Detroit Golf Club, bearing one of the proud traditions in the game since its opening in 1899, boasts one of the most talented amateur memberships in the country.

There are 200 members of a 725-player total membership base boasting single-digit handicaps. The 36-hole facility has averaged 42,500 rounds annually over the past five years on the two Donald Ross-designed courses.

"I have been at the club seven years, and I can't forget the first day in March 2002 when I arrived on the job," said Detroit Golf Club PGA head professional Jon Gates. "The temperature was in the 40s, the wind was blowing, the skies were gray and there were five or six guys on the range hitting balls.

"The members just love to play and compete. We're open year-round. Once the snow melts, there's play as soon as the pins go in the ground."

Gates, a former Michigan PGA Section president, also recognizes that his club members have another challenge in the months ahead in The PGA McGladrey Team Championship.

"We're gearing up to have 18 or more teams in our Local Qualifying Event, in order that we can send two teams to the Section Championship," said Gates. "When you have so many good players and 50 percent of handicaps are used, you have a real challenge. This is a proud club and they want to do well."

Local Qualifying Events continue through September, while 41 Section Championships will be run from April through September. The National PGA McGladrey Team Championship is Oct. 20-22, at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort.

Detroit Golf Club's proud heritage includes hosting a 1941 Ryder Cup charity exhibition, matching teams captained by Walter Hagen and Bobby Jones. In 2004, the first Captain's Challenge was hosted at Detroit Golf Club prior to that year's Ryder Cup.

Gates is the seventh head professional in club history, following such luminaries as Horton Smith, the champion of the inaugural Masters in 1934, who was also the 10th president of The PGA of America. Other Detroit Golf Club head professionals include Alex Ross, brother of course designer and Scottish architectural legend Donald Ross; 1953 PGA Champion Walter Burkemo; and 1980 PGA Professional National Champion John Traub.

In August, Gates is assured of one career "first," when the 90th PGA Championship arrives some 20 miles away at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich.

"I've never been able to attend a PGA Championship, but I will be making my first trip this year," Gates said. "I'm looking forward to it, and also the fact that we are serving as host for golf opportunities for many visiting the Championship. We'll be just as busy during PGA Championship week."

The PGA McGladrey Team Championship, said Gates, is another example of how PGA Professionals may give back to others by connecting with amateur players. It is the first grassroots best-ball championship conducted by The PGA of America.

"When the Oldsmobile and Buick Scramble were in operation, Michigan had as many participants as any in the country," Gates said. "I was on the Orchard Lake (Mich.) Country Club team that competed in 1990 in the Oldsmobile Scramble and in 2006 was on Detroit Golf Club's team that played in the final year of the Buick Scramble. I believe that we can do it again in this Championship, and will work hard to get as many involved as we can."

To register for a Local Qualifying Event, visit PGA.com/teamchampionship.

The PGA McGladrey Team Championship is the result of a partnership between The PGA of America and RSM McGladrey, the Official Accounting, Tax and Business Consulting firm of The PGA of America. RSM McGladrey is the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country when considered with McGladrey & Pullen LLP (a partner-owned CPA firm).