Massachusetts native shines light on both private and public courses
BROOKFIELD, Wis. – Mark A. Mungeam, ASGCA, of Douglas, Massachusetts, was elected president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) at the organization’s recent 79th Annual Meeting on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
A native of Berlin, Massachusetts, Mungeam is a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate of Worcester (Massachusetts) Polytechnic Institute (WPI). His introduction to golf was unique: he used a baseball glove to shag golf shots for his little league coach.
Later, thanks to a cut-down 5-iron given to him by an uncle, he began hitting whiffle balls around the house. At age 15, Mungeam won a closest-to-the-pin contest at a local fair, stroking a 75-yard shot to within 3 feet. The prize was a year-long membership at Berlin Country Club, the local 9-hole course.
An interest in golf course architecture took root when Mungeam was in college. He served as greenskeeper – part of a two-man maintenance team – at the Berlin course.
“The owner wanted to lengthen the par 32 course, so, I read, ‘The Golf Course’ by (ASGCA Past President) Geoffrey Cornish and ASGCA Donald Ross Award recipient Ron Whitten,” Mungeam said, “to learn more about golf course design so I could help him. I was awed by the courses in the book and decided I wanted to be a golf course architect. I then wrote to Mr. Cornish and, being a gentleman, he wrote back.” So began what would become a 40-year friendship.
At Cornish’s suggestion, Mungeam worked in golf construction for four years after college, “But I always had an eye out for golf course design,” he said. When Cornish’s partner, Brian Silva, called in 1987 with an offer to work in their office and “go out on a job once in a while,” Mungeam jumped at the chance.
“Brian and Mr. Cornish were very different in how they approached work and what they did,” Mungeam said. “It was a learning opportunity. Mr. Cornish had designed hundreds of courses and I saw how good he was about responding to people and helping them get into golf course architecture. I worked more closely with Brian, who mentored me on strategic course design.”
Early new course designs such as Shaker Hills Golf Club (Harvard, Massachusetts) and Cyprian Keyes Golf Club (Boylston, Massachusetts) were named by Golf Digest as two of the best new public courses and his Links of Hiawatha Landing Course (Binghamton, New York) garnered Mungeam attention for their public course design attributes.
Mungeam also oversaw several renovations at Olympia Fields Country Club in Chicago, in preparation for hosting several tournaments, including the 1997 U.S. Senior Open, the 2003 U.S. Open (won by Jim Furyk), the 2015 U.S. Amateur and the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA.
In 2006, Mungeam opened his solo practice. When designing, Mungeam utilizes a site’s natural characteristics to determine the style of the course. He believes frequent and extensive visits during construction are critical to a successful project, as they allow the architect hands-on opportunities to improve the design or reduce work.
Becoming an ASGCA member was an expectation for Mungeam, which happened in 1991.
“It’s such an honor to be an ASGCA member,” he said. “I have learned about different styles of golf and golf course architecture. Some of the friendships gained and discussions had at meetings and afterwards have been so beneficial in my career. Considering I grew up on a 9-hole course routed in a pasture, it’s pretty impressive.”
Mungeam has not forgotten where it all began.
“Improving and retaining courses for public play is important to me,” he said. “I grew up playing public courses and now a lot of my work is on the public course side. There are a myriad of issues that impact pace of play, maintenance cost, safety and revenue.
“Public golf tends to be forgotten a bit; some people do not expect a course to be as good or meet the standard of a private course. When we raise the standard at a public facility it brings great appreciation from those who play the course.”
Some of Mungeam’s other noteworthy designs include: Charleston Springs Golf Course, Monmouth County, New Jersey; LeBaron Hills Country Club, Lakeville, Massachusetts; Connecticut National, Putnam, Connecticut; and the renovation of Farm Neck Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard.
Mungeam and his wife, Leslie Breault, live in Douglas, Massachusetts. They have five children.