Since its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. The NJPGA is one of 41 geographic sections throughout the country and has been in operation since 1925. In 2012 and 2015, the NJPGA was the recipient of the Herb Graffis Award, presented annually to a PGA Section that shows extraordinary or exemplary contributions in player development and growth of the game programming.