Mottola to Receive MGA Distinguished Service Award
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (November 28, 2018) – The Metropolitan Golf Association is proud to announce Jay Mottola as the recipient of its 2018 Distinguished Service Award. The honor recognizes his outstanding service and contributions to the Association and golf in the Met Area and beyond.
Related: Past MGA DSA Recipients
Mottola, 68, of Tarrytown, N.Y., served as the Executive Director of the MGA for 34 years, from 1982 until 2016. He first joined the MGA as a field team member in 1977, which led to a full-time position as the Deputy Executive Director in 1980. Two years later, at the age of 31, he was promoted to Executive Director.
The MGA Distinguished Service Award, created in 1973, is presented annually to a candidate who has contributed “distinguished service to golf and its related activities, consistent with the valued standards and honorable traditions of the game.” Some of its earliest winners include Joe Dey, Harry Cooper, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., and P.J. Boatwright, while names such as Dave Anderson, David Fay, Jimmy Roberts and Jim Nantz have received the honor in recent years.
“Jay Mottola fully embodies everything that the Distinguished Service Award represents,” explains former MGA President and chair of the DSA committee Jeffrey Holzschuh. “From day one at the MGA, he’s always had a clear vision and his commitment to serving the game at all levels has truly led the MGA to become one of the leading golf associations in the country. He’s a true leader, both here in the Met Area and on a national scale, and we couldn’t think of a more deserving recipient of this year’s Distinguished Service Award.”
Mottola guided the MGA throughout perhaps its most prolific period in history. Highlights during his tenure include the expansion of the organization’s extensive service program, the launch of The Met Golfer, the creation of the MGA Foundation and the construction of “Golf Central” as a home for the MGA and a number of other area golf organizations. He has been honored by multiple local and national organizations, having received the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2016, the International Association of Golf Administrators (IAGA) DSA in 2017, and the Sam Snead Award from the Metropolitan PGA earlier in 2018.
Mottola also worked closely with the United States Golf Association (USGA) throughout his entire career. He received the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award in 2009 in recognition of his 25 years of volunteer service to the Association. Mottola chaired the USGA’s Handicap Procedure Committee from 1999 to 2004. He was also instrumental in the creation and growth of the USGA’s GHIN service and in the effort to bring the U.S. Open to Bethpage Black in 2002.
“All of the things we do at the MGA, he has always stood for what’s in the best interest of the game, and what’s good for the game of golf. His guiding principles are instilled in everyone at the MGA and will continue to guide our efforts in the future,” said current MGA President Michael Sullivan.
Mottola has also been active on national boards, serving on the Board of the National Club Association and the Executive Committee of Golf 20/20. He is an officer with The First Tee of Metropolitan New York, and played a lead role in establishing the chapter in 2001 with the MGA Foundation as a founding partner. He is a longtime member of the Westchester Caddie Scholarship Fund and MGWA Board of Directors. He is still active with the MGA and MGA Foundation and serves as a Senior Advisor.
Prior to his MGA tenure, Mottola worked for a major accounting firm in New York City before entering the coaching profession. He joined the men’s basketball staff at Lafayette College, his alma matter, where he is a member of the Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the basketball team. Mottola, who also attended The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, next served as a full-time assistant for the American University program, before his childhood friend, former USGA Executive Director and MGA Communications Director at the time, David Fay, recruited him to work for the MGA.
“I have had the privilege to know many of the past DSA winners, men and women who have done so much to serve the MGA and the game. I am humbled to see my name added to this list and am truly honored by this recognition,” said Mottola.
The award will be presented at the 121st MGA Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 5 at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.