Deb Pritchard, Head Professional, Portage Golf Club, Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
An Unwavering Work Ethic and Commitment to Bringing more Women into the Game
It can be tough to think outside the box when it’s a challenge to get inside of it in the first place.
Just ask Deb Pritchard, general manager and head professional at Portage Golf Club, a public course in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
While she’s enjoyed 27 years in the business, working her way up the ranks since her first job as a 16-year-old club cleaner at her local course, getting to where she is now hasn’t been without the obstacles women face in cracking the old boy’s network.
“As an assistant professional, things almost seemed somewhat easier in many ways,” Pritchard recalls. “Female pros were so few and far between, finding a job was never an issue, and many clubs were looking to have a female instructor on staff.”
It wasn’t until she applied for her first head professional job that she discovered just how tough a row to hoe the business could be.
“I applied for 28 professional positions across Canada. Yet I only received two responses and subsequent interviews.”
While that might be enough to take the wind out of anyone’s sails, not so for a farm girl with an unwavering work ethic and commitment to bringing more women into the game. She became the head pro and general manager at Minnedosa Golf & Country Club in Minnedosa, MB., where she spent 11 years prior to taking the position at Portage Golf Club.
She’s excited about what’s ahead, and besides her dual-role responsibilities, her focus will be on growing the women’s side of the game and promoting junior golf. That ties in to one of several reasons why she’s a Cobra staff member.
“Cobra provides an excellent product at an affordable price point. It also has great appeal to a younger generation of golfers with Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Lexi Thompson all playing the line.”
Pritchard also gives a shout out to Cobra’s customer service and the area rep, Ryan Sommerfeld.
Despite the challenges she’s faced since those club-cleaning days, she’ll draw on her experiences to help young women open doors to the many opportunities she sees in the business. She says it all starts with making golf a family affair.
“I believe the biggest disconnect in getting junior girls, and all juniors for that matter, into golf to stay, is in how connected they and their families are to the sport and to the club. We need to be creative in how we get the children and their families engaged with the club to ensure that they feel a sense of community and belonging.
“That is what will keep them coming back, both now and for many years to come!”
