...Carolina Golf News Line                          Kiawah Island Golf Hole

New assignments for PGA Professionals announced at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

The Ocean Course Head Professional Brian Gerard accepts position as Director of Golf

KIAWAH ISLAND, SC (Thursday, September 07, 2006) – Roger Warren, president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort and outgoing president of the PGA of America, today announced four new staff assignments, including the promotion of Brian Gerard to the position of the resort’s director of golf. Gerard, who had served as Head Professional of The Ocean Course, will now oversee the golf operations of all five of the resort’s courses. Stephen Youngner will move from his head professional position at the resort’s Oak Point course to head professional at The Ocean Course. Ronnie Miller will move from head professional at the resort’s Turtle Point course to become the director of golf instruction, and Mark Schaffer will move from first assistant professional at The Ocean Course to head professional at Turtle Point.

A graduate of Western Illinois University, Gerard joined the Kiawah team in 1986. He served as the Head Professional at Turtle Point for five years before being named the head professional at The Ocean Course in 1995. He has been a PGA member since July 1989 and is certified in General Management. He was named Carolinas PGA merchandiser of the year in 2005 and is a member of the Carolinas PGA Board of Directors. Gerard and his wife Lynn have been married since 1993.

Stephen Youngner has been named as the new head professional at The Ocean Course. Youngner has been at Kiawah since 1997 where he began his career at Osprey Point, serving as first assistant for four years before being named head professional at Oak Point in August of 2003. While in the PGA of America’s Professional Golf Management Program, he was awarded the prestigious Titleist/Foot-Joy Apprentice Scholarship for outstanding achievement. He became a PGA Member in May 2003 and has achieved certification in both General Management and Golf Operations. Youngner attended the University of Georgia. He and his wife Sara have been married since 2002.

Ronnie Miller is stepping down as head professional at Turtle Point to assume the position of director of golf instruction, a position that has been vacant since the death of South Carolina golf legend Tommy Cuthbert. Miller is the former director of golf at Oristo Golf and Tennis Resort on Edisto Island, S.C. He has been a PGA member since 1979 and was a PGA Tour member in 1982. Miller was a two time member of the S.C. PGA Cup team, and with Mark Schaffer won the 2001 Carolinas PGA Senior-Junior. He joined the Kiawah team in 1989 and served as the head professional at Osprey Point for 10 years before assuming the same duties at Turtle Point in the spring of 2000. He attended the University of South Carolina, and he and his wife, Jan, have a son and a daughter.

Mark Schaffer will assume Miller’s position as head professional at Turtle Point. While Schaffer will be coming from The Ocean Course where he has served first assistant professional since 2003, he’s no stranger to Turtle Point as it is where he started his employment with Kiawah Island Golf Resort in 1997. He served as first assistant from 1999 to 2003 prior to his move to The Ocean Course. Schaffer earned his PGA membership in 2004 and is certified in General Management. Last January, he was named as one of the “Top 25 Assistant Golf Professionals” in the U.S. by Golf Digest's Golf Shop Yearbook. Schaffer attended Southwest Oklahoma State University on a golf scholarship. He and his wife, Lisa, have been married since 1997 and have a 15-month old son.

“One of the common themes of the numerous awards and accolades that the resort has been fortunate enough to receive over the past couple of years is the high level of personal service, professionalism and friendliness of our staffs,” said Warren. “Each of these individuals have shown an outstanding ability to both make sure the golf operations run at top efficiency while giving our guests the highest very best experience. I look forward to working with this team to make Kiawah Island the top golf resort in the world.”

Named the No. 1 golf resort in the U.S. by readers of Travel + Leisure Golf magazine in September 2006, Kiawah Island Golf Resort is located just a short 35-minute drive from beautiful and historic Charleston, South Carolina. The resort lies along 10 miles of uninterrupted Atlantic Ocean beach, rated as one of America’s top 10 beaches by The Travel Channel. Guests can choose from close to 600 villas and luxury homes and the 255-room Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, which boasts a nature-based spa, fine dining and handsome meeting space. The resort features two award-winning tennis complexes, a variety of restaurants and lounges, and 10 miles of Atlantic beach. 

For more information about Kiawah Island Golf Resort, please call (888) 854-2924 or visit online at http://www.kiawahgolf.com/. For more information on The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, visit www.TheSanctuary.com or call (877) 683-1234.


For more information about Kiawah Island Real Estate or the private Kiawah Island Club, please call (800) 277-7008 or visit www.kiawahisland.com.