N.J. club names director of golf

Golf professional Carolyn McKenzie Andrews joined Forsgate Country Club as its director of golf. The Pennsylvania native’s focus is to help Forsgate maintain its standard of providing an excellent private club value. Forsgate is located in Monroe Township, N.J.
 
Staying within the RDC Golf Group, McKenzie Andrews moves from the company-owned and operated Tuscawilla Country Club in Winter Springs, Fla., where she served as head golf professional for nearly eight years. It's somewhat of a homecoming for McKenzie Andrews, who grew up learning the game outside of Philadelphia, from her father, uncle and grandfather who all served as head golf professionals for well-established country clubs in the area.
 
“I am very excited about working at Forsgate,” says McKenzie Andrews.  “I have been lucky enough to have been up there during the Sovereign Bank Charity event and met some great members who made me feel very welcome.”
 
McKenzie Andrews brings a wealth of experience and honors to the esteemed Forsgate courses, particularly in the area of youth instruction. In 2008, McKenzie Andrews was named by U.S. Kids Golf as one of America’s Top 50 Kids Teachers for the third time in five years. She becomes the only current golf instructor now teaching in New Jersey to be recognized with this honor.
 
McKenzie Andrews will apply those skills and many others, while working in tandem with Gia Bocra, Forsgate’s Class A LPGA Professional and former television anchor for The Fine Living Network’s Wandering Golfer series.
 
“I am very much looking forward to Carolyn’s contributions to the Forsgate legacy,” says General Manager Det Williams. “Our members and their families will benefit greatly from her generous and giving nature. Giving back to the game has been Carolyn’s hallmark, evidenced by the recognition she has gained by her multiple ‘Top 50 Kids Teacher Awards.’
 
“In teaming up with Gia, they will surely catapult our junior golf program to a new level as they nurture tomorrow’s members today. I am confident her experience and enthusiasm will result in many lasting relationships with the members and staff of Forsgate.”
 
In 2007, McKenzie Andrews received national acclaim when she introduced the Healthy Kids Golf program, a unique series of clinics that teaches children the game of golf while providing informal instruction on the importance of developing a healthy diet and exercise regimen. It was designed to encourage children to pick up a golf club and engage in healthy outdoor activities, rather than spend all day on a cell phone or playing video games.
 
“Growing Forsgate’s junior golf program will be one of my goals,” notes McKenzie Andrews. “We have a great teaching professional in Gia, and I am excited to collaborate with her on clinics and camps that will excite our youngest members.”
 
McKenzie Andrews plans to work closely with the club’s adult members as well. She will be responsible for the oversight and operations of the golf department, including the instruction, member tournament, golf outing and merchandising program. In addition, she will lead the department’s professional staff by directing their efforts toward the highest standard of service and execution and will work closely with the grounds superintendent and his staff to insure a world-class level of playability on either of the acclaimed Banks or Palmer courses.
 
Forsgate Country Club offers two outstanding courses – the classic Palmer Course, and the Banks Course, which has been rated the “No. 2 Private Golf Course in the State” by New Jersey Monthly magazine. Recent expansion included a new short game practice area that boasts two greens for pitch/chip shots, two bunkers (reminiscent of the design style of both courses), and a fairway to allow for golfers to practice approach shots up to 60 yards. Also added was a new 3,000 square ft. putting surface connected to the existing putting green to provide a practice area nearly twice its original size.