Wednesday, June 11, 2003
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Wednesday, June 11, 2003 |
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Coffee facility a mainstay on local golf scene By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
Thousands of people make the daily trek, driving up Ga. Highway 74 towards Fairburn and I-85. Each day they pass open fields and construction sites, as well as the Wendell Coffee Golf Center. Some of the commuters may go there to hit golf balls, play on the 18-hole miniature golf course or the 18-hole par-3 course, but even they may not know much about the man for which it is named, the caliber of his teaching staff or the history of the complex. Wendell Coffee, 56, is a Georgia native who fell in love with golf at a young age. A two-time state champion at Avondale High School, he took his game to the University of Florida where he was a part of their 1968 NCAA Championship team. After college, Coffee became a golf pro in 1971 and worked under Davis Love at the Atlanta Country Club before heading to the Southside and becoming the head pro at Flat Creek and Braelinn for 17 years from 1974-1991. Coffee and his wife, Ceresa, have lived in Peachtree City since 1974. They have four children: Jason, a golf pro in Orlando, Fla.; Sean, a golf pro at Wendell Coffee; Kelly; and Wendy. It was in 1991 that Coffee started building the golf center. The center opened in March of 1992 with the driving range and the putt course and the construction of the par-3 started in 1997 and opened in 1998. Coffee's friend Rocky Roquemore designed the whole complex. He has also designed local courses such as Planterra Ridge, Braelinn and SummerGrove, among others. The clubhouse has been the same since the doors opened but Coffee recently had a request to serve beer and wine approved by the Tyrone Town Council. Coffee expects to start serving sometime this summer and is looking to have a full-service restaurant this year. Coffee, named Georgia PGA Teacher of the Year in 2000 (a year after winning the Georgia Senior Open), states that the center's main purpose is as a teaching facility and as teaching facilities go, it is one of the best. The center has been a site for a five-day clinic that taught 110 Georgia PGA pros how to teach golf to others. Among the other teachers at the center are Coffee's son, Sean, 33, who has taught golf for 12 years; Steven Grubbs, 27, a former ranked tennis player that is now trying to make the PGA; and Coffee's longtime friend Mike Malone. Malone has played on the PGA Senior Tour with the big guns, people like Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Kite. He played in over 40 Senior PGA Tour events in 1999 and 2000 and his best finish was 11th place in the Kannapali EMC Classic in Hawaii in 2000. To prepare for his attempts at qualifying for the Senior PGA, Malone played in hundreds of mini-tournaments in the Southeast, sometimes playing four to five tournaments a week. Malone won over 140 tournaments during that period. After his stint with the Senior PGA, Malone returned to teaching. He has been a Head Professional in Georgia for 18 years and has had five junior students play major NCAA Division I golf at four different schools. Malone has been teaching at Wendell Coffee for over a year but he and Coffee have been friends for close to 30 years. Both have an intense love for the game and Coffee is quick to admit that Malone is the better golfer, although he also points out that there was one match-play tournament in which he beat his friend. Malone has won the Atlanta Classic seven times while Coffee has played in it once. "Perhaps the most important thing that we teach here is the most efficient golf swing," said Coffee, who states that it is the swing used by most professional golfers today. "It gets the maximum distance and accuracy. There is a sequence to it though. It is kind of like a dance step." The prices for the various teachers vary and golfers can either sign up for one class or four. Both Coffee and Malone swear by golf. "It is an athletic event that one can be competitive in later in life," said Coffee. "It is a mystery to be able to play well every day." Malone agreed, stating that "it is a sport in which you don't have to be a world class athlete to play well." For those looking to improve their games and really, which golfer is ever truly happy with their play? phone 770-969-4469 or drop by the Wendell Coffee golf center and play a round or two.
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