This week’s PGA Championship marks a fourth return to Oak Hill CC and its host city Rochester, NY. Rochester has long played a contributory role to championship golf and the community was the home ground for one of the sport’s most lauded champions, Walter Hagen.
Oak Hill was founded in 1901 and is situated just southeast of Rochester in Pittsford. The club is located on 355 acres of land and bears the architectural design of Scotsman Donald Ross who designed both the East and West Courses.
Six major championships have been played on the East Course with the U.S. Open having been played in 1956, 1968 and 1989 respectively. The PGA Championship has been played three times previously – 1980, 2004 and 2013. In addition, Oak Hill also served as host for the 1995 Ryder Cup Matches.
The 2023 PGA Championship reinforces the ongoing linkage between Oak Hill and major championship golf. Don Jeffries, President & CEO for Visit Rochester, gives insights on the connection to golf and the overall intersection with the immediate Rochester area.
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The Jeffries Bio
Don Jeffries is the president and CEO of Visit Rochester, the official tourism promotion agency for Monroe County. Don has held this position since 2013. In his role, he is tasked with driving the organization to higher levels of business growth through convention bookings, tourism marketing and event promotion to visitors.
He is known as one of Rochester’s chief cheerleaders, and is an ardent supporter of the community. Jeffries previously served as CEO of the Rochester Broadway Theater League (RBTL) and owned Dollinger Travel for nearly 20 years. Don serves the community on a number of boards, including St. John Fisher College, MCC Foundation, RTS: Regional Transit Service and CrimeStoppers. Don serves on the leadership committee for ROC 2025, and is also the Fire Commissioner in the town of Brighton.
The Rochester I know
As the president and CEO of Visit Rochester, the destination marketing organization for Rochester, NY and Monroe County, it gives me great pride for our city to host the 2023 PGA Championship.
With wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming Championship planned across international media outlets, we find ourselves with a unique opportunity to directly highlight and showcase what makes Rochester such a special place to live, work, visit – and of course, play great golf.
Despite the next week of intense media coverage and attention to our community and Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester remains a “hidden gem” in many aspects. It is my sincere hope that golf fans who may be unaware of Rochester’s rich history, strong arts and cultural offerings and impressive food scene give Rochester a closer look after our city shines this next week. Upon closer look, you will find a vibrant, historic and diverse city that is ready to welcome visitors – the Rochester I know.
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What does golf mean to the broader Rochester community?
Golf is incredibly important to the entire Greater Rochester region. It is part of our identity as a community. Whereas other cities may have a professional football or basketball team, we are a professional golf city.
We are extraordinarily lucky to have hosted multiple major golf events, including four PGA Championships alone.
One of the comments we hear most often from PGA and other golf professionals is just how much the Rochester community rallies around professional golf events and championships. We all take such pride in these events, and in having the opportunity to showcase our community to audiences around the world.
How much money is estimated to be spent for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill?
Greater Rochester Enterprise (GRE) estimates an economic impact of $190 million from the championship, which will also support an estimated 1,233 jobs.
Hotels and restaurants will see a significant increase in demand, and the entire Greater Rochester regional economy will see a lift as a result of the Championship.
Total number of visitors predicted who will be attending?
According to a report by Greater Rochester Enterprise, it is anticipated that more than 225,000 spectators will attend throughout the week. Approximately 39% of all ticket holders will visit Rochester from outside of 100 miles throughout the week.
How much coordination has there been between your organization and those handling the PGA Championship? Greatest issues of concern?
Visit Rochester enjoys a very collaborative relationship with everyone involved with the PGA Championship. From the Championship leaders within the Oak Hill membership to every member of the PGA staff we work with, we are all working toward a shared goal of hosting an incredible event in our community that will attract thousands of visitors to the Rochester area.
What’s the most underrated aspect for those not familiar with the Rochester area?
There are many aspects and features of the Rochester area that are underrated. In addition to our world-class golf, Rochester is known as the cultural capital of Upstate New York. For a city our size we have a tremendous number of arts and cultural assets, museums and more.
The largest collection of toys, dolls and games in the world is found in Rochester at The Strong National Museum of Play. Or pay a visit to the George Eastman Museum, the oldest photography museum in the world housed within the historic estate of Kodak founder George Eastman.
We are just so very rich in history. Our city was the home of both Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass; both are buried today in Rochester’s Mount Hope Cemetery. Susan B. Anthony’s home is today the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House.
Related: Grade “A” Architecture
Do you play golf and if so where and how often?
I very much enjoy playing golf! I enjoy participating in golf tournaments for various charities at a number of local courses over the summer months.
I am also a member at the Country Club of Rochester, proudly known as Walter Hagen’s home course.
When Oak Hill signed the contract to host the 2023 PGA Championship the event was still being played in a long-time August time frame. How much of an impact does a May date present?
May is a beautiful time to visit Rochester – spring in general is wonderful as everything is really starting to bloom and the city comes alive with the start of warmer weather. Certainly, the biggest variable in changing the Championship to May is the weather.
However, the forecast is currently looking very good!
Someone coming to Rochester for the first time – what one thing do they need to do for sure before departing?
One of our city’s greatest hidden gems is High Falls – a 96-foot waterfall of the Genesee River in the heart of downtown Rochester. Conveniently, High Falls is located next door to the Genesee Brewery – the oldest brewery in New York State.
I recommend visitors cross two things off their Rochester bucket list by enjoying a cold Genesee cream ale from the patio of the Genesee Brew House while admiring the sight of High Falls.
So much of the image of New York is tied to New York City. How successful have you been in expanding that awareness and driving people to visit?
Being in the same state as New York City has a few unique benefits for a city like Rochester. We are roughly a 6-hour drive from New York City, which means that a massive population of people and prospective visitors is just 6 hours away by car, or an even shorter distance by air.
We also tap into our proximity to New York City for international tourism. New York City is the top entry point for international visitors to the United States, and one of the other most visited locations by international travelers is Niagara Falls, which is just 90 minutes away from Rochester.
Thanks to our proximity to both locations, we regularly market Rochester as a stop along the way from New York City to Niagara Falls. The pandemic also brought a significant uptick in visitation from New York and the tristate area to upstate New York, Rochester and the Finger Lakes.
The global pandemic had a major impact on travel. Now things are picking up considerably. What are your biggest challenges going forward to how do you expect to deal with each of them?
As a convention and visitors bureau coming out of the pandemic it has been rebuilding the meeting and convention business. Rochester hosts more than 250 meetings and conferences every year, however this sector of the tourism industry has been slower to fully recover than leisure visitors – thanks in part to the adaption of technology that allows for virtual meetings and videoconferences.
However, we are starting to see more and more of our annual meetings and groups coming back, along with new opportunities in the convention space. In the meantime, we have several new hotels and other unique meeting venues coming online that will make Rochester even more competitive when bidding on these groups to host their event in Rochester.
We will also continue to work to raise the overall profile and awareness of Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. There are limitless reasons to visit this beautiful area of the country, and it is our responsibility to promote this region and build on opportunities like the PGA Championship to increase overall visitation to our area.
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