By Nick Nahas
Mackenzie Mack eats, sleeps and dreams of golf. She is a player, student and teacher of the game. All three facets are equally important to her. You can even make the case that she is not only gifted in all three aspects, but she is one of the best in the world. “I enjoy the challenge of the sport,” Mack said. “You can never master this game, there is always something new that you can learn every day.”
The Las Vegas, Nevada native has become the fifth African-American woman in history to obtain class A PGA membership and the fourth to obtain both LPGA and PGA Class A memberships. In August she will compete in the LPGA T&CP National Championship.
The pro golfer has also taken an interest in teaching youth golf. She is the program director for the Tampa YMCA’s First Tee of Tampa Bay golf program. In 2016, Mack was recognized as one of the top golf teachers under the age of 40 in the U.S. by Golf Digest. Mackenzie and her sister, Sydnee, also started a nonprofit junior golf mentoring program called Tee It Up, Inc. According to Mack’s website, their mission is to support children and young adults from the ages of 6 to 18 in their efforts to become socially responsible, academically competitive and golf savvy. The company was awarded a grant in 2011 that sent Mack and her team to teach golf to kids in Bitburg, Germany.
Mack also wrote both a Men and Women’s Golf College Directory. The books were written to help golfers and their parents decide which college would be a good fit for them and how to go about contacting coaches of those schools. According to Mack, she decided to write the directories to help her students at the First Tee of Tampa Bay who didn’t have the proper information that they needed to make an informed decision.
Passion for the sport drives Mack to share her knowledge with a younger generation of golfers. “Golf gave me so much,” she said. “It’s important for me to show the kids they can do whatever they want through this game.” As for her playing career, Mack’s ultimate goal is to play in an LPGA event.
For more information, or to sign up for golf lessons with Mack, visit www.MackenzieMack.com.
