Galesburg native on top of PGA
By
John Ring
Roger
Warren has come a long way since he attended Galesburg Senior High School.
He
picked up a part time job during that time at a golf course driving range at
the old Holiday Inn on Route 150 in the summer of 1967. ÒMorris Chapman hired me ,Ó said
Warren. ÒIt was a summer job. He allowed me to pick up golf balls and work out
there.Ó
And
now, in 2005, Roger Warren— native of Galesburg and former Silver Streak,
is the President of the Professional Golfers Association.,
ThatÕs
quite a leap.
ÒI
always credit Mr. Chapman,Ó said Warren, from his office at Kiawah Island
(South Carolina) where he directs a golf resort. ÒHeÕs the one that got me involved in golf.Ó
Roger
Warren was elected President by the PGA members last year and will serve a
two-year term. HeÕs the 34th President in their history.
After
graduating from GHS in1968, Warren attended and graduated from Western Illinois
University with a degree in education. He then got a MasterÕs degree at
Northern Illinois University. From
1973-1986, he taught and coached golf at Dundee High School (now Dundee-Crown).
It was then that Warren got involved with the PGA. ÒIt was a total change of
career for me,Ó said Warren, about quitting his teaching position.
He
rose through the ranks. Roger was
elected as the Illinois Section Secretary in 1992, Vice President in 1995 and
President in 1997. Also during that time, he served as a member of the Golf
Professional Training Program for three years and in1996, he served on a task
force that developed CareerLinks. Warren also was the General Manager of the
Seven Bridges Golf Club in Woodridge.
Nationally,
he was then elected to two-year terms as Secretary of the PGA (2000), Vice
President (2002) and President in 2004.
ÒMy
goal as President is the same as any past President that has served since 1916
and thatÕs to insure that golf grows and that the standards are raised,Ó said
Warren. ÒWe established a program last year called Play Golf America and that
was pretty successful. ItÕs something that we can use to try and bring adults,
who have played in the past, back into the game and to get adults into the game
whoÕve never played before. WeÕve tried to establish more programs to get
younger people involved and weÕve done a lot of research to find out why adults
donÕt play the game.Ó
One
of WarrenÕs biggest responsibilities is to bring new players into the game
itself, as well as retaining the ones who already play. Golf is struggling to
grow— mostly because players are leaving the game as fast as others come
in.
ÒFrom
surveys weÕve taken, people see the time it takes to play as a major barrier to taking up golf. Another
barrier is that golf is a hard game and they want to have fun with it, so we
need to make sure we help them, through instruction, to get better at what they
do.Ó
ÒI
think weÕre on the right track. WeÕre starting to see a turn. I think the game
will continue to grow, itÕs a great game that people love to play. I see
nothing but bright spots on the horizon for us.Ó
To
that end, Warren would advise golfers not to worry about fancy equipment but
just learn the basics of the game. ÒMost average players would be better off
spending their extra money on lessons rather than going out and buying the most
recent rage in a driver or a new set of irons. Ò
Roger
still gets back to Galesburg frequently. ÒI get home three or four times a
year. I love to play Bunker Links. I love it most for the challenge. ThereÕs
nothing easy about that course.Ó
ÒTodd
Hamilton and I had a good time recently talking about Galesburg and Oquawka, reminiscing
about people we know there and the courses in the area. We compared notes on
it. We both have golfed with some of the same people there. I was excited to
see Todd go to the National level and win the British Open last year. ToddÕs earned his way. HeÕs a quality
golfer. For him to win the Open last year while I was President, I thought was
a great thing for golf, especially since weÕre both from the same are in
Illinois.Ó
Asked
if he knew about the success of both the Silver Streak boys and girl golf
programs and their repeated trips to the State Tournament, Warren replied, ÒI
didnÕt know that but IÕm not surprised at all. Galesburg has always been a
competitive place for golf. ItÕs always produced good players, like Dave
Lundstrom and Barry Cheesman and Dusty Watson. It speaks of the quality of golf
players that come from Galesburg.
So for the Streaks to make State and have quality golf programs, IÕm not
surprised by that.Ó
ÒWe
always focus on young people,Ó added Warren. ÒWeÕd like to get them involved
with golf and obviously, adults in the 25-55 age bracket. Right now, there are
34 million people playing golf in this country.Ó
Like
most golf fans, Roger was excited about the recently played Masters that Tiger
Woods won in dramatic fashion over Chris DiMarko. ÒI think that The Masters
demonstrated Tigers Woods is still one of the most dominant players in golf. It
also demonstrated the depth we have on the circuit. Chris DiMarko is a great
player. No one should be surprised at the way he played. Anytime you get a
final like that, itÕs exciting. Tiger showed the creativity that he has when he
chipped in that shot on16. It was a great game of golf.Ó
And
so, the question had to be asked— What is Tiger Woods really like?
ÒTiger
is the same in person as what you see on television. HeÕs a great golfer and a
great individual as a person. Ò
Warren
had a mini-controversy on his hands early in his tenure when he appointed Tom
Lehman as the Captain for the American Ryder Cup team in 2006. But he smoothed
things out quickly. ÒLehman has Ryder Cup ability. Some comments were made
about who wasnÕt chosen but they were made out of passion. It was a short term
thing. I think that the process for selecting the Ryder Cup Captain is
something thatÕs been established a long time and weÕre very proud of our past
captains and Tom fits that same mold. Ò
ÒWith
Tom, he was a person who really had the passion for the Ryder Cup and he
understands the challenges of being successful in a Ryder Cup and has shown the
leadership in his participation in the Ryder Cup in the past. We think that
those characteristics are really going to serve him well as we go to Ireland
and try to win the Ryder Cup back in 2006.Ó
Roger
Warren looks and sounds Presidential. The fact that heÕs a former teacher
brings a rare perspective to the office he holds and, in the end, would seem to
immeasurably help the PGA sustain the growth that it seeks.