Mark Wehrman, the new Director of Golf
Mark is our new Director of Golf at The Landings. It was our pleasure to sit and talk with him on his fourth day at The Landings to get a more complete picture of exactly who he is and why we are fortunate to have him here with us.
Mark played golf in both high school and college and started in the golf industry after he graduated. Mark worked as assistant golf professional at The Club at Pelican Bay and later as 1st Assistant at Olde Florida Golf Club in Naples before serving for several years as the General Manager at Eaglerock Golf Course in Billings, Montana, and then eventually as Head Golf Professional at Big Sky Resort in Big Sky, Montana.
His family lives here in the area and that led Mark and his wife Ginger to come back to Fort Myers where, most recently, Mark was the Director of Instruction at Top Golf in Fort Myers.
Mark told us he used to live in Naples and met his wife Ginger at the old Bonita Springs Greyhound Dog track. “She was playing poker, and I luckily got seated next to her. She told me I talked funny and the rest is history. We got married on Fort Myers Beach. We loved Montana and our time working there, but the winters just were too harsh.” They started “snowbirding” here during his later years there.
They bought a place here in 2020, and while Mark went back to finish up in Montana, his wife stayed here, and he said, “She had to weather Hurricane Ian alone while I could only watch the storm on television!”
When we asked how he ended up applying at The Landings, he smiled and said, “I was giving lessons at Olde Corkscrew, stopped on way home for a beer, ran into an old friend, and he told me about the opening. Steve Carney called me the following day, and I put my resume together immediately. I knew it was a perfect fit for me.”
We asked what he has enjoyed about his first few days at The Landings, and he immediately said, “The members have made me feel so welcome by coming up to introduce themselves and welcome me to The Landings.”
In his first year here, he said, “While continuing the professionalism, I want to make some significant long-term changes to move The Landings forward, such as better communication with members, making some tournament changes, and giving more attention to detail.”
While working in Montana, he wrote articles for the Explorer Big Sky Montana, and he is looking forward to contributing articles for both the Newsletter and Happy Landings about upcoming events, golf tips on rules and etiquette, as well as ways to play better.
Mark also wants to improve our golf shop and merchandise and plans to have some major sales so be on the lookout for some advertisements for that.
When we asked how he would like to help new (and old) golfers with their games, he replied, “The only way to improve is to practice and play. I want to offer a variety of clinics, and more group clinics to break the game down to fundamentals. I want to educate new members by offering not only a newsletter, but also by encouraging them to reach out and ask for help with rules and etiquette.”
We asked what he enjoys on his days off, and he said, “Ginger and I love to get out on the water, and we enjoy hopping on our jet ski. Occasionally, we get to play golf, and I recently took up pickleball, but won’t have much time for that now.”
In interviewing Mark, it is easy to see that he is excited to get back to a golf course full-time and is looking forward to being at The Landings. He said, “I want to retire here.”
