Nashville, Tenn. –
The Tennessee PGA is proud to announce its 2025 Section Award winners, honoring a distinguished group of professionals whose leadership, service, and dedication continue to elevate the game across our Section. These prestigious awards recognize outstanding achievement in teaching, coaching, player development, professional leadership, merchandising, and overall impact on the game. Congratulations to our 2025 honorees: Golf Professional of the Year Brooks West, PGA; Richard Eller Growth of the Game Award recipient Cody Weems, PGA; Youth Player Development Award recipient Erica Feuerhelm, PGA; Teacher and Coach of the Year Ben Pellicani, PGA; PGA Professional Development Award recipient Chris Cauthen, PGA; Bill Strausbaugh Award recipient Brooks West, PGA; Assistant Golf Professional of the Year Cole Murley; Public Merchandiser of the Year Jon Goin, PGA; and Private Merchandiser of the Year Keith Penke, PGA. We commend each of these professionals for their dedication to excellence and the lasting impact they make on the Tennessee golf community.
Brooks West, PGA – Golf Professional of the Year
Brooks West, PGA is the Owner and General Manager of Franklin Bridge Golf Club, a role he views as a true calling. In 2018 he purchased the only public golf course in one of the most affluent counties in the country, just before the biggest golf boom of our lifetime. Since then Franklin Bridge has become a place where nearly four hundred thousand rounds have been played, forty two million range balls have been hit, and a thriving player development culture has taken shape. Brooks has poured into the community by creating an environment that welcomes everyone and feels like home for beginners, juniors, families, women, and long time golfers alike. He believes he was put in this position to steward a place that connects people and gives them a sense of belonging while they chase the little white ball through the flood plain.
Brooks sees himself as an accessible golf operator and is committed to protecting and expanding public golf in a region where it is increasingly rare. Under his leadership Franklin Bridge has invested heavily in free use facilities, including a nearly fifteen thousand square foot putting green and a large short game area that serve countless beginners, couples, grandparents, and families every day. He has also championed the growth of the Performance Institute, which now gives almost five thousand lessons a year and reaches thousands of kids through PGA Junior League, junior camps, clinics, fittings, and other programs. Within the Tennessee PGA Section he has served on the Awards Committee, the Education Committee, hosted Cracker Barrel education sessions, and remained very active in Section events and initiatives.
Brooks leads with passion, fervor, and a deep desire to invest in people. He believes in building missional golf communities and sees mentoring young men as part of his vocational purpose. His staff operates around core values that include leading with fun, relational service, consistency, integrity, and cultivating a golf centered community. Through moments of joy and hardship, from births to losses to everyday memories on the course, Brooks has walked alongside the people of Franklin Bridge and built a culture that reflects his belief that golf is one of the greatest connectors in the world.
Cody Weems, PGA – Richard Eller Growth of the Game Award Recipient
Cody Weems, PGA has become a leading voice in growing the game through his work with the Tennessee Golf Foundation and his impact across the Tri Cities region. He has built and directed a wide range of programs that reach juniors, families, adults, schools, and veterans, including nearly fifty First Tee classes serving close to four hundred juniors each year, Golf in Schools programming that introduces more than five thousand students to the game, and the region’s first TPGA Junior Golf Academy. Cody oversees major Chapter initiatives such as the Pro Am Series, which generated more than five thousand rounds across thirty seven events, and supports community events ranging from family clinics to Adult Junior tournaments, Sneds Tour events, church leagues, Birdies for Bucks, and the Tri Cities Cup Matches. He also leads nationally through PGA HOPE with sixty six veterans completing six week sessions, and he serves as a Rules Official at TSSAA championships, collegiate tournaments, and TGA qualifiers. By tracking retention, participation, satisfaction, and revenue growth including over two hundred thirty thousand dollars generated through Pro Am events Cody has created measurable and lasting impact throughout the region.
Erica Feuerhelm, PGA – Youth Development Award Recipient 
Erica Feuerhelm, PGA has made a significant impact on youth golf at Franklin Bridge and throughout the community through her leadership, creativity, and commitment to accessibility. She has spent the last three years bringing golf into more than a dozen schools and introducing the game to over four thousand students, while also raising funds to support families who need assistance with program costs. At the club, she has overseen major growth across junior programs, including summer camps that rose from one hundred seventy two to two hundred five participants, PGA Junior League expansion from forty eight to eighty one players with new 9U teams, and spring and fall programs that grew to ninety nine kids. Erica also started the Junior Club Championship, which is now on pace for more than one hundred participants and includes family friendly festival activities. Her reputation as a positive, inclusive leader has earned national recognition through features in PGA Magazine and PGA of America publications, and she continues to guide a team of instructors, mentor PGA associates, and help shape award winning junior development programming at Franklin Bridge.
Ben Pellicani, PGA – Teacher and Coach of the Year
Ben Pellicani, PGA has built a reputation as one of the most accomplished coaches in the region through his work at Westhaven Golf Club, Lipscomb Academy, and on the national stage. He has coached players of every level, including juniors, collegiate athletes, and professionals, with students earning status on the PGA Tour Americas, Korn Ferry Tour, and DP World Tour while also winning multiple collegiate events. Ben previously served five years as Associate Head Coach at Lipscomb University and since 2016 has been the National Team Coach for Haiti, creating long term development plans and supporting underprivileged youth through golf. At Lipscomb Academy, he developed innovative on campus training environments and a comprehensive K through 5 program while leading the girls team to two consecutive state runner up finishes. As a leader in PGA education, Ben serves as the lead voice on the Section education committee and has presented at numerous summits while mentoring instructors across the country. His teaching influence also extends through extensive media work, research contributions, and a growing digital presence with PelliGolf.
Chris Cauthen, PGA – PGA Professional Development Award Recipient 
Chris Cauthen, PGA has made a significant impact on professional development within the Tennessee Section through his leadership as Section Secretary and Chair of the Education Committee. He oversees all education initiatives for the Section, coordinating bi monthly meetings, Cracker Barrel discussions, online resources, and major events such as the Fall Business Summit and the Annual Meeting and Merchandise Show, which together provided extensive content to more than two hundred twenty five PGA members and apprentices. Under his guidance, the Tennessee Section achieved a ninety four percent PDR completion rate, ranking second among all forty one PGA Sections. Chris is known for promoting meaningful and accessible education opportunities, supporting professionals in meeting their career goals, and elevating the image of PGA members through integrity, fairness, and service. His dedication to helping others succeed, combined with past honors including Golf Professional of the Year and the Bill Strausbaugh Award, reflects his commitment to strengthening both the Section and the broader PGA community.
Brooks West, PGA – Bill Strausbaugh Award Recipient
Brooks West, PGA is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of golf professionals and has played a significant role in launching the careers of many young staff members at Franklin Bridge. He currently supports four to five associates in the PGA program, including Erica Feuerhelm who earned her Class A this summer, and has guided professionals such as Evan Copolo, now the Head Golf Professional at Nashville Golf and Athletic, and Burke Anderson, now an apprentice at Belle Meade. Brooks views “leading young men” as the place where his work and faith intersect, striving each day to grow rising professionals both in skill and character while serving the thousands of golfers who come through Franklin Bridge. His integrity, passion, and commitment to stewardship have shaped a culture of excellence at a facility that hosts more than fifty four thousand rounds and eight million range balls annually. Brooks has also served the Section through the Awards Committee and Education Committee, spoken to Mississippi State’s PGM program about professionalism and employment, and expanded his influence nationally through the NGCOA Board of Directors. His efforts continue to elevate the image of PGA Professionals and strengthen the game well beyond his own facility.
Cole Murley – Assistant Golf Professional of the Year
Cole Murley has become an essential leader at The Hermitage, one of Tennessee’s busiest public golf facilities, where he helps support nearly one hundred thousand annual rounds and one hundred seventy five corporate outings with exceptional service, creativity, and attention to detail. As Assistant Golf Professional, PGA Jr League Captain, and Head of Player Development, Cole oversees both the Starter Marshal team of twenty staff members and a fifteen member player development staff while coordinating major corporate events, pro shop operations, and daily play efficiency. His leadership has helped transform the Hermitage into an award winning player development destination, expanding junior programming across spring, summer, and fall seasons and inspiring fellow professionals to take on leadership roles within the Herm Squad programs. Cole’s national influence includes serving as a five time PGA Jr League GameChanger Award recipient, leading panel discussions at the PGA Show and Tennessee PGA meetings, and working closely with the PGA Coach Application team as a national beta coach whose ideas have shaped program features and engagement tools. His passion for growing the game has impacted more than forty community schools and over two hundred junior families, making him a standout contributor to both the facility and the Association.
Jon Goin, PGA – Public Merchandiser of the Year
Jon Goin, PGA has built Timber Truss Golf Course into a thriving retail destination through a hands–on merchandising approach that combines industry awareness, creativity, and a strong understanding of customer needs. Personally spending thirty percent of his time in the merchandising operation, Jon has grown the Timber Truss brand by selecting fresh trends, designing appealing new logos, and creating a shop that saves golfers both time and money by offering the variety they would otherwise travel to Memphis to find. His merchandising program produced one hundred seventy five thousand dollars in gross sales in 2024 and two hundred thousand dollars in 2025, supported by strong cost control and consistent growth in per round and per square foot sales. Jon takes pride in providing value and building a logo customers are excited to wear, and his success has earned him multiple honors including the 2009 Private Club Merchandiser of the Year and the 2021 Public Course Merchandiser of the Year.
Keith Penke, PGA – Private Merchandiser of the Year
Keith Penke, PGA has established Ridgeway Country Club as a premier private retail operation through a hands on, member focused merchandising philosophy built on respect, honesty, and exceptional service. Since taking ownership of the golf shop in 2019, he created a new company identity, developed a fresh logo, secured vendor relationships, and built a merchandise program that emphasizes quality,competitive variety, and personalized care before and after every sale. Keith personally manages budgeting, buying, inventory, and customer service for a five hundred member club, consistently going above and beyond to ensure member satisfaction, even assisting with issues on items purchased elsewhere. His approach has driven strong sales performance, with more than seven hundred twenty five thousand dollars in gross merchandise sales in 2024 and continued success into 2025. A trusted leader and longtime merchandiser, Keith’s work has earned notable recognition including the 2007 Tennessee Section Assistant Professional of the Year, the 2013 Tennessee Section Merchandiser of the Year for Private facilities, and being named a 2014 National Merchandiser of the Year finalist.
Kelsey Ludwigsen, Communications Manager