Game Changers

Family and Golf: Three Generations of Club Champions

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Editor's Note: The following series highlights stories from amateur club champions and how family has helped them reached the pinnacle of their game at the local level. Each champion is set to take their talents to the National level in the PGA’s National Club Championship March 13-15 at Pinehurst Resort.
If you have a great golf story, we want to hear it at mailbag@pgahq.com.

Charlie Douglas’ victory in 2020 marked a third-generation Club Championship in his family at Barrington Hills Country Club in Barrington, Illinois.
For Charlie, “Family and golf are one.”
“Growing up my Grandfather, Father, and myself, three generations, would travel and play golf out west,” Douglas shared. “As a kid you think it’s just a golf trip but as you grow older you learn to cherish those moments of getting to know your father and grandpa. 
The etiquette and lessons learned from his family on the golf course helped shape him as an individual with high integrity. Douglas credits the game of golf in helping humble him in ways where other sports can’t. 
“In today's environment there's so much distraction with technology and limited time spent with loved ones, but golf gives you an opportunity to drop everything and be with the ones you love,” Douglas said.
Charlie is a championship golfer who got his golf talent from his mother and his big break came his sophomore year of college when his father booked him golf lessons with PGA Professionals at the Dave Leadbetter Academy.
If you want to become a champion like Charlie, find a PGA Professional in your local market.