Club Car Chairman Phil Tralies was honored at the recent PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando with the Ernie Sabayrac Award from the PGA of America for lifetime contributions to the game and business of golf.
Tralies, who began his career in golf with Textron Inc. and its E-Z-GO and Jacobsen brands, joined Club Car in 2001 as president and CEO. He was named chairman of the company in 2008.
He was recognized by the PGA of America for his many contributions to not only Club Car’s domestic and global business, but also his leadership in a wide range of golf industry growth and development initiatives.
Among them are a widely hailed in-house player development program, “Let’s Go Golfing,” that provides lessons and encourages Club Car employees to take up or increase their participation in the game.
The first Ernie Sabayrac Award was presented in 1994 to its namesake, Ernie Sabyrac, an early leader with the PGA Merchandise Show and a pioneer in modern golf shop merchandising practices.