GOLFTEC, the world leader in golf improvement and club fitting, is proud to announce that GOLFTEC Coach Brendan Locke has earned the Wisconsin PGA Section 2021 Professional Development Award.
The Professional Development Award gives special recognition to an individual PGA Professional for outstanding and continuing contributions to professional education. Locke has been with GOLFTEC for 18 years as a Coach and Franchise Owner in Wisconsin. Locke has been in the golf industry since he was 12 years old and says his success is based on the relationships and friends he has made over the years.
“This award means that I am making a difference for others, which is all I want. I was taught to make difference for others and leave the world a better place than I found it, and that’s what this award means to me.”
Brendan Locke, GOLFTEC Coach and Franchise Owner
Locke adds the Professional Development Award to a growing list of achievements throughout his career. Locke earned the GOLFTEC Regional Manager of the Year in 2007, Wisconsin Teacher of the Year Award in 2012, WPGA Bill Straughsbaugh Award in 2018, and was named to the Golf Digest Top Teachers in America List in 2013-2014 and 2017-2018.
“Brendan has done an incredible job for us since joining the team in 2003. From coaching, to becoming a Regional Manager then Franchise Owner, he has really excelled in every phase. He is very deserving of this award and recognition for the impact he has made, and continues to make in this game.”
Joe Assell, GOLFTEC Co-Founder and CEO
Brendan’s impact goes far beyond the game of golf. In 2017, Brendan’s wife, Melissa, passed away from a rare case of sarcoma, a form of cancer. Since her diagnosis, Brendan has been an advocate for the Sarcoma Foundation of America, working closely with Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and the Sarcoma Foundation of America CEO, Brand Felser.
Earlier this year, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution designating July 2021 as National Sarcoma Awareness Month, to raise awareness of sarcoma, and to honor the life of Melissa Locke and the many other Americans that the disease affects.
Brendan says the SFA is a significant part of his life and he is grateful that what he does professionally allows him to do this personally.
“Brendan was instrumental in working with Senator Johnson’s office to get this resolution passed. This would not have happened without Brendan’s perseverance and dedication to growing sarcoma awareness in memory of his wife Melissa and for his two young sons.”
Brand Felser, Sarcoma Foundation of America CEO