PGA of America golf professional Nathan Charnes was elected the 45th president of the PGA of America on Wednesday during the association's 110th Annual Meeting at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas. Charnes will serve a two-year term representing the organization's more than 30,000 PGA professionals.
A member of the Gateway PGA Section, Charnes is the general manager of WingHaven Country Club in O'Fallon, Missouri.
Also elected to officer positions were Eric Eshleman, director of golf at the Country Club of Birmingham in Mountain Brook, Alabama, who becomes vice president, and Jared Barnes, head professional at Cedar Ridge Golf Course in Cedar City, Utah, who was elected secretary.
A second-generation PGA Professional from southern Indiana,
Charnes played college golf at the University of Evansville, graduating in 2001. After passing the PGA's Playing Ability Test, he became a PGA member and spent time working in the Indiana and Kentucky sections.
In 2004, Charnes and his wife, Eva, moved to the St. Louis area, where he became head professional at WingHaven Country Club. He was promoted to general manager and director of golf in 2011.
Charnes has been active at both the section and national levels of the PGA of America for more than two decades. He served as education chairman for the Gateway PGA Section before joining the section's board of directors, where he served from 2011-18.
His national involvement expanded when then-PGA President Allen Wronowski appointed him to the National PGA Membership Committee. Charnes ultimately served on five national committees and later represented District 7, which includes the Gateway, Midwest and South Central PGA Sections, on the PGA Board of Directors from 2019-21.
A seven-time Gateway PGA Section award recipient, Charnes was named the section's PGA Golf Professional of the Year in both 2012 and 2022. He also played a key role in the creation of the PGA REACH Foundation, which originated in the Gateway Section while he was serving as an officer. More recently, he was selected to serve as a Life Trustee for PGA REACH Gateway.
"Serving as president to represent more than 30,000 PGA of America Golf Professionals is an incredible honor and responsibility," Charnes said. "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 has effectively handled many of the duties of president since May, when predecessor Don Rea Jr. was relieved of his responsibilities.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nathan Charnes elected 45th president of the PGA of America
