After twenty years as your Golf Professional at Mayacama Golf Club, I feel that the time has come to step away from my position as Head Golf Professional and ease into retirement by taking on a different role here at the Club…that of Honorary Golf Professional. This new status will take effect in October following our Men’s Member-Guest Tournament and will allow me to focus primarily on teaching and assist as needed with Club tournaments, both on a part-time basis. I will also look forward to representing Mayacama Golf Club in my role as Vice Chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee at Major Championships and as a Referee at the upcoming Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup Matches. Mayacama has been home to Susie and me for the past twenty years. I am extremely grateful to Jonathan Wilhelm and his family for bestowing this title of “Honorary Golf Professional” and this new role at Mayacama as we move into the next chapter of our lives.

I take a great deal of pride in all that we have accomplished as a Club in our twenty years together. We received “Top 100 Golf Courses in America” status in several of the major Golf publications. We spread the goodwill of our Club throughout the USA, Europe, and the United Kingdom through our Member Golf trips and Interclub Competitions. Our Club is now recognized and established among influential people in all aspects of the game. In short, we put ourselves “on the map”!

We also created a “Club Culture” that promotes and observes the traditions of the game…a culture that continues to be a guiding star for our Members today. We opened our Club to local and national charities to significantly benefit people in need, including victims of 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. Through our work with Sonoma County Children’s Charities, we have raised over 9.5 million dollars for children in need in Sonoma County. We have given back to the game by hosting Championships at the Junior, Senior, Mid-Amateur, and Collegiate levels. And we have taken care of our own when faced with challenges like wildfires and a national pandemic. And most recently, we committed ourselves to growing the game of Golf within our own Membership, ensuring the health and sustainability of our Club and our Membership for years to come.

During my 40 years as a Golf Professional, I am most proud of how we as a Club established ourselves in the world of Golf and made a positive impact on the game. Now I feel that the time has come to pass the baton, and I do so with confidence that the trajectory that we created for this Club will continue along the same path as we move into the future. The game of Golf is changing rapidly, and with that growth, we are seeing signs of progress for the better…more inclusion, more diversity, and more opportunities for a wider range of players, opportunities that even in recent years did not exist. At Mayacama we have embraced those changes while maintaining our focus on playing the game in the traditional way.

The question of “who will be our next Golf Professional” will be addressed over the coming months. Because of the reputation and the quality of our Club, we will undoubtedly attract a great deal of interest from Golf Professionals throughout the country. We will carefully evaluate those individuals and their qualities and then select a small group of candidates whom we feel will best fill this position and begin the interview process. And at the top of that list of candidates is our own Zach Makilan, who like me, has been a part of this Club since opening day. We will continue to update you on our progress as we move through the selection process.

On a personal level, there are just too many people to thank here…all of whom played integral roles in the creation of Mayacama at its inception. You know who you are, and I shall send my personal appreciation to each of you. And to the entire Membership, I wish to thank you all for making Mayacama what it is today and for your support over these past twenty years. Mayacama has become home and family to Susie and me. We are grateful for all that has transpired over the last twenty years…from the highs and the lows, we reveled in our successes and with your help, we “rose from the ashes” after our devastating loss in the Tubbs fire. You were there for us, and we shall never forget it. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

With all good wishes,

Ted Antonopoulos, Head Golf Professional