Architect Jan Bel Jan awarded by WIGI

Golf course architect Jan Bel Jan, ASGCA, received The President’s Award from Women in the Golf Industry (WIGI) at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. The award was presented by WIGI president, Elizabeth Noblitt, CEO of Shi Shi Putter, on January 22.

Bel Jan, who serves on the board of directors for WIGI, is also an officer for the organization through her role as recording secretary.  In addition to WIGI, Bel Jan is an advocate for the game and business of golf and has served on industry panels and as speakers at national conferences such as the PGA Merchandise Show and the Golf Industry Show. Her name appears on Sports Illustrated’s Golf Plus list of the “Top Ten Most Influential Women in the Game of Golf.”

Bel Jan hails from Pittsburgh. Her father, George Bel Jan, was a golf professional and superintendent. She learned the game and business of golf from her father and three of her uncles, who were PGA professionals.

Bel Jan began her design career with Tom Fazio, ASGCA, where she held a senior position in golf course design, construction and project management for more than twenty years. Her experience as a registered landscape architect, certified arborist and former assistant superintendent, provide her with a unique outlook on the playability, strategy, ecology and economics of golf courses.

Bel Jan maintains her own design firm, Jan Bel Jan Golf Course Design, and is an adjunct professor at Hodges University (Naples, Fla). Elected into the American Society of Golf Course Architects in 1990, Bel Jan represents the ASGCA as a board member of the National Alliance for Accessible Golf. She is a founding partner and managing member of the National Women’s Golf Alliance, a consortium committed to increasing the number of women playing golf while also improving engagement levels of existing female golfers.

“As an organization, we are extremely proud of Jan Bel Jan and her ongoing contributions to the game and business of golf,” said WIGI’s past president, Kathleen Bissell, VP at Commercial Benchmark. “Not only is she a highly respected golf course designer, she is the consummate role model for so many individuals throughout the golf industry, and, thus, so worthy of this coveted award.”

The previous recipient of The President’s Award was Sherry Major, who is a media consultant to PGA Golf Expositions.