Discovering a Career in Golf Through a Passion for the Game
Mark McClearin, PGA hitting a tee shot at the 2025 Pro-Pro Championship
Like most kids, Mark McClearin grew up playing multiple sports. There was baseball, basketball and golf, but when he turned 12 Mark started to turn his focus to golf. “I had to go to the range,” he said, reflecting on his early days.
Growing up in Rockwall through 2nd grade, McClearin would go to the A-1 Golf Center every Sunday with his dad. The reward? A cold RC Cola after hitting a bucket of balls on the range. In 3rd grade Mark moved to Aledo and found a friend who also had a passion for golf. The two would spend all day at the Par-3 course in Benbrook or at Pecan Valley Golf Course. “Mom would drop me off in the morning and then come pick me up at 5 p.m.”
Moving away from Texas to Cincinnati, Ohio, and Boise, Idaho, didn’t stop McClearin’s love of the game. He continued to practice and began playing junior golf tournaments in both cities. He also began taking lessons for the first time with a PGA of America Golf Professional named TJ Gomez.
A return to Rockwall led McClearin to join the Ewing Automotive NTPGA Junior Tour in 2007, his junior year of high school. “I remember feeling like it was an actual tour. You felt like you were playing on a bigger level,” he said. “[I was] semi-obsessed with the points list every summer.”
Striving to compete at a high level on the Junior Tour, McClearin felt the need to continue taking lessons. He put in a phone call to Randy Smith, PGA at Royal Oaks Country Club. With his docket full, Smith recommended Tony Martinez, PGA, at Keeton Park Golf Course. Unbeknownst to McClearin, Martinez was the college roommate of his former coach TJ Gomez.
There was an immediate bond between the two, which eventually progressed to Martinez offering McClearin a job in the Keeton Park golf shop the summer after his senior year of high school. “I can have a job and get paid and hang out at a golf course all day. It never felt like work,” said McClearin about his first job in the golf industry.
After that summer, McClearin moved back to Idaho to attend Boise State University.
“When I went to Boise State and tried to walk on the team. I felt like a hot shot. I was not as good as I thought I was. Out of high school I could have played Division II golf, but I wanted to go to a big school. Wanted to go to football games and have some fun outside of class.”
Although playing on the golf team did not work out, McClearin was still able to stay connected to the game by working at the local golf course. “It was a good way to make money and get free range balls.”
After graduating in 2013, McClearin moved back to DFW and was in search of what he wanted to do to begin his career. After about a month of searching he reached out to Tony Martinez again, and the two set-up a meeting.
“When I sat down with Tony and Brent [Lingel] on the first day back the phone started ringing at the counter and no one was there to answer it. So I picked up the phone and made a tee time. Brent said, “Well I guess you’re hired.” A few weeks later Tony and I had the conversation about starting at Keeton Park full time and he explained PGA options to me. We both decided, “let’s do it!”
That was McClearin’s “greenlight moment” where he knew he wanted to be working in the golf industry. “All my buddies were coming back home [from college] and working in an office eight hours a day, and I don’t think they enjoyed that, but I never went to work and had a bad day. It was a no-brainer.”
For the next two years Mark learned the in-and-outs of the golf industry while at Keeton Park. He learned how to adapt to your customer base and what customer service in the golf industry really means. “I know Martin Flores, not the one who played professionally. I still remember this guy, he would come in every Wednesday at 5:00 (?) p.m. and hit a medium bucket. It’s having it ready on the counter when he is walking up. It’s putting out those vibes and creating a culture.”
In the fall of 2015 a new intriguing opportunity became available. The new Maridoe Golf Club was preparing to open and was looking for an assistant professional. “It was a tough decision to leave Keeton Park, but it was a challenge to go do something new.”
The switch from Keeton Park to Maridoe was not without its challenges. With a golf course that was not yet open and just a driving range for members to utilize, the only thing that McClearin did for six months was book reciprocal tee times for members at other clubs in the area. During that down time though, the foundation for the culture was beginning to be built at Maridoe Golf Club.
Marc Weilgosz, PGA director of golf, started to emphasize what levels of service were expected and the culture of the club. McClearin learned how to provide elite levels of service. “At our core we are a very challenging golf course, and as a staff we have high expectations of service and attention to detail.”
“It took me getting a little older for it all to really click. We’re all in this together - a team is a team.”
The idea of empathy is at the top of the priority list for the Maridoe staff now. “How does a member feel when they get to the club and they have to carry their golf bag in from the car, or when they get to the range and one of their amenities is missing. How does a member feel at this moment and how does the guest feel? Thinking about those things is how we can make people feel something special when they are here.”
After four years of working at Maridoe Golf Club, McClearin earned his PGA membership and graduated from the Associate ranks on November 1, 2019. In January of 2023 he was promoted to be the head golf professional and oversee all golf operations at the club.
What does a head golf professional do?
“I learned financials and how the club runs. Manage the staff and member experience day-to-day. I had never thought about things like who approves the soap that gets used, buying and receiving daily supplies.”
In addition to approving soap, McClearin teaches lessons for 5-6 hours a week and is able to get on the course with members to play 9-holes a few times each week.
“We all got into this business ultimately because we love this game. I was never going to be the guy who lets my job take away my love of the game.”
McClearin credits Tony Martinez for kickstarting his career. “He’s a big part of what I do now.” Every few months the two will have a phone call to pick each other's brains about situations or scenarios that they are facing. “Everyone knows Tony, he’s the easiest guy in the world to talk to. I still pick his brain as a mentor figure every couple of months.”
McClearin’s advice to anyone interested in the golf industry.
- If you want to play college golf go somewhere that you can play on the starting five and play every tournament.
- If you want to start working in the industry there are many different options. Get a taste for the different options and start to hone in on the ones that you like. Go to a public course and show them that you know how to talk to people and get an assistant pro job. Go to a private club and start outside. Figure out what it is that you want to do, but remember there is no pressure.
- Find your connection to the game. “I wanted to work in golf, I wanted to teach and I wanted to play. My connection just happened to be at Keeton Park.”
“I never thought being a PGA of America Golf Professional would open up the doors and avenues that it has. At the age of 16 I would not have thought that I could travel to some of the places that I have to play golf and meet some of the people that I have and befriend them. It would have seemed like a far fetched novel that I was not a part of. I really don't feel like I work. I never go home at the end of the day and be like oh man that was awful. For me it [working in golf] has always been a home run.”
