Andrew Weissinger, PGA; Pines Golf Course, Ft. Eustis, Virginia
Andy Weissinger, PGA, of the Pines Golf Course at Ft. Eustis, Va has been named the MAPGA Junior Golf Leader Award recipient and will be honored on March 19, 2011 at Lansdowne Resort at the MAPGA Hall of Fame & Awards Banquet. This award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional who is a leader in junior golf, reflects the image and qualities that juniors can emulate, and provides opportunities for juniors to learn and play golf.
Andy has a long history with promoting and developing junior golf at his facility and in the community. As an assistant at Chesapeake GC, Andy developed and started the club’s first junior golf program. This program grew so quickly and gained so much recognition that he was approached by the City of Chesapeake to develop and run the junior golf program for the City’s Parks and Recreation Department in 1999-2001. The junior golf program at Fort Eustis was almost non-existent when Andy took the Head Professional job. Andy quickly developed a junior golf program using the PGA of America’s First Swing Program and has grown the program to serving over 100 juniors in various settings each year. This past year Andy was asked to run a pilot site of the PGA of America’s National Junior Golf Program and the PGA Medalist Junior Program. Through feedback from Andy and other test sites across the country, the PGA of America plans to roll out this program in 2011.
2009 also was an exceptional year for Andy. Not only did he receive the Middle Atlantic PGA President’s Plaque for growth of the game initiatives, he was also the recipient of The PGA National Patriot Award! Andy attributes his success to keeping things simple – and fun! He feels that golf is tough enough without needing to make it even more so with swing theories or rigid methods. Andy’s philosophy can be summed up by stating two simple facts: people learn by doing, and they want to do more of something that is fun to them. The perfect combination of these two facts is golf!
Andy tries to touch as many people as he can with the game by going where they are and not waiting for them to come to him. He believes that the more creative programs he offers, the more people he can touch. The more he takes care of an area that he has “touched” (or marketed) the more they will spread a positive word and the program will grow; then he can focus on “touching” another area and before he knows it, he has two successful areas (or programs), and so on and so on. Andy makes sure to listen to his community and take what he has learned to develop programs that meet the undeniable needs they have expressed.
Andy turned professional in 1997 while working at Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest, Virginia as an assistant golf professional until 1999. He then worked at Chesapeake Golf Club in Chesapeake, Virginia as a PGA apprentice from 1999-2001 where he eventually became the PGA Head Professional. Andy was elected to PGA membership in 2001 and in that same year, he began working at Lake Wright Golf Course in Norfolk as the Head PGA Professional. Shortly after Lake Wright, Andy became the Head PGA Professional at Honey Bee Golf Club in Virginia Beach from 2001-2003. From 2003-2005, he was the Head PGA Professional at the Pines Golf Course at Fort Eustis and has also been their PGA General Manager since 2005.
Andy was born on November 23, 1976 in Norfolk, Virginia to parents George and Mary-Ellen Weissinger. He has three sisters, Samantha, Jenni & Mary-Virginia.
Andy’s dad first introduced him to golf at age nine while they were on summer vacation in Cape Cod. Behind one of the corner stores on Main Street in Chatham is the 6th green and the 7th tee to the Chatham Golf Links. As they drove by, Andy thought golf looked great and asked his dad if they could do that together, George took him out the next day and nine holes and about 12 balls later, Andy fell in love. He started playing golf regularly at age 13 because it gave him an opportunity to be outside, to be involved athletically, and spend some great time alone with his dad. Andy’s dad taught him many things about life, relationships, integrity and competition during their many rounds of golf together.
His first volunteer job was for Mike Waugh, PGA Professional at Ocean View GC in Norfolk, Virginia from 1990-1993. Andy was responsible for cleaning the shop and re-gripping clubs in order to play golf and receive golf lessons for free. His first paid job was working for Andy Giles, PGA Professional at Cypress Point CC in Virginia Beach, Virginia 1994-1995 where he cleaned golf cars and picked up range balls.
Andy grew up playing baseball, basketball and golf. He went to school at Norfolk Christian High School in Norfolk where baseball and golf were played during the same season. Andy made what turned out to be one of the most important decisions of his life: he decided to play golf instead of baseball. He played on the golf team at Norfolk Christian from the 7th-12th grades. As a junior in high school, Andy decided to dedicate himself to golf and try to earn a golf scholarship. This meant giving up playing on the basketball team in order to dedicate himself to practicing more and traveling to off-season tournaments. In 1995, Andy received a golf scholarship to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Religion with a concentration in Pastoral Studies.
Andy believes that golf is a wonderful avenue to build everything from the relationships in a family to an individual’s own self-confidence. He feels truly blessed that he has had the opportunity to help so many people fall in love with the game that has given him so much. After all, if they are involved and fallen in love, then he knows where they are going to be…at the golf course with him.
Over ten years ago, Andy somehow convinced his wife Jennifer to marry him on May 30, 1998 and they have since been blessed with two boys; Alex (10) and Caleb (7).
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