You may recall a blog I wrote here last week.
Among the various random thoughts that day, I mentioned some conversations I had engaged in with various people around the Canadian golf industry shortly after the association formerly known as the Canadian PGA would now be known as the PGA of Canada.
You can read that story by clicking here.
Not entirely everyone was enthralled with the name change, their reason being that there’s nothing wrong with a name that has been built over the decades for an association that just celebrated its 100th anniversary.
The Canadian PGA is a name that is recognized both inside and outside of Canada and, with 100 years behind it, why bother to change? One thing that will not change is the Canadian PGA’s – oops, PGA of Canada’s – logo.
Certainly, Canadian PGA or the always popular abbreviation CPGA won’t just go away. Much to its chagrin, Golf Canada is still regularly called the Royal Canadian Golf Association or RCGA despite the fact that they are two different entities. That’s the way it goes on golf.
Others might think that the traditionalists rule golf and that any update is change for the good, so maybe it’s time that the association stepped into the 21st Century and fall in with other members of the PGA World Alliance.
Of course, there may be those who feel there’s too much to concern themselves with in golf these days to worry about a superficial name change. In other words, it isn’t an issue, quite frankly.
Those are your three options in this week’s GNN Poll. It’s now your turn to have your say about the name change.
Be sure to cast your vote and don’t be shy about expressing your opinion on this matter (or any other issue pertaining to the golf industry) below.
What are your thoughts on the Canadian PGA's name change to PGA of Canada?
- It was done for a reason and updating a name/brand isn't a bad thing. (41%)
- It isn't an issue. I'm fine with it either way. (38%)
- The Canadian PGA/CPGA name/brand has served us well for years. Why change? (21%)
Thank-you.
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We have talked about a name change for decades. I personally like the name PGA of Canada. One challenge for the old name was people recognized the letters PGA but often wondered what CPGA stood for. I always referred to our association as the Canadian PGA however I am happy with the new name.
Ian: How many people vote in these silly polls? Are they accurate to within two points 19 times out of 20?
I voted no to the change the first time and my computer was acting up and did not see the second chance to vote in time. If you are not going to change the logo ( which I think is outstanding) why change to sound like everyone else? I agree with Barry “Canadian PGA” is the better way to refer to our Association and from what I understand a small percentage of the membership voted. I am proud to be Canadian and to me Canadian PGA is better than PGA of Canada or PGA of Sweden or PGA of Eypgt or ……………………….
Hello Ian;
My apologies for not commenting on this matter earlier; I guess I just missed it. As you may or may not know, I was an extremely vocal opponent to this change. I am a traditionalist and believe strongly in our history. Hundreds of thousands of hours by many volunteers have built the name Canadian Professional Golfers Association to a very highly respected level around the world. Change for the sake of change is an insult to those men and women who gave of themselves to nurture this name.
IF, as the Board of Directors has said, the reason for change is to better market our name them why didn’t they simply use both names in parallel. They could have avoided upsetting people like me, insulting the efforts of past members and saving a lot of money to redesign letterhead, web site, business cards, signage etc.
Last, I really dislike the method used by the Board to gain support for the change. They presented a motion at the AGM held in Toronto in April. The motion was defeated. The Board not liking this position by the members simply moved the venue to Calgary and re-submitted the motion in August where it passed. I think they should have re-submitted the motion to approve the slate of officers.
This wasn’t a marketing need; this was a power trip and a legacy!