Bob Ford spent 42 years as head professional at Oakmont and Seminole before the PGA of America inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2005. Terry Clark officially took over as CEO on March 2, but Ford believes the problem isn’t the person sitting in that chair. It’s the chair itself.

“It didn’t matter to me the name of the person who became our next CEO; it’s surviving the machine, and the machine’s broken,” Ford said. “Until we fix the machine, I don’t know that anybody has a great chance of being successful.”

The machine here is a board that is too large and too unwieldy to get anything meaningful done. The PGA of America’s Board of Directors has 22 members, including the president, vice president, secretary, and 19 directors. Key leadership changes have happened since 2025 and early 2026.

• Terry Clark: Appointed as the new CEO, effective March 2, 2026, replacing interim CEO Kerry Haigh.
• Vanessa Vogler: Appointed as Chief Administrative Officer in November 2025, overseeing legal, people strategy, and operations.
• Henry Smokler: Transitioned from Chief Legal and Risk Officer to a senior advisory role after 10 years.
• Andrew “Drew” Blasband: Promoted to General Counsel and added to the executive team.
• Ted Koehler: Named Deputy General Counsel.
• Jeff Price: Chief Commercial and Philanthropy Officer, departed at the end of 2025 after 11 years.
• Phil Anderson: Named Chief Operating Officer in April 2026. 

Jim Awtrey, the PGA’s first-ever CEO, put it plainly: “That’s really not a board; that’s a focus group.”

Ford’s frustration peaked at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and rightfully so. The controversy began even before the event with high ticket prices. The crowd’s rowdy behavior added to the ordeal.

Sprague resigned in January 2026, just over a year into his tenure, citing personal reasons. Clark, who had served as an independent director on the PGA of America Board since 2024 and previously as chief marketing officer at UnitedHealth Group, then took his place.

Now, Ford is not convinced that the signals will really change without governance reform to back it up. His argument is structural.

“The club pros are running it, and we’re not qualified to run it,” he said. “We need to stay in our lane. Running a 30,000-person association is not what we’re good at, plus the guys that run it are only there for two or three years, and they’re out.”

Every two years, the PGA’s staff absorbs a new president with different priorities. The CEO ends up navigating that noise rather than driving strategy. There are some early signals that the PGA recognizes that change is needed.

Whereas hiring a CEO with a background as a PGA pro was the top priority when Sprague was chosen for the role in 2025, that wasn’t the case in the search that landed Clark. Instead, the PGA sought a chief operating officer with a background as a PGA member. The association also appointed Phil Anderson, a PGA member of over 20 years and former COO at Hazeltine National, as its new chief operating officer. But Ford’s push goes beyond staffing.

He wants outside governance experts, a slimmer board, and a CEO with real authority to lead. “The train is off the tracks,” he said, “and you can’t run a railroad with 22 board members.”

And the consequences of subpar leadership have already started reaching the people responsible.

Don Rea’s Ryder Cup comments cost him more than just criticism in golf world

Rea’s response to the abuse directed at Rory McIlroy and his wife at Bethpage Black was to compare it with the hostility of a youth soccer game. That comparison drew immediate backlash, eventually forcing the PGA of America to issue a public apology to McIlroy and his wife on his behalf.

Since then, the professional fallout has been significant. Clark confirmed Rea has been pulled from all public-facing responsibilities, with his role now strictly limited to internal membership duties. Rea will not appear on stage at the 2026 PGA Championship trophy presentation.

Clark was direct about what went wrong: “No one sits here and says that’s a proud moment.”