2026 Award Winners Spotlight: Jennifer Ridle, PGA!

There is a difference between teaching someone golf and giving them a reason to keep coming back.

At Little Miami Golf Center, Jennifer Ridle, PGA has spent the last three years building PGA HOPE into something that extends well beyond the initial six-week experience. She transformed Little Miami into a home for Veterans looking to stay connected to the game and, perhaps more importantly, to one another.

That sense of connection sits at the heart of Ridle’s work.

This is personal.

Jennifer’s husband is a Marine who served in Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq and Djibouti, giving her a perspective that has helped shape the way she approaches each participant.

That connection to the military community shapes the way Jennifer teaches Veterans. It’s not a normal lesson. It’s about listening, establishing a personal connection and understanding the person standing in front of her — tools that go hand in hand with a proper takeaway or grip.

But perhaps the most lasting part of Ridle’s leadership is what she is teaching other PGA Professionals.

She intentionally brings her assistant professionals into PGA HOPE, giving them the opportunity to work directly with Veterans while developing their instructional, leadership and communication skills. The goal is bigger than simply teaching them how to run a program. It is helping them understand why the program matters.

That philosophy has extended beyond the golf course, too. Ridle has participated in her organization’s Veterans Day celebrations and has proactively recruited PGA HOPE graduates for employment at Little Miami Golf Center, creating opportunities for Veterans to remain connected to the game and the community it can provide. She also serves on the SOPGA PGA HOPE Task Force.

For Ridle, service is not a single event or a program on the calendar. It is something built through relationships, one Veteran and one PGA Professional at a time.