPGA is excited about these changes and how it will positively impact all junior golfers, parents, and showcase our dedication to creating lifelong golfers through STPGA programs!


Let’s have a great 2023!

By Southern Texas PGA 06 May, 2024
McAllen, TX (May 4-5, 2024) - This past weekend the Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour hosted The Rio Grande Showcase at McAllen Country Club! This weekend both of our champions earned their first win in the 2024 season!
By Southern Texas PGA 03 May, 2024
Spring, TX (MAY 3, 2024) – We had another great month on the Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour with 3 more amazing tournaments! Thank you to all our awesome players and parents for continuing to help make the Prestige Tour the best in Texas! Good luck to all our players as they compete in their State Championship tournaments in the coming weeks, we love when our players have success at all levels! Prestige Tour Schedule Updates! In case you missed it our 2024 Summer Prestige Tour schedule is open! We had a couple of edits to the schedule, the Fore! Challenge will now be taking place at Delaware Springs Golf Course in Burnet, TX and will still be on May 29-30. The PGA Tour Superstore Summer Showdown will now take place on June 3-4 at Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort in Boerne, TX. Click Here to view the 2024 Prestige Tour schedule and be ready to spend your Summer with the STPGA! Insperity Invitational Tour Championship We are less than 75 days out from the premier event of the year, the first annual Insperity Invitational Tour Championship for the Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour! This once in a lifetime opportunity will take place at the Clubs of Houston Oaks on July 7-9. This long-awaited championship will showcase the best junior golfers the Southern Texas PGA has to offer, and the largest champion prize we have offered, a Battlefield Promotion onto the Legends Junior Tour! You can view the Invitation Breakdown to see how you can earn your spot! Ben Hogan Junior Cup Matches Do not miss out on your opportunity to represent Team STPGA at the 9 th Annual Ben Hogan Junior Cup Matches as we battle it out with the Northern Texas PGA in these Ryder Cup style matches. These esteemed Matches will once again take place at the prestigious Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth, TX on August 5-6. Shady Oaks was once home to world renowned golfer Ben Hogan, the name sake of the matches, where he co-founded this pristine course with Texas Golf Hall of Famer, Marvin Leonard. There are still ample opportunity to claim your spot on the team and co can find out by viewing our exemption breakdown . Prestige Tour Player Tournament Status Update In an effort to continue to uphold the integrity of the game and to ensure players do not quit mid-round due to elective, non-emergency reasons, the Southern Texas PGA is updating the policy on player designations when a player is no longer an active participant in a tournament. If a player tees off to begin a tournament, they will now be classified under one of the following 4 designations should they no longer become an active participant in the tournament, Disqualified (DQ), Withdrawal (WD), No Show (NS) and No Card (NC). To view the full definition of these classifications, Click Here to view the full policy. Legends Junior Tour Performances We are excited for a great year on the Prestige Tour, but to also what all our junior golfers will accomplish at the next level. With a short break in April, we are looking forward to our players showing out at the Bluebonnet Championship, the next Legends Junior Tour event and an Invitational, on May 4-5 at Brownwood Country Club! Good luck to all our players competing! Thank You to Our Title Partners! With all the awesome achievements of our Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour golfers we want to thank our many Partners without whom our incredible Tour would not be possible! Firstly, we want to thank Billiard Factory , who is a fantastic supporter of the Southern Texas PGA Junior Golf Program. Billiard Factory has amazing products and services for all your home entertainment furniture needs! Another big thank you to Srixon for providing our players with golf balls and other equipment to keep them at the top of their game! Always keep them in mind when looking to level up your game or when deciding which golf ball to play. Another big thank you to Veritex Bank , our title sponsor of the Lone Star Shootout. Veritex Bank is a community bank serving its customers with a full suite of banking products and services. Keep them in mind for all your banking and financial needs! Rules Corner On the May edition of Rules Corner, we will be talking about Provisional Balls. This is covered in Rule 18.3 in the Rules of Golf. A Provisional Ball is there to prevent a player from having to go all the way back to where their previous stroke was made when stroke and distance is their only option. You can play a Provisional Ball anytime you think your original ball may be lost outside a penalty area or Out of Bounds. If a ball is known or virtually certain to be in a Penalty Area, you would NOT be playing provisional, but instead taking your relief of stroke and distance. Remember, you MUST ALWAYS announce a provisional to one of the players in your group or to a Rules Official, if you do not you would be taking stroke and distance. You can continue to play your provisional as long it is not nearer the hole than where your original ball is believed to be. Once you play from closer to the hole, or your 3-minute search time is up for your original ball, your provisional is now your ball in play and you can no longer make a stroke at your original. Your Provisional MUST be abandoned once your original ball is found. Provisionals are there to help you save time and a walk back, so don’t forget to use them! You can find more information about the Rules for the Prestige Tour by reading the Hard Card , the STPGA Rules and Regulations , and the USGA Rules of Golf! Thank you again to all our players, parents, host facilities, and Sponsors! We are looking forward to a great rest of the year with fierce competition and low scores! Don’t forget to check the Prestige Tour Schedule for the rest of the year! As always, if we can ever be of assistance to you, please feel free to contact me via email ( mcoughlin@pgahq.com ) or phone (832-442-2300) or Connor Murphy via email ( cmurphy@pgahq.com ) or phone (832-442-2410)!
By Southern Texas PGA 29 Apr, 2024
KINGWOOD, TX (APRIL 27-28, 2024) - Eleven Champions were named at the 2024 Spring Championship at The Clubs of Kingwood (Forest Course). Champions were crowned from Junior Tour and Little Linksters. In addition to crowning our spring season champions, an incredible opportunity to qualify for the 13th Annual Texas Junior Cup team was also on the line this weekend for the Little Linksters.
By Southern Texas PGA 22 Apr, 2024
Kerrville, TX (April 20-21, 2024) - This past weekend the Srixon Billiard Factory Prestige Tour hosted the Heart of Texas Classic at Riverhill Country Club! The competition was close as they battled through the tough weather conditions, both champions rose above the rest to clinch their first-time Prestige Tour wins.
Show More
Share by: