Cedar City golf pro Jared Barnes named to national PGA board of directors

Cedar Ridge Golf Course pro Jared Barnes, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 30, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Jared Barnes, head golf pro at Cedar Ridge Golf Course in Cedar City, has been elected to the PGA board of directors to serve a three-year term as director of District 9, which includes Colorado, Rocky Mountain and Utah PGA Sections. 

Region 9 golf match, Cedar Ridge Golf Course, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 31, 2020 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Barnes was sworn in Thursday during the PGA’s 104th annual meeting, which was held virtually for the first time due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“Under normal circumstances, this year, we would have been in Hartford, Connecticut, and we would have come up to the stage and been sworn in up there,” Barnes said.

Instead, the meeting participants were streaming the event online from their own homes or offices.

The day after his induction, Barnes spoke to Cedar City News from his office at the golf course about what his responsibilities will entail and said the new position represents “quite a humbling opportunity and an exciting time.”

“I’ll still have all my normal responsibilities here at Cedar Ridge,” he said. “Some people have asked if I was giving up my day job or whatever, but it’ll just be on top of that. It’s a volunteer position. It’s not paid. But it’s an honor to have the opportunity. And I feel fortunate to give back.”

Barnes said that in addition to having responsibilities at upcoming PGA Championships, he and his wife, Julie, will get to attend the next two scheduled Ryder Cup events: Wisconsin next September and Rome, Italy, in 2023.

“Really, our focus is around helping run the association and to ‘serve the member and grow the game,’” he said. “That’s the PGA’s mission statement.”

“Golf is one business that is really up through the pandemic,” he said. “Nationwide, it’s just been a real surge, and we’re up about 40%.”

Cedar Ridge Golf Course pro Jared Barnes, Cedar City, Utah, Oct. 30, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Barnes grew up in Cedar City and attended Southern Utah University, graduating with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1996. He played on the university’s golf team all four years.

Before becoming Cedar Ridge’s PGA head golf professional in 2013, Barnes worked as the golf pro at three courses in northern Utah, namely The Ranches Golf Club in Eagle Mountain, Glen Eagle Golf Course in Syracuse and Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy. 

Barnes has received several awards and accolades from the Utah PGA Section, including the 2016 Player Development Award, the PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2012 and 2007, and 2010 PGA Golf Professional of the Year. Barnes also served as an officer of the Utah PGA Section from 2007-2014. 

“I’ve committed my professional life to serving my fellow members in many capacities at the section level,” Barnes said in a PGA news release announcing his appointment to the national board. “It’s an honor to be able to continue representing PGA members at the national level alongside men and women who are so passionate about the game.” 

Barnes and his wife are the parents of four children: Clara, Lily, Luke and Anna.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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