An Interview with Central NY PGA Tournament Director, Dylan Plis
I clearly recall caddying for my father, Don Brown Sr., during the Herald Amateur qualifier at Bellevue Country Club in the early 1980s. 
He posted a 40 on the front nine but faltered on the back, finishing with a disappointing 47. His total of 87 left him three shots shy of qualifying.
That experience sparked a fascination with the tournament and inspired my own pursuit of qualifying, beginning when I was 16. After 31 attempts, I unfortunately never made it past the first stage.
Over the years, many outstanding Central New York players have claimed the title – first as the Herald Amateur, later the Post-Standard Amateur, and now the AIM Championship. The champions list includes notable names like Mel Baum, Mike Naton, Jim Roy, Kevin Roy, Dan McCarthy, Luke Hobika and Kevin VandenBerg.
With that history in mind, I sat down with tournament director, Dylan Plis, to get his perspective on the AIM Championship, along with a wide range of other golf-related topics, including his own journey in the game. I hope you enjoy.
DB: Tell us about your younger days in this great game of golf and how you progressed?
DP: I learned the game from my dad, when I was a little guy, just kind of smacking it around. Nothing really crazy, but I was actually a really big basketball player growing up. Then I had a growth spurt and it hit me in time, and I fell in love with the game of golf. I took it a bit more seriously and then at the beginning of high school and then I’m like “this is for me.” Started playing more competitively and I was fortunate that I grew my game enough to play Division II golf at Franklin Pierce. Had a great career there and played in a National Championship, won different awards and all that fun stuff. I graduated from college and I said that I have to stay within the golf realm, stay competitive and work within golf. I was an intern with the Central New York PGA for a couple of seasons, did a couple of the right things and then became a PGA member. I became the tournament director and still play competitively, teaching a lot and running all of our tournaments here in Central New York.
DB: I did see on your resume that you won the 2018 District Amateur, tell us about that experience and your memories from winning it?
DP: It was kind of one of those deals when you play amateur golf here in Syracuse, you have those three big events: The AIM, the Gerry Ashe and the District match play. It was at my home course, I was a member at Timber Banks for a long time, so course knowledge, especially in match play, plays a huge factor. It was a comfort level; it was just my week. I played really good golf against some great players. I played Jonny Petrin in the final four and then in the finals I played Chris Quilty. They’re phenomenal players but I just had a couple of things go my way and that’s what it comes to. Match play is tough, you never really know, but it was awesome.
DB: So, you took a job as an intern with the Central NY PGA that has blossomed to where you’re now at, tell us how that began and what you’re currently doing?
DP: So throughout high school and college I was an outside staffer and cart kid for Timber Banks. Once I got out of college, a former assistant at Timber Banks, Brittany Wowelko, became the player development director at the Central NY PGA and they always have a tournament operations intern every year. She reached out to me, and she said “hey, I know you’re interested in the game of golf, this is something you should really look into.” So I did that for a season and everything has kind of worked out. They liked me enough, and the following year I was in the same role with a little more responsibility and then our old membership director, Trish Wheeler, retired. The tournament director at the time, Joe Tesori Jr., took a more elevated role within our operation there and then I became the tournament director. I have been doing that now for four years.
DB: You’re the tournament director for all the major tournaments in Central New York. I want to ask you specifically about the AIM championship with its incredible list of champions
DP: So, looking at those three majors here in Syracuse, when I was an amateur golfer, everything was highlighted around that. At the time it was the Post-Standard Amateur when I first started playing and then the transition to the AIM. It’s kind of like the thing to play in, it’s always a great event, it’s always a full field. We have four qualifiers for the event and then we have the four tournament rounds. In my opinion, and you can ask many players, it’s the hardest one to win. I’ve unfortunately never been able to win it. I have a tied for second and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s four rounds of golf at four different facilities and that’s what makes it tough. You look at the Gerry Ashe and the District where you play the same golf course the whole time. People play differently at different facilities, so it’s a matter of putting together four good rounds at four different golf courses, it makes it a little extra special and the champions are always well deserved.
DB: Tell us about your experience coaching at LeMoyne College?
DP: They are a great group. I spent most of my time coaching the women’s team, they were awesome and most importantly I was able to work alongside Joe Tesori Sr. there. As a player through college at Franklin Pierce, we played against LeMoyne when they were still Division II, in the same conference. I’ve gotten to know Joe a good amount, and to work alongside with him to gain unbelievable knowledge that I can use within my career. He’s been a mentor of mine and is still a mentor of mine. To see how he coaches and works with both teams, it’s really eye opening and shows how great he is. It was just an unbelievable experience to go from player to coach. I took what I took as a player to help the next regime of college golfers to better prepare themselves. College golf is a whole new world and that’s the best advice I can tell anyone. It’s nowhere even close as to what you expect, you are your own person. The game of golf is tough and now you add the travel aspect, add the school aspect and you’re gone all the time. It was a really cool experience trying to help all these players to get where they wanted to be.
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DB: You mentioned the knowledge gained from working with Joe Tersori Sr. How is your working relationship with Joe Jr?
DP: I get double Tesoried (laughs), which I’m lucky if you ask people. Joe Jr. is just like his dad. He’s sharp, he’s really good at what he does and he’s shown me the fine details in things and how everything matters. Whether it’s a golf tournament or if it’s a meeting or if it’s with a partner. He goes above and beyond. He’s not only helped me as a golf professional, but as a person as well. Growing my career and growing myself in general.
DB: Where do you see yourself in the next five to ten years in the golf industry?
DP: That’s a great question. I became a PGA member in January 2025, that was a great experience and I’m proud to have those three letters at the end of my name. I love the game; I love growing the game and I’ve really grown a knack for teaching. Whether it’s individual lessons, juniors, ladies’ clinics or PGA Hope; our veteran’s program under our PGA Reach foundation. I’ve really grown a knack for teaching, I really enjoy it and I love the tournament side of things. I love being the administrator, it’s fun, I can put my twist on some things. It’s something new every week, we’re always at a different facility, it’s a different event, different people and it’s really exciting. Down the road, there’s so many opportunities with the game and business of golf, it’s whatever opportunity I feel fits best for myself. Whether it’s what I’m doing now or whether it’s something different, you never really know with the game of golf.
DB: Tell us your five best golf facilities within a driveable distance of Central New York?
DP: Obviously you have to play En-Joie down there in Endicott, which hosts the Dicks Sporting Goods Open. It’s an awesome golf course; we always seem to have a Pro-Am there every year and it’s always a great event. I’m a big fan of Teugega Country Club, that old Donald Ross design which will beat you up, but that’s always a phenomenal golf course. The Yahnundasis is a great golf course, really tests your game and you have to hit golf shots there. It will expose you quickly if you’re not on. Corning Country Club down in the Southern Tier, we always have an assistant’s event there, it’s always a fun event on a great golf course. Tuscarora, I’ve played a lot of golf there. Great golf course, it’s fun, everyone thinks it’s an easy track because of how short it is, but it’ll eat you up real quick.
DB: There’s a lot of golfers out there, like myself, who need help. Give our readers one tip to improve their golf game?
DP: I always tell people it’s not about the score you shoot; you always have to find the things within your game that you need to improve on. Anyone can go to the range and hit balls, anyone can go chip and putt, but when you go and play, players have tendencies to work on. They do things really well and then they don’t do things really well and to be able to understand your game and pinpoint areas how we can practice and where we can practice. It’s a matter of adjusting swings, golf is an accumulation of swings, not an accumulation of scores. We get too caught up with the score we shoot that we don’t really understand how we got there. Let me study my game away from the score. Study from what I’m doing good or what I’m doing bad, so that I can self-diagnose myself and pinpoint where I can get better.
