SOUTH FLORIDA PGA

At 10 years old, while never stepping foot on a golf course, Lawrence Inks III, otherwise known as “Chip,” joined his grandfather for nine holes of golf at Sandpiper Bay in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Chip loved it and considered golf his “fun” sport, because he didn’t want golf to get in the way of the baseball and soccer that he played competitively. That fun that Chip experienced on the course with his grandfather over 40 years ago has shaped his mindset and philosophy as a teacher and coach, culminating in being named the 2025 South Florida PGA Youth Player Development Award recipient, which recognizes the Professional who has made extraordinary contributions to youth player development. “The biggest thing for me is that I want my juniors to have fun first,” Chip, the PGA Director of Instruction at Village Golf Club in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, emphasized. “Yes, it’s time to be serious, and get our work done, but let's still have fun.” Growing up in Akron, Ohio, Chip was a standout baseball and soccer player who earned the opportunity to play both sports at Anderson University, a small Division III school in Anderson, Indiana. Except Chip never actually played on the baseball team and only played on the soccer team for two years before suffering an injury that derailed his soccer ambitions. Instead, he walked on to the golf team after being encouraged by a few friends he had met who were on the team. Chip had never played a competitive round of golf in his life at that point, but again, it was extremely fun for him and allowed his personality to shine, and Chip became hooked. By the time he was a senior at Anderson, Chip had almost become like a coach to other players who would come to Chip for swing advice, a small glimpse into what the future could hold for him. “Everybody who had a swing issue would come to me, and I became known as the swing guru and helped the whole team with lessons,” Chip explained. Shortly after graduating, Chip returned to Anderson University as an assistant golf coach. His passion for teaching led him to pursue PGA Membership, which he earned in 2006 while working at The Country Club at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. His time at The Country Club was extremely valuable, as he was introduced to and able to learn from individuals such as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, David Leadbetter, and Butch Harmon, only intensifying his desire to become an instructor. Over the next three years, Chip worked himself up to becoming a head professional at Delaware Golf Club in Delaware, Ohio. While serving as a head professional, Chip did not feel the same level of fulfillment, realizing his passion lay more on the lesson tee than in the golf shop. Seeking his next opportunity, Chip and his wife relocated to South Florida, where he began working at the Polo West Country Club in Wellington. Soon after, Chip met Dustin Massey, PGA, at a Southeast Chapter Fall Meeting, offering him an opportunity to help run junior clinics at Park Ridge Golf Course in Lake Worth. Excelling in his role, Chip eventually became the PGA director of instruction at Park Ridge in 2014, under the leadership of Donna White, PGA, who oversaw all Palm Beach County-owned facilities. Chip began running junior programs for Park Ridge, and in 2019 alone, he saw 2,500 juniors come through the program, earning his first U.S. Kids Top 50 Coaches recognition. “His simple approach creates a supportive, not intimidating learning environment, dedicated to helping others improve their game, which is exemplified in the success of his students, especially his juniors,” explained White, a 2022 South Florida PGA Hall of Fame inductee. “His commitment to youth player development is worthy of recognition.” Following a record-breaking 2019 for junior participation, Chip and his team were on pace to reach 3,500 juniors in 2020 until COVID-19 hit, forcing Chip to move on. From Park Ridge, Chip became the director of Instruction at Village Golf Club, the facility where he currently resides today. While giving lessons and running clinics for juniors primarily aged 3-12 at the Village, Chip also serves as a Certified Instructor for the First Tee and coaches the girls' Palm Beach Central High School golf team, which advanced to the Regional finals this year for the first time in the program's 17-year history. As an instructor and coach, Chip takes a different approach with his students, not necessarily obsessing over the swing and mechanics, but more so the attitude and feelings of the individual. That personable approach goes a long way for younger students, as Chip emphasizes the importance of being an athlete and not just a golfer. “Aside from golf, he has been a caring leader once he learned I was diabetic, like his wife,” shared Wylie Inman, a student of Chip’s who has committed to play golf at the University of South Florida. “It shows his true character, that he cares about the person too, not just the golf swing.” From a 10-year-old just wanting to spend time with his grandfather to becoming a nationally recognized U.S. Kids coach to being named the 2025 South Florida PGA Youth Player Development Award recipient, Chip has maintained the same positive, fun approach that, in his eyes, keeps him young and full of joy.  “Golf very easily parallels life; golf is not always going to be fairways and greens. You are going to be stuck in the rough sometimes. How you get out of the rough really depends on what type of attitude you have, and that's really what I want the juniors to learn,” Chip explained. “We are going to do things right, we are going to have a good attitude, and I want you to have fun with it.”

As Scott Kash tells the story, the Veterans he was teaching golf to that spring day in 2023 had it all wrong. There were 15 or so Veterans who had participated in a PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) class at Stoneybrook Golf Club in Estero, Florida, and during the ceremony held at the conclusion of the class, each of them walked up to Kash, one of the PGA of America Professionals who had served as an instructor that day. "Every one of them is coming up and thanking me," says Kash. "I'm thinking, 'I'm here to thank you.' That's when it hit me that what I'm doing is making a difference. It is truly the least that we can do, as golf professionals, to teach them the game and give back to those who put on the uniform so that we are able to do what we do every day." The passion that Kash has for providing various means for Veterans to start the game and continue to enjoy it is evident to anyone who knows the man who is truly making the most of his second career, which has now seen him honored with the 2025 South Florida PGA (SFPGA) Patriot Award. Kash is the sixth recipient of the Patriot Award, which recognizes a PGA of America member who personifies patriotism through the game of golf and demonstrates unwavering commitment and dedication to all who have served the United States of America. The SFPGA began recognizing the Patriot Award, one of the PGA of America's national awards, on the Section level in 2019. "This is a unique award, and I'm incredibly honored to receive it," says Kash, the Tournament Director at Quail Creek Country Club, a 36-hole private facility in Naples, Florida. "The Patriot Award is unique because it goes beyond what we do as a profession. I have looked at ways that I can give back, and when it comes to the military, I'm all in." Kash serves on the Home Base Golf Tournament Committee at Quail Creek. He played a vital role as the Tournament Director for the event itself, helping to raise more than $175,000 for the Home Base Foundation last year. Home Base is a national non-profit organization dedicated to healing the invisible wounds of war through direct clinical care, wellness, education, and research, all at no cost to Veterans, service members, and their families. As a PGA HOPE Certified Professional, Kash has successfully graduated 58 Veterans across four classes since 2023. Furthermore, as a leader for the PGA HOPE Basecamps in the SFPGA's Southwest Chapter, Kash has organized three additional sessions, offering enhanced instruction and playing opportunities to 30 Veterans. One of those whose lives Kash has touched is Ronald Dixon, a disabled Veteran and one of Kash's Player Development students. "I have experienced firsthand the patience, encouragement, and genuine care that Mr. Kash provides to those he mentors," Dixon wrote in a letter recommending Kash for the SFPGA Patriot Award. "Mr. Kash has gone above and beyond in supporting me not only as a student of the game but also as a Veteran navigating the challenges of recovery, growth, and transition ... His support has helped me grow both on the course and personally, reinforcing the sense of pride and confidence that military service instilled in me." As so many Veterans have discovered how golf can help change their lives, so too has the game enriched the second part of Kash's professional arc. After a career in manufacturing planning and logistics, Kash started playing more golf. A lot more ... upwards of 175 rounds per year, in fact. He went to work at a local municipal course in the New York City area, decided to dedicate his efforts to achieving PGA of America membership, and after helping his parents move to Southwest Florida, Kash became a PGA of America member in 2010. Kash said he "felt something that day" in Maine in 2016 when he assisted in one of the early PGA HOPE events, in Maine. Part of the pull, to wanting to help Veterans, emanated from thinking about his Dad, Gerald, who had served as a special enlisted reserve in Korea. "My Dad was my rock," he says now of his late father. The son went to it, and the fire for helping veterans continues to burn strongly. He is currently working with Home Base to establish a golf league for veterans. Through PGA HOPE Basecamps, which are designed to keep veterans engaged in golf, Kash has helped secure facilities and collaborated with other PGA HOPE Certified Golf Professionals to deliver five weeks of instruction, culminating in a final 9-hole scramble. This summer, the third Basecamp session that Kash oversaw featured eight returning participants who had previously attended at least one session. Heather Angell, also a PGA of America Professional, went through PGA HOPE training with Kash. "I ran four PGA HOPE Programs in Fort Myers, and Scott was with me every step of the way making sure the Veterans had a great experience," says Angell, the PGA Director of Instruction at The Golf Club at Fiddler's Creek in Naples, Florida. "When he asked me if I could assist him with a Basecamp he created and organized this year, I did not hesitate to help out, as I knew he was offering a meaningful experience for those Veterans who had already completed the original PGA HOPE Program. Scott saw the importance of the program and the need that the graduates wanted more. PGA HOPE has become his passion and the program in Southwest Florida has been elevated because of him." Paul Fitzpatrick, PGA Director of Golf at Babcock National Golf & Country Club in Punta Gorda, Florida, has worked with Kash on several Basecamp events and echoes the praise from Angell. "Scott's genuine care for veterans and passion for providing them with opportunities to improve their golf game and feel comfortable are always evident," says Fitzpatrick. "We organize Drive, Chip, and Putt challenges, as well as a 9-hole scramble. In addition, Scott has conducted multiple surveys to better understand the participants’ needs and enhance their overall experience. Scott has found his passion and is dedicated to giving our veterans every opportunity to enhance their lives and golf experiences. His vision for the PGA HOPE program will have a lasting impact on our Section." So many of us try to find that calling in life. What is it that we can do to genuinely make a difference? Will it really matter at all? For Scott Kash, the answer is simple, really. In part, it's in what he calls "that look of amazement" on the faces of the Veterans he teaches, when they react to a golf ball they have struck well, soaring up in the air. In part, it's in honoring his Dad by "waking up each day with a passion for Veterans and these programs." Put together, the whole of it adds up to the intense commitment that Kash has made to those he gets to thank through the game that brings joy, renewal and, in many ways, peace, to those who deserve it the most. "You have to pour your heart and soul into this if you commit to giving back to our Veterans," he says. "I have had conversations with fellow PGA Professionals about the PGA HOPE program, and I often share the profound impact of seeing Veterans' appreciation for what we do for them. This has truly been a truly life-changing experience for me."