Stafford, VA – Mike Kenny, the Head PGA Professional at Falls Road Golf Course in Potomac, Maryland is the recipient of the MAPGA’s 2015 Player Development Award. This award bestows special recognition on a PGA Professional for exemplary contributions and achievements in the area of Player Development and for extraordinary efforts in conducting and/or supporting Play Golf America initiatives. This award considers the PGA Professional’s growth of the game leadership commitment at the Section and National levels, plus the impact made at his/her own facility. Kenny will be honored in front of his family, friends, and peers at the annual MAPGA Hall of Fame and Awards banquet on Saturday March 14, 2015 at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland
Originally from Fort Hood, Texas, Mike was raised just outside of Detroit in Waterford, Michigan. At the age of 10, he was introduced to the game of golf as he took his first job caddying at a local private course where his friend’s uncle was the caddie master. Soon thereafter, Mike started playing on caddie day at the course.
After graduating from Montgomery College, Mike started his career at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Mike was elected to PGA membership in 1996 and has held positions at Montgomery Country Club, Montgomery Village Golf Club, Argyle County Club, and Olney Golf Park, all located in Montgomery County, Maryland. In 2003, Mike found his professional home with MCG starting with the Assistant Professional position at Falls Road Golf Course. His outstanding work ethic and dedication to the golf industry led to his promotion to Head Professional at Needwood Golf Course in 2006. In 2011, Mike was called on again to create the MCG Golf Academy as Director of Instruction and return to Falls Road as the Head Professional where he still works today.
Through his involvement with various programs like Get Golf Ready, Boy Scouts of America, as well as the LPGA and USGA, Mike’s passion to grow the game of golf is insurmountable. Not only does Mike serve as the Head Professional at Falls Road Golf Course, he is also the Director of Instruction for the MCG Golf Academy. The MCG Golf Academy covers the instruction at ten facilities in Maryland with eleven PGA Professionals and one LPGA Professional, and eleven others who all teach under Mike’s management. One of the most successful programs is Get Golf Ready which consists of five group classes covering different topics each day including putting, chipping, irons, woods, and a day on the course. Classes are held to ten participants to ensure each individual gets plenty of one-on-one time with the professional. Currently, five of the ten facilities host Get Golf Ready classes, and although every member of his team has been trained to teach the class, eight of the instructors teach the class regularly. In 2014, there were 269 participants, 145 of which were from Mike’s home course of Falls Road.
Being a US Kids Golf Certified Instructor and a Titleist Certified Fitter, Mike is very supportive of initiatives that help grow the game of golf. A major initiative Mike created in 2011 was Free Family Golf Clinics. These clinics are great for families to learn the game of golf while spending time together. In 2014, there were 22 of these free one-hour clinics and over 400 people participated. In addition, the MCG Golf Academy developed a free program in 2014 that is coordinated through LPGA-USGA Girls Golf for girls age 7-17. Girls who register for the program attend free all-girls clinics at Falls Road Golf Course and receive a gift bag from the LPGA. Under the supervision of Mike and his LPGA Assistant, the program was a huge success in its first year with 35 girls participating. MCG Golf Academy also partners with The First Tee of Montgomery County. Three of Mike’s instructors are The First Tee Coaches and teach the program at four MCG properties reaching over 400 kids per year.
Mike believes that the instructional aspect of his profession is an important way to continue growing the game of golf and staying true to the reason he became a PGA Professional. He has taught over 10,000 private lessons since starting with MCG in 2003. Mike is passionate about giving all students the information he has acquired during his career. He creates a detailed plan for each student that allows them a clear pathway to improving in any aspect of the game that the student desires. With the plan, students can track progress and begin to see the rewards of their hard work and dedication, and in turn, it creates more enjoyment while playing the game of golf. Mike understands that score is not the only aspect of golf that people use to calculate enjoyment, and works individually with each of his students to achieve their own personal goals; whether that goal is to break 70, a great drive off the first tee, or a great chip that snuggled up for a “gimme”. Mike especially enjoys developing a short game strategy with all of his students; a way for them to understand the shot type, technique and execution for each shot around the green, eliminating wasted shots.
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and small portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Eric Southard
esouthard@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 101
