Interview: Terry Stiltner is ready to, “get the community excited about golf”
By JOHN ANDERSON,
The Wellsville Country Club has hired a new PGA Professional.Terry Stiltner, a native of Daytona Beach, Fla., has had an impressive career between Florida, Western New York and Olean and even worked as the male golf pro with the LPGA.
Stiltner has won national PGA awards for the designs and products in his pro shops. It’s no wonder. When the Wellsville Sun stopped for an interview, Stiltner was going back and forth from clearing out the bag room to making the baseboards of the pro shop shine. He was unwrapping new clubs, talking about his vision and excited to get the community excited about golf again.
Randy Shayler, the interim executive director Wellsville Country Club, said, “The Wellsville community and the Wellsville Country Club is very fortunate to have someone of his background and capability.”
Stiltner, who has spent the last 24 years in Western New York, talked about his love of golf, his career and what he wants to bring to Wellsville:
The Sun: What got you into golf?
Terry Stiltner: A retired PGA professional from Kentucky (Ozzie Bartlett, whopassed away in the 1980’s) lived across the street from my grandparents and introduced me to golf. I started playing at Riviera Country Club in Ormond Beach, Fla., at age 11. I still have friends there who are tour professionals.
The Sun: When did you know golf was your future?
Terry Stiltner: When I was learning the game, a retired PGA pro was working as an assistant pro. I was hired by him in the driving range, then promoted to the bag room while in high school at Oceanside Country Club. That’s where I fell in love with the game. That’s when I started taking it seriously.
The Sun: Where did you go from there?
Terry Stiltner: In the early 1990’s for five years, I was at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston and worked for Denny Lyons, a WNY PGA Hall of Famer.
(Stiltner then worked as a Class A PGA Pro for 28 years, earning that membership with the PGA of America in 1995. He was named the male professional at LPGA Professional in Daytona Beach)
When I came back to Western New York, I worked at the River Oaks Golf Club in Grand Island, Bartlett Country Club in Olean for nine years, then Lockport Town and Country Club for four years.
The Sun: Why come back to the Southern Tier, a place you got to know while in Olean?
Terry Stiltner: The Southern Tier is really about the hospitality of the people. The years I was at Bartlett, the people I met, that’s what was most memorable. It’s laid back. It’s not the same as Buffalo or Rochester.
(Stitlner catching up with former WCC PGA pro Greg Kaye in the pro shop he is renovating. Story continues after photo)
The Sun: What about the golf course in Wellsville?
Terry Stiltner: This course is another reason I came back. I played with (former WCC Club Pro) R.T. (Robert Todd) when he was here and when Greg Kaye was here as the pro I played as well. It’s a great old course with great greens and it’s in fantastic shape.”
The Sun: What do you want to bring to WCC?
Terry Stiltner: Yes I’m a PGA professional, but I want to bring excitement back to the Wellsville Country Club, There’s been a lot of great PGA professionals here and I’d like to grow that. I want to bring some excitement back to golf here at the country club.
The Sun: Working with the LPGA, with kids and even celebrities, what have you learned about the game?
Terry Stiltner: I’ve learned It’s a game for all and for all ages. The ladies, juniors, men — it’s for all types of people, it’s not for a select few. The amount of people you meet is incredible. I’ve met members of the Buffalo Bills and Major League Baseball players. Golf brings everyone together. It doesn’t matter if you are famous or someone who works full-time and plays golf. Everyone can play the game and play together and have fun.
It’s always a good day when David Kauppinen, right, is working at the Wellsville Country Club Pro Shop.
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