Rick Ellefson is the PGA head professional at The Club at Pradera in Parker, Colo.

For the last eight years, we have hosted an annual “Champions Dinner” to recognize the winners of all of the major events at the club for the past season. Each champion and their spouse are invited to attend the dinner, which is hosted by the club. When the guests arrive to the cocktail hour, they can view all the awards in the lobby prior to dinner. After dinner, I formally present each award to the champions, giving them the recognition they deserve. Once each winner has received their award, we take photos of them with their award and post it on Facebook and our website. The dinner is usually held on the last Saturday in January, during the middle of winter.

Many times after club events, members are in a hurry to leave and a proper awards ceremony is not feasible. As PGA Professionals, one of the most important things we can do is to recognize the achievements of our members. This not only makes our members feel great, but recognition also motivates people to play. When members win an event during the summer, one of the first things they talk about is the fact they know they will be at the dinner. We budget dollars out of each event’s entry fee to help pay for the costs of the champions dinner. The participation in our club events continue to remain strong, even when the economy was hit hard a few years ago. Having the dinner in the middle of winter helps break up the off-season, and is a great kick-start to the upcoming golf season!

If you would like to email the author of this Best Practice directly, please email ricke@pga.com