For the first six months after graduation, Joe Allinder III, PGA Head Professional at Imperial Golf Club, traveled from Niceville, Florida, to Orlando to compete on mini-tours. He worked three days a week at a facility and spent the rest of the week traveling and competing.
After a recommendation from a PGA Professional at Bluewater Bay Resort in Niceville and having observed and spent time with the Northwest Florida—Alabama PGA Section, Allinder decided to work towards his PGA of America Membership.
Shortly after earning his Membership, Allinder received a call from another fellow Florida panhandle native, John Lee, PGA General Manager at Imperial Golf Club. At the time, Lee had just been named the Head Professional and was looking for a First Assistant.
A year prior, Lee and Allinder qualified for the National PGA Assistants Championship. While they were familiar with each other, being from the same area, the two naturally spent a lot of time together that week.
Once Lee reached out to Allinder with the opportunity, he quickly accepted the offer and moved down to the west coast of Florida. Allinder served as the First Assistant at Imperial under Lee for the next five years.
Towards the end of his fifth season, the President of Imperial jokingly said to Allinder, "What are you still doing here?"
While initially confused by this comment, Allinder realized it was more of a compliment that he took to heart and began looking for Head Professional jobs, accepting the position at Highlands Woods Golf & Country Club in Bonita Springs.
After three years, a Ranger at Imperial Golf Club and board member for Spring Run Golf Club, encouraged Allinder to apply for their Head Professional opening, where Allinder would spend the next 12 years.
In 2014 Lee was named the General Manager at Imperial, leaving the Head Professional role vacant. While Allinder was completely content with life at Spring Run, Imperial was the one facility that Allinder would consider leaving Spring Run for.
As fate would have it, Lee reached out to Allinder once again to offer him the Head Professional role, and Allinder happily accepted, returning to the facility nearly 15 years after his first stint.
"I was happy at Spring Run; they treated me well, but I just had a special place in my heart for Imperial," Allinder said.
Throughout his over 33 years as a PGA of America Golf Professional, Allinder has spent over half of that time working alongside Lee and the two have developed a strong respect for one another.
"John is Imperial; he has been here since 1993, so he knows the ins and outs and the small things I don't know," explained Allinder. "We are good friends and have a great working relationship, so he is very easy to work with."
The two will add another solid piece to their resumes as Imperial Golf Club is the host facility of the 2024 South Florida PGA Professional Championship, which begins tomorrow.
This is the third time Imperial has hosted, first in 2004 and most recently in 2022.
"We love hosting events for the Section, and this is a premiere event, and we treat it like one," said Allinder.
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