PGA Around Town

July 2009 Special Advertising Section

What’s happening during PGA Championship week? Well, more than just the PGA Championship.

PGAChampionship History Exhibit is open 11 a.m.–5 p.m. daily at Galleria in Edina through the end of the tournament. Memorabilia dates to the inaugural PGA in 1916 and includes Jack Nicklaus’s putter from his 1980 PGA Championship win, the wedge Phil Mickelson used to clinch victory at Baltusrol in 2005, a straw hat worn by Sam Snead, and a walking stick used by Walter Hagen.

Chaska Town Course, three miles west of Hazeltine, will hold a Play Golf America Day event Monday, August 10. Billed as golf “consumer festivals,” these are held at dozens of sites nationally each year and feature clinics, tune-up lessons with PGA and LPGA professionals, programs for beginners, skill challenges and contests, and opportunities to test new golf technology.

On Wednesday, August 12 at the State Theatre in Minneapolis, the PGA of America presents its Distinguished Service Award to William Powell, the first African-American to design, build, own, and operate a golf course. Powell, 92, overcame racial barriers to open Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio, in 1948, and has remained a pioneer for diversity in the game. This event is invite-only.

Photo courtesy of the PGA of America

Jazzin’ Up Chaska, with music by the Joel Shapira and Paul Cherba jazz quartets and free refreshments, starts at 5:30 pm Friday, August 14, at Chaska City Square Park.