Mark Mungeam elected president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects 

Mark Mungeam of Douglas, Mass., 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. 

Born in Berlin, Mass., Mungeam studied civil and environmental engineering at Worcester (Massachusetts) Polytechnic Institute (WPI). 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. 

Mungeam’s career in golf course design began at Berlin CC in college.

“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 Mungeam described as a become a 40-year friendship. Mungeam also became an ASGCA member 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 said he 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 the 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.” 

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