Where lives are changed, careers begin, and service NEWSLETTER before self is taught. Summer 2020

FROM THE DIRECTOR Greetings once again from the Director’s Office of the MU PGA Management Program – its been quite an end to the school year and summer given our country’s battle with the invisible enemy, Covid-19. We have used this time to tackle a number of tasks on the and kick off our course renovation project as well. These exciting projects included:

1) Stripping the existing turf, leveling and replacing the sod on tees for Holes 5 (back tee), 12, 14 and 15. 2) Assisting the golf course maintenance staff to prune trees and clean up debris on Holes 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17 and 18. The GCM staff was also able to remove trees from behind Hole 14, creating an alternative tee to be used on the 7th hole, adding 50+ yards to that hole.

3) Rebuilt the structure and replaced the deck boards on the walking bridges for Holes 16 and 17.

4) Finally, the Downback Renovation Project and its two phases –

a. Phase 1 – We kicked off the summer by stripping the current practice tee, had a contractor come in and laser level it and then re-sprig with new bermuda. The project went smoothly and Ryan Hull, Golf Course Superintendent, feels confident it will be ready for use when the students return. The second part of this project is installing a strip of artificial turf to the back of the practice tee for students to utilize when we experience wet conditions or during overseeding in the fall. This part of the project will be completed late summer or early fall.

b. Phase 2 – Golf Course Renovation – the University has contracted with Signet Golf from Pinehurst to complete the following items:

- Build a new green on the first hole in the area behind the current 15th green. This new green will add 115 yards to the hole and it will now be a 5. - Build a new back tee on Hole 4 – this new tee will add approximately 35 yards to the hole. - Build a new forward tee on Hole 7, shifting from the right side of the fairway to the left side for safety concerns given the renovations to Hole 11. See Hole 11 notes below. - Build a new back tee on Hole 8 – this new tee will add approximately 25 yards to the hole. - Build 2 new tees on Hole 11 – these tees allowed us to lengthen the hole to 285 yards from the forward tee and 335 yards from the back tee, while also converting the hole to a par 4.

In summary, these items allow the course to not only meet the new PAT yardage requirement of 6,350 yards, but exceed it. The new course will be able to play at a maximum of 6,550 yards and par 71. We can’t wait for it to be finished and for you to give it a try.

So, looking back at my first year as Director - it was a whirlwind to say the least. Never a dull moment and something that was challenging and fun at the same time. Looking ahead, even more fun to come as we head into a fall semester with so many unanswered questions about how it will look and when we can return to some sense of normal again, but we will continue to tackle each challenge head on! On a positive note, enrollment for this year’s freshman class is up 50% over last year.

As always - I couldn’t be more proud of our students and alumni, and truly blessed to be a part of this rich and storied program here Downback. Congrats to those alumni receiving PGA Membership and being promoted in the past year. Keep us informed so Mrs. Lee can continue to post your updates!

More Affordable Than You Think, More Valuable Than You Know. Summer 2020 Internship Placement It’s Time to Remember As one of the main requirements of the PGA Golf Management program, internships are both fundamental and critical for This fall the PGA Golf Management Program is going to be installing a two-sided solar clock and memorial multiple reasons. Internships represent an integral link betweeen the academic knowledge and an understanding of day-to- garden as a way to memorialize former students and alumni in a special way whose life has been cut short. The day operations within the golf industry. It is on their internship that students learn how to practically apply the information memorial clock garden will be installed on the practice facility near the Krick Teaching Center. Two plaques they learn in the classroom, which gains valuable experience for our students. Internships are also a valuable tool for will be installed at the base of the clock to recognize the honorees and the donors of this project. We hope to students when building their network within the industry and assisting them in advancing their young careers. Below is a dedicate this new addition to the Practice Facility during Homecoming 2020. map and listing of where some of our students are this summer:

William S. Arliss Wesley R. Mensing ’09 Michael Townsend ’05, ’07M HonoreesRandall C. Shaw ’90 Tom Vacek Ashley E. Burger ’99

Alleghney Country Club, PA Kinloch Golf Club, VA Sebonack Golf Club, NY Apawamis Club, NY Lake Isle Country Club, NY Seven Oaks Golf Club, NY Berkeley Hall Golf Club, SC Lake Shore Country Club, IL Shade Mountain Golf Course, PA Biltmore Forest Country Club, NC Lake Toxaway, NC Shalimar Golf Club, AZ Bridgton Highlands Golf Club, ME Landmand Golf Club, NE Shelter Harbor Golf Club, RI Junior Golf Tour, CA Lane Tree Golf Club, AL Snowmass Club, CO Cape Cod National Golf Club, MA Longleaf Golf and Family Club, AL St. Georges Country Club, NY Carmel Country Club, NC Maidstone Club, NY Stryker Golf Course, NC Carolina’s Golf Association, NC , PA , NJ Charlotte Country Club, NC Montour Heights Country Club, PA Tennessee PGA Section, TN If you would like to , IL Nashua Country Club, NH , NY make a donation Concord Country Club, MA New Bern Golf and Counrty Club, NC The Club at Creighton Farms, VA Congressional Country Club, MD , NY of Virginia, VA towards the memorial Country Club of Birmingham, AL Oak Point, SC The Currituck Club, NC clock garden, please Country Club of Detriot, MI , PAS The First Tee of the Golden Isles, GA contact Jerry Hogge at Diamond Creek, AL Ocean City Golf and Yacht, MD The Kiawah Island Club, SC [email protected] Don Law Golf Academy, FL Old Chatham Golf Club, NC The Patterson Club, CT or 910-630-7144. Eastward Ho! Country Club, MA , IL The Tuxedo Club, NY Echo Lake Country Club, NJ Orinda Country Club, CA Toftrees Golf Resort, PA , NY Philadephia PGA, PA Vineyard Golf Club, MA Glenmore CC, VA , NC Wannamoisett Country Club, RI Governors Club, NC Preakness Hills CC, NJ Waterville Country Club, ME A special thanks to our donors for making this possible: Gozzer Ranch, ID Prospect Bay Country Club, MD Wee Burn Country Club, CT Derek DiStefano ’05, Willy DiStefano III ’08, David and Kristi Bowen, Dr. and Mrs. Ray Burger, Jr., Bob and Heritage Golf Club, OH Racebrook Country Club, CT WindStone Golf Club, Ga Carol Mensing, Jerry and Barbara Hogge, Michael Vacek, Maureen Vacek, Timothy Vacek, Steven A. Conley, Highlands Country Club, NC , NJ Wooster Country Club, OH Hyde Park Golf and Country Club, OH Rock Hill Golf and Country Club, NY Tom and Samantha Inczauskis, Robert and Melissa Bruns, Anonymous, Walter and Loretta Swing, and Ryan and Indian Hill Golf Club, IL Rockaway Hunting Club, NY Amanda Hull. Golf Course Renovation Update Bob is standing in the center of the new #1 green pointing back to the tee.

Purpose: To accommodate the new PAT yardage requirement of 6,350 yards. The yardage added on the course will play at a maximum of 6,550 yards and par 71

Plan: • Strip the current practice tee, laser level it then re-sprig it with new bermuda grass. • Install a strip of artificial turf to the back of the tee (allow for play during the wet season). • Build a new green on hole #1 - adding 115 yards (new par 5). • Build a new back tee on hole #4 – adding 35 yards. • Build a new forward tee on hole #7, shifting from the right side of the Moving earth from the old green on #1 to the new green to add 115 yards Crew is laser leveling the new forward tee on hole #11 fairway to the left side for safety concerns given the renovations to hole #11. • Build a new back tee on hole #8 - adding 25 yards. • Build 2 new tees on Hole #11 – playing 285 yards from the forward tee and 335 yards from the back tee (new par 4).

June 5, 2020 - Laser leveling the practice tee

June 9, 2020 - disbursing bermuda spriggs July 17, 2020 - new practice tee is growing in nicely

If you would like to make a donation For more photos, follow towards the golf course Methodist University renovation, please on Flickr. album contact Jerry Hogge at Construction Update_ [email protected] Golf Practice Tee and or 910-630-7144. Course_2020 Summer Proud of Our Athletes! Congratulations to our golf athletes for their accomplishments during the 2019-2020 athletic season - a golf season like no other. Though the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shortened season, Monarch golfers had been performing to their usual standards and accumulated many regional and national honors. to the 222 graduates who have given in response to the Alumni Chapter Initiative and Jerry Hogge’s. Henry Angier, Junior Jillian Drinkard, Sophomore phone calls! If you have not received a phonecall yet, you will. Mr. Hogge will resume calling all alumni in the Grasonville, MD Appomattox, VA fall of 2020. So far, MU alumni have given $22,450 of which nearly $5,000 are recurring annual gifts! Your 2020 DIII Ping All-Region WGCA ’19-’20 DIII All-Region outstanding support of the ongoingThank-You efforts of the PGA Golf Management Program will help set us apart from Team (South) Team (Southeast); WGCA other programs and ensure your alma mater continues the legacy you value. 2020 DIII Second-Team All- American; WGCA ’19-’20 All- American Scholar Team

Morgan Bowen, Senior Jacob Lowe, Junior Mason, OH Angier, NC WGCA ’19-’20 DIII All-Region GCAA 2020 Srixon/Cleveland Team (Southeast); ’19-’20 Golf All-America Scholar team Methodist University Female Senior Athlete of the Year; WGCA ’19-’20 All-American Scholar Team Zane Brownrigg, Junior Tyler Vincent, Senior Cincinnati, OH Lisle, IL GCAA 2020 Srixon/Cleveland GCAA 2020 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar team; Golf All-America Scholar team GCAA 2020 NCAA DIII All American second team honoree; GCAA 2020 DIII Ping All-Region Team (South) Andre Chi, Sophomore Alexandra Williams, Flushing, NY Sophomore, Sicklerville, NJ GCAA 2020 NCAA DIII All WGCA ’19-’20 All-American American honorable mention; Scholar Team 2020 DIII Ping All-Region Team (South)

Paige Church, Senior Coach Tom Inczauskis Newland, NC WGCA 2020 Southeast Region TENTATIVE Save-the-Date WGCA ’19-’20 DIII All-Region Coach of the Year 10.24.20 Team (Southeast) Alumni Golf Tournament

COVID-19 continues to make it challenging to plan events; however we know you are anxious to play the renovated course. We are tentatively planning an alumni golf tournament during Homecoming 2020. Stay tuned as news develops. Welcome to the PGA! Congratulations to our grads who have been elected into the PGA of America Membership as of Winter 2020.

Patrick W. Baker, PGA Acushnet Company, Fairhaven, MA, A-20 Jake M. Trotta, PGA Sankaty Head Golf Club, Siasconset, MA, A-8 Griffin G. Genier, PGA Rich Harvest Farms, Sugar Grove, IL, A-24 Alexander C. Watson, PGA Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, IL, A-8 Michael D. Hanrahan, PGA North Hempstead Country Club, Port Washington, NY, A-8 Benjamin G. Wescott, PGA NBC Sports, New York, N, A-18 Andrew M. Losey, PGA Michael Breed Golf Academy at Trump Golf at Ferry Point, Bronx, NY, A-6

Know a high school student interested in golf? Recommend the MU Summer Experience Camp June 27 - June 30, 2021

https://www.methodist.edu/pgm/summer-experience/

Will Abee ’11 Corey Johnson ’08 Head Golf Professional, Anderson Creek, Head Golf Professional, The Woodcreek Spring Lake, NC Club, Columbia, SC

Anthony Bonargo ’01 Tanner Johnson ’12 Head Golf Professional, Doylestown Head Golf Professional, Spartanburg Country Club, Doylestown, PA Country Club, Spartanburg, SC

Michael Ferguson ’09 Eric Shillinger’98 Head Golf Professional, Bayville Golf Delray Dunes Golf and Country Club, Club, Norfolk, VA Boynton Beach, FL

Jeff Flis ’12 Kory Reitz ’06 Head Golf Professional, Rutland Country Head Golf Professional, Secession Golf Club, Rutland, VT Club, Beaufort, SC

Brandon Grecco ’05 General Manager and Director of Golf, Hillendale Country Club, Phoenix, MD