John Gaudet earns Master Professional designation
He’s won numerous awards, taught thousands of lessons, sat on zone boards as president, touch the lives of everyone he’s met and most recently was awarded with one of the PGA of Canada’s highest designation’s—Master Professional.
“Not only has John has been a wonderful PGA of Canada member since 1965, he’s been a wonderful person all these years as well, so on behalf of the Association’s 3,800 members, it gives me great pride to award him with this designation,” says PGA of Canada President, Gregg Schubert. “Becoming a Master Professional is no easy task with the requirements to earn this designation being very stringent, but John has worked very hard and it’s great to see him become just the 24th PGA of Canada professional to earn this designation.”
All PGA of Canada Members seeking Master Professional status must meet the following criteria before being considered: Class “A” Member in good standing; Class “A” Member must have a minimum of ten years in this membership category; Class “A” Member must have a minimum of five years in relative area of expertise; Class “A” Member must submit and successfully defend a thesis in accordance with the guidelines as set down by the review committee; All Master Professional applicants have a maximum of two years from the date their application has been approved by the committee to complete and submit their thesis papers to the review committee. Any papers submitted after this deadline will not be eligible for review; Class “A” Member must be current in the relative area of expertise in order to move on to Master status; Class “A” Member may be asked to serve on Professional Review Committee; Class “A” Member is not required to maintain area of expertise once Master Professional designation has been achieved; Class “A” Member must pay an application fee as determined by the National Board; Final approval from National Board based on recommendation of Master Professional Review Committee.
Gaudet joins Henry Brunton; Bruce McCarrol; Mike Silver; Bruce Atkins; Wayne Kirwan; Harry Brotchie; Alan Riley; William McDougall; William Penny; Alan Riley; Roy Vicckies; Danny Jutras; Wayne Kirwan; George Arnold; Mike Silver; Tony Evershed; Bruce Atkins; Raymond Haines; Michael Schurman; Bruce Murray; Doug Bell; John Davies Sr.; Stan Kolar; Ronald Rayner; Arnold McLean Sr.; and Murray Tucker as PGA of Canada Master Professionals.
“When I got the call from PGA of Canada President, Gregg Schubert I was pretty excited,” Gaudet says. “Earning this designation is the culmination of a lot exciting years in golf.”
Gaudet has had a long and storied past as a member of the PGA of Canada.
He first joined the Association in 1965 and worked in the Atlantic Zone until 1993 before transferring to the Saskatchewan Zone. In 1990 he was named Club Professional of the year in the Atlantic Zone, and 14 years later in 2004 he was named Club Professional of the Year for the Saskatchewan Zone. He served 11 years on the board of directors of the Atlantic Zone and became President in 1992. In 2006 Nike Canada named him Club Fitter of the Year, while in 2009 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Saskatchewan Zone. In both 2010 and 2011 he won back-to-back Teacher of the Year awards for the Saskatchewan Zone.
“There were plenty of times I was ready to pack it in but I kept going,” Gaudet admits of the arduous journey of earning the designation. “But I just keep pushing through because I wanted to achieve all that I can, and I think I have.”
Gaudet is quick to credit those who helped him along the way, particularly those who encouraged and guided his thesis, Golf after 50: Preparing for the Champions Tour.
“I originally talked with GaryBernard, who just encouraged me to sit down and start writing,” Gaudet says. “And a long the way Dr. Russ Siemens and Dr. Tim Lee really helped shape my thesis.”
Gaudet’s executive summary and full thesis can be read online at HERE