Nathan Charnes has been elected as the 45th president of the PGA of America during the association’s 110th Annual Meeting held at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. Charnes will step into a two-year term to represent the organization’s network of over 30,000 PGA professionals.
Leadership Election Results
Alongside the presidency, association members voted on other key officer roles during the gathering. Eric Eshleman, who works as the director of golf at the Country Club of Birmingham in Mountain Brook, Alabama, was elected vice president. Meanwhile, Jared Barnes, the head professional at Cedar Ridge Golf Course in Cedar City, Utah, secured the position of secretary.
Background and Career Journey
As a second-generation PGA professional originally from southern Indiana, Charnes played collegiate golf at the University of Evansville and graduated in 2001. After passing the organization’s Playing Ability Test to earn his membership, he worked within the Indiana and Kentucky sections. He relocated to the St. Louis area alongside his wife, Eva, in 2004 to take on the head professional role at WingHaven Country Club in O’Fallon, Missouri, and later earned a promotion to general manager and director of golf in 2011.
Charnes has maintained active involvement across both national and section levels for more than twenty years. His early leadership included serving as education chairman for the Gateway PGA Section before taking a seat on the section’s board of directors from 2011 to 2018. Former PGA President Allen Wronowski later appointed him to the National PGA Membership Committee, expanding his national resume across five different national committees. He subsequently represented District 7 on the PGA Board of Directors from 2019 to 2021.
Throughout his career, Charnes has received seven awards from the Gateway PGA Section, including being named the section’s PGA Golf Professional of the Year in both 2012 and 2022. He also assisted in establishing the PGA REACH Foundation during his time as an officer in the Gateway Section and currently serves as a Life Trustee for PGA REACH Gateway.
Goals for the Presidency
“Serving as president to represent more than 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals is an incredible honor and responsibility,” Charnes said, as reported by sports.yahoo.com. “Across our 41 sections, our members are the heart and soul of the game. Alongside our officers and board, my priority is to champion their expertise, expand career pathways and ensure they have the full support of our association.”
He added, “By spotlighting their impact, we elevate not only the PGA globally, but our members where it matters most, at their facilities, in their boardrooms and within their communities.”
Charnes had already assumed many presidential responsibilities since May, following the departure of his predecessor, Don Rea Jr.
