Kennedy, 59 and a native of Fairfield, CT, has spent 20 years at Westchester Country Club. He graduated from Fairfield University in 1972 and turned professional that year. He was elected to PGA membership in 1976, when he was an assistant professional at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y. He is the third member of the Metropolitan PGA Section to be named a recipient of the Horton Smith Award, which honors individuals for outstanding contributions to PGA Education.
In 1980, Kennedy was named PGA director of golf at Cold Spring Country Club in Huntington, N.Y., and served until 1990, before accepting his current position. He is a two-time Metropolitan PGA Merchandiser of the Year award recipient (1983, '91); was the 1997 Section PGA Professional of the Year; the Section 2005 Bill Strausbaugh Award winner; and is a three-time Section Horton Smith Award recipient (1985, '88 and 2009).
Kennedy had a rare link in his work at Westchester to one of the legendary PGA Professionals of all time, Harry "Lighthorse" Cooper, who before his death in 2000 served as an instructor at the club.
A mark of Kennedy's influence on the professional capabilities of his staff is that fifteen of his former assistants have gone on to PGA head professional positions. Among the many education programs he has supported include serving as a consultant to the Bhutan Junior Golf Association, which offers three- and six-month internships for aspiring PGA Professionals to help grow the game in the tiny Himalayan country bordered by India and China.
Introduced to golf through his father, Kennedy first caddied at age 12 at Brooklawn Country Club in Bridgeport, Conn. As a student at Fairfield Prep High School, Kennedy and two close friends practiced and learned the game at Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course, three miles from his home.
Nelson Long
Nelson Long attended Virginia Tech and distinguished his playing career by winning the 1972 Virginia PGA Open as an amateur. He also won the 1973 Virginia State Intercollegiate Championship before turning professional following graduation that year. He is the son of the late PGA Professional, Nelson Long Sr., who spent 40 years at The Homestead's Old Course in Hot Springs, VA.
Long, 59, served his apprenticeship working for his father at The Homestead, and in the spring of 1974 arrived at Century Country Club to serve under PGA Professional Charles Beverage, a two-time Section Horton Smith Award recipient. Following the untimely death of Beverage, Long became the PGA head professional at Century Country Club. He would go on to develop a strong relationship within his club and Section, and earn the nickname, "Uncle Nel," which was fostered by his assistants and former members. He is the second Metropolitan PGA member to receive the national Bill Strausbaugh Award.
Long was the recipient of the Metropolitan PGA 1999 Teacher of the Year Award; 2005 Horton Smith Award; and 2010 Bill Strausbaugh Award.
Long has been an ongoing supporter of the Westchester Caddie Scholarship Fund, the Metropolitan PGA Junior Golf Association, Women-at-Risk and the Columbian Presbyterian Hospital program to aid women with breast cancer. At Century Country Club, he guided the formation of a pro-am fundraiser in 1992 that has spread to multiple area clubs, and has raised millions in research funds to benefit the Dystonia and Parkinson Foundations.
For the past 28 winters, Long has also served as golf director at Tryall Club, while teaming with the Jamaican Tourist Board to aid that nation's tourism efforts. In 1988, Long founded the Tryall Golf School, where he attracted many of America's premier teaching professionals.
Long's tenure at Century Country Club has brought another distinction: He is the only PGA Professional to have mentored three assistants who went on to win PGA Professional National Championships – John Gentile, Darrell Kestner and Ron McDougal. A fourth Century Country Club assistant, Gary Ostrega, was national runner-up in 1984. Two of his current assistants, Frank Bensel and CJ Reeves, are potent competitors today.
I can personally attest to Nelson's prowess as a teacher, too. He's given me many a lesson about keeping my swing on plane and using an aggressive swing for short trouble shots around the green.
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