MOVERS&SHAKE-UPS By Bill Huffman
Smith says farewell to First Tee of Phoenix
G
ood things happen to good people, and Hugh Smith Jr., the executive director of the First Tee of Phoenix, is living
proof. In fact, Smith is so good at what he does — teach kids about life skills through the game of golf — he’s leaving Phoenix “for a great new adventure.” “I’ve never even been to Alaska,”
marveled Smith, who will become the regional affairs director for the First Tee’s Western Region at the end of December. That region, one of six across the country, includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and, yes, those frigid fairways way up North. “It’s the best of both worlds for me,”
added Smith, who grew up in Monterrey, Calif. “Now I’ll get to spend a little more time in my old neighborhood, and maybe play a little golf, and I’ll still get to live in Scottsdale with my family.” Smith and his wife, Keeyonna, have
two children — a 4-year-old daughter, Jordan, and a 2-year-old son, Cameron. That’s another area where he’ll get back occasionally to the First Tee of Phoenix, a program he has led since 2006. “Jordan and I just attended our
very First Tee of Phoenix event at Papago as daughter and father rather than me being the executive director,” the 39-year-old Smith said with a laugh. “That was cool, and I’m looking forward to coming back to the First Tee of Phoenix for those types of things every chance I get.” Why not? Smith is leaving behind the No. 1 First Tee chapter in the
www.azgolf.org
The Smith family — Keeyonna, Hugh, son Cameron and daughter Jordan — will continue to reside in Scottsdale.
country, one that impacted over 100,000 youngsters throughout Maricopa County. He’s also responsible for the First Tee of Phoenix being spread out over the Valley at 13 different golf courses. It’s quite a legacy he has built, indeed. Then again, it’s what we’ve come
to expect from Smith, who grew up in a military family, played all his junior and high school golf around Pebble, became good friends with Tiger Woods as a kid and went on to become a college standout at Jackson State. “I remember when I won the National
Minority Golf Tournament (in 1996) and was proclaimed the top minority amateur in the country,” Smith said, again laughing. “The joke was I got that honor because Tiger had just turned pro.” Smith is always the modest type,
but there is a good chance that bigger things still are awaiting him. As Joe Louis Barrow Jr., the only CEO in the history of the First Tee, gets nearer to retirement, many in the golf world think Smith is being groomed as his successor.
SHAKE-UPS Fans of the Waste Management Phoenix Open are in for some new looks when they visit the TPC Scottsdale in late January for the annual “Greatest Show on Grass.” Most startling will be the new Augusta-white sand in the bunkers, which make the hazards literally jump
out visually from the green grass. There’s also a little more length to the TPC, with six holes — Nos. 3, 4, 14, 15, 17 and 18 — offering an entirely bigger picture off the tee. You will love the new Church Pew bunker at the final hole, which will keep most players from blowing their drive over that bunker at the end of the lake. And, yes, the par-3 16th hole, where Fenway Park seems to collide with the Thunderdome, is bigger than ever. A tip of the cap goes to one of the TPC’s original designers, Tom Weiskopf, who oversaw the changes, thus earning the right to cut the ceremonial ribbon during festivities in mid-November. Curt Hudek has resigned as
executive director of the Southwest Section of the PGA. Frank Calvin, the SWPGA’s director of marketing, has been named interim director. Along with those changes, Don Rea, the owner/ general manager of Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Mesa, has resigned as president of the SWPGA. Rea has been replaced by Greg Leicht, formerly the group’s secretary as well as general manager at Vistal Golf Club. . . . Steve Leonard is the new general
manager at Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale. Leonard, who left the helm at Tatum Ranch Golf Club, is heading up the Talking Stick operation for the new Arnold Palmer Management Group out of Texas. . . . And, finally, get ready for Arizona’s
newest golf course — Wickenburg Ranch Golf & Social Club. The rolling, 18-hole layout is northwest of Wickenburg near the old Merv Griffin Inn and Dude Ranch, just off Vulture Mine Road and across from Los Caballeros Golf Club. Wickenburg Ranch is a 2,500-acre-plus property and club that is private but open to the public for a limited time. Believe it or not, the course has been around since 2007 without opening its doors. Look for more details in AZ GOLF Insider’s Preview edition in early 2015. n
ANNUAL2014 | AZ GOLF Insider | 41
COURTESY SMITH FAMILY
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