This unique job title is a Cool Golf Thing

AVON PARK, Fla. - Sometimes, you can tell you're going to enjoy a golf course before you've even glimpsed the first tee.

There are a lot of made-up job titles in corporate America. At Pinecrest Golf Club in south-central Florida, one employee has an unusual title that every golf course would do well to think about instituting.

Her name is Kay Maher, and she's Pinecrest's Director of First Impressions. Once you get out of your car, the sounds of yacht-rock fill your ears. Hits by Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran and, of course, Jimmy Buffett (this is Florida, after all) drift across the parking lot. Impression #1: this golf course may be almost 100 years old, but it has the distinct relaxed vibe of a budget-friendly 21st-century operation.

Kay is the perfect pro-shop person: Chipper, welcoming and knowledgeable about the course that has been her office for nearly 20 years. Some customer-facing golf folks deliver friendly lines with the weight of years of rote repetition. How many thousands of golfers has Kay greeted over the years? Nevertheless, Kay's greeting to me felt utterly fresh. As a first-time visitor to Pinecrest, I instantly felt like I belonged. The 90-minute drive from my house was worthwhile and I hadn't even put club to ball.

It's safe to say Kay and her colleagues do not have off-days. As of this writing, Pinecrest has 116 reviews on GolfPass. Its overall rating of 4.3 underscores its status as a solid public course. But in the category-by-category breakdown, its near-perfect 4.8 Friendliness score could not be less surprising. I'll gladly add to the parade of 5-star Friendliness scores for Pinecrest. I would award it 6 stars if I could.

Pinecrest may not be a world-beater course-wise, but I plan to return before too long because I know I will be treated well. The $36 I paid to play there at the tail end of Florida's peak golf season was worth each penny, thanks in large part to the Director of First Impressions.

Cool Golf Things

March 22, 2019

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