MIKE SCULLY, PGA Director of Golf

MIKE SCULLY, PGA Director of Golf

Medinah Country Club

The 39th Ryder Cup opens at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club on Sept. 28, adding another rung to a rich heritage of a proud Midwestern facility that has many moments in golf’s spotlight. It is Medinah’s time to shine again, and the state of Illinois to enjoy a week as the focal point in the world of sports.

The Ryder Cup’s first visit to Illinois also marks a bittersweet moment for Medinah PGA Director of Golf Mike Scully, who will oversee his final event at the historic club. The 46-year-old Scully, the 12th PGA Professional to lead Medinah since it opened in 1925, has accepted a PGA director of golf position at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz. He takes over that role following the Ryder Cup.

“I have been blessed to be a part of so many great moments at Medinah, it is with a heavy heart that I look forward to seeing the club showcased on the greatest stage in golf,” says Scully, who grew up 15 minutes north of Medinah in Mount Prospect, Ill. “It is so deserved for all that they have done to contribute to this great game!”

Scully became Medinah’s PGA head professional in 2004, and was named PGA director of golf in 2010. His term in office included leading a staff to host the 2006 PGA Championship, one of five major championships conducted at Medinah. The planning for a Ryder Cup, says Scully, has expanded considerably the past six years.

“We have more than 700 members of the Illinois PGA Section serving as volunteers along with our staff of 150,” says Scully. “The infrastructure we will have for 24 players in the Ryder Cup is 2½ times what it was for 156 players in 2006 (at the PGA Championship).”

Scully said that Medinah’s refinements, applied by architect Rees Jones in 2002, enhance the match-play potential of the host No. 3 Course.

“The changes that Rees Jones made were needed, and they have added a lot of movement to the greens,” says Scully. “The 15th hole, particularly, where a lake was added short and right of the green and converting it into a drivable par-4, will be a great risk-reward hole. It should make it exciting for the players as well as spectators.”

Scully is one of the few PGA Professionals to have entered the profession after first pursuing a career in the National Football League. Scully was a center for the University of Illinois, playing on a Big Ten Conference Championship team and in the 1984 Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Then a 6-foot-5, 325-pounder, Scully was signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins in 1988.

However, after spending one year as a backup to a Pro Bowl center, Scully's football dream faded. He was cut by the Redskins, and soon followed by what he called “a cup of coffee” stop with the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, and in 1990, a short term with the Bologna Towers in Italy.

Scully carried a college degree in hospitality management, and after the NFL experience, he worked at his father's Chicago steel company. However, it was not what Scully wanted or where he wanted to devote his career.

The son of John Scully, a 4-handicap golfer, Mike decided to change his job search at a golf facility. He was hired in 1994 as the fourth assistant professional at The Forest Club in Fort Myers, Fla., where he trained under PGA Director of Golf Jim Butler. Scully entered into a food & beverage position.

“Jim Butler walked me through the life of being a club professional,” said Scully. “He was really my mentor. I enrolled into the PGA Professional Golf Management program and passed my PAT (Playing Ability Test).

Scully declared himself a golf professional in 1994, was elected to PGA membership in 1999, and was promoted to PGA head professional at The Forest. In 2002, he made a trip to Medinah to address club members about joining The Forest for a winter membership.

One year later, Scully was named to succeed Mike Harrigan as PGA head professional at Medinah Country Club.

Scully said his Medinah experience served as an appreciation of more than 600 members “who have a sincere passion for the game of golf,” and who give back to support many programs and charitable causes.

“Our members are very philanthropic and have been big supporters of many causes, including Patriot Golf Day and the Folds of Honor Foundation,” Scully says. “They don’t forget about helping those who have served for us.”

As he reflects upon his PGA career, Scully recalls the support he received from Butler.

“Jim told me ‘always remember that you are the employee and that you work for the membership.’ ” Scully says, who also reflected upon a prime piece of advice from his father.

“My Dad said to treat everyone you meet the way you want to be treated,” Scully says. “I have always been a people person. This is a game that I love and the passion that I see from so many who play it and work to make it better.”

Scully says that in addition to challenge his father, a multiple club champion, his top moment on a golf course took place in 2011 in the Coral Creek Championship in Port Charlotte, Fla. It was then that Scully recorded his first hole-in-one, helping his pro-am team to victory.

“President Bush was on the course that day and signed the hole flag for me,” says Scully. “It was a proud moment for me. I have had two double eagles, but had never had an ace until that day.”

Another proud moment, Scully attests, will take place when the first Ryder Cup tee shot is struck at Medinah Country Club.

“That will be a proud moment for all of us,” he says.

Scully and his wife, Kristie, live in Elgin, Ill., and are parents of a daughter, Taylor, and two sons, Peyton and Jack.

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