The Professional Golfers’ Association of America recently announced that Mark Bacheldor ’08, program director of the UCCS PGA Golf Management program, has earned the highest educational designation for a PGA Member as a PGA Golf Master Professional in Teaching and Coaching.
The PGA of America is one of the world’s largest sports organizations, composed of PGA Professionals who daily work to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. Its Master Professional Program (MPP 2.0) was established in 1969 “to recognize PGA Members who have made a significant effort to improve as golf professionals and maintain the highest degree of excellence for themselves and their operations.” The prestigious Master Professional designation is held by only 400 PGA Professionals among a network of 27,500 PGA Members.
“Being a PGA Member remains one of my proudest aspects of my life,” said Bacheldor, a PGA Member for 11 years. “Having now reached the highest designation of the Association has been a dream long in the making. I am honored to have earned this designation and hope to use the knowledge I gained from it to positively impact the students of the PGA Golf Management Program at UCCS.”
Bacheldor graduated from the UCCS PGA Golf Management program in 2008 and has remained an integral member of the program’s staff for 8 years. He became the program director in 2016. Bacheldor currently serves on the Colorado Section PGA Board of Directors. He was recognized as the Colorado PGA Section Horton Smith Award recipient in 2016 for his commitment to the education of PGA Professionals. Prior to his work at UCCS, Bacheldor served as the Head Golf Professional for the Eisenhower Gold Club at the US Air Force Academy.
The MPP 2.0 Program is eligible for any PGA Member who has completed advanced certification through the PGA Certified Professional Program, submitted an extensive project and successfully presented their findings to the PGA of America. Applicants must be PGA Members for at least 10 years to achieve this status.