Jane Geddes, former LPGA professional and industry executive, has been named executive director of the International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA), an organization representing 100 golf associations.
Geddes will serve as the association's first full-time executive. In this newly created position, she replaces a volunteer board of executives from various golf associations that, along with administrative support from a managing office, had led the IAGA since its creation in 1968.
In her role, Geddes will strive to increase the IAGA's leadership position in the industry working collaboratively with allied associations, including the United States Golf Association, Golf Canada and the PGA of America. She will also work with Club Managers Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, World Golf Foundation and the National Golf Course Owners Association.
"This is a great opportunity to get back into golf," Geddes said. "It's exciting. There's so much to do, so much potential, so many significant and positive changes happening in golf administration, and I'm looking forward to re-connecting with familiar faces in the golf industry. I'm sort of an 'outside-insider' in the golf world, so I'm coming at it from a different perspective, and maybe that's a good place to be."
During her playing career on the LPGA Tour from 1983-2003, Geddes won 14 tournaments worldwide including two majors, the 1986 U.S. Women's Open and 1987 LPGA Championship.
When Geddes retired from professional golf she took some time to figure out what she wanted to do next. "I had quit school to play golf," she says. She played collegiately at Florida State University and was a member of the school's national championship team of 1981. "So I really wanted to go back to school and get my degree." She finished her undergraduate degree in criminology at the University of South Florida, then earned her law degree from Stetson College in Florida.
With law degree in hand, Geddes went to work for the LPGA in administration, serving in a variety of executive roles in tournament business, competition and player services. In 2011, she was named chairman of the International Golf Federation.
Then from 2011-2014, Geddes served as senior vice president of talent relations and live events at WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), Inc. And after leaving that role she took a year off.
"What appealed to us about Jane was her experience at WWE," said Barb Trammell, the CEO of the Oregon Golf Association who was vice president of the IAGA when Geddes was hired. "When she started at the WWE she knew nothing about it, and even had a list of wrestling terms on her desk so that she could understand the lingo. She was very successful at the WWE. This position (at IAGA) is a newly-created position, so she'll be going into it brand new, creating something from scratch, and she's proven that she can go into something with a blank slate, that she now has the experience of doing that."
At the annual IAGA conference in early November 2016, Trammell was elected IAGA president.
Within a week of Geddes taking office in July, Trammell suggested to Kevin Heaney, executive director of the Southern California Golf Association who was then the president of IAGA, that Geddes attend the Pacific Coast Amateur, which was held at Seattle Golf Club on July 26-29 because there would be executive directors and their staffs from several golf associations attending the championship, and it would provide a nice opportunity for her to meet them.
The Pacific Coast Amateur is conducted by the Pacific Coast Golf Association, and is comprised of 15 golf associations in the western U.S. and Canada.
While at Seattle GC, Geddes met privately with each of the executive directors of the golf associations attending the championship.
"I am extremely excited to serve as executive director of the IAGA and welcome the opportunity to work with state, regional and provincial golf associations to more formally unite the organization," Geddes said. "Growing the game of golf is of great importance to all of us who live, love and play the game."
About the IAGA
The International Association of Golf Administrators was formed in 1968 and serves as a medium for golf administrators to exchange information, techniques and other data relating to the game of golf and establish channels of communication among all of the world's golfing organizations.
Members of the IAGA are golf administrators of state and regional amateur golf associations and other invited national golf-related organizations. These administrators manage the affairs of their respective golf associations in various capacities. The IAGA has members from the United States Golf Association, Golf Canada, and most of the state and provincial golf associations throughout North America. Administrators from several other countries hold memberships as well.
The IAGA holds its annual meeting in early November. A host of IAGA members and guest speakers make presentations on golf-related topics.
