Dave Mazzeo has almost always loved golf. A Pro since 1971, he studied both turf management and completed the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Program. During his 40 years as the Pro at the Norway Country Club, he pioneered a Junior Golf Program and the Tri-State Junior Open, which Mazzeo ran for 20 years and which is now under the auspices of the Maine State Golf Association (MSGA).Pro

Recognized for his work with young golfers, Mazzeo earned a Junior Achievement Award from the Maine Chapter of New England PGA and in 2009, admission to the Maine Golf Hall of Fame.

From 2006 until 2014 Mazzeo was the Manager Of Golf Operations at Old Corkscrew Golf Club. He was a member of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America for a short time, he is a PGA Life Member on active status.

Mazzeo and Gail, his wife of almost 40 years, spend more than half the year in Florida where Mazzeo works seasonally as a Pro nd golf instructor. He retired from the Norway Club in 2015. He is in his third season as a Guaranteed Performance School of Golf teacher at the Bethel Inn.

Seasonal residents of the area for the last 43 years, Mazzeo and Gail live on Paris Hill in Gail’s parents’ house during the summer. They have a son Ryan who works for Aetna insurance and lives in Connecticut with his wife. Mazzeo also has a younger brother.

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I was born on August 28th in 1945. I grew up in Rockland, Maine, I am a native. My dad was an old A&P man. He worked for 19 years and then opened his own store called Mazzeo’s Supermarket. There were two supermarkets in Rockland. He was independent. It was a complete store and very popular. He built on four different times. Mom also worked in the store. They were a working couple. Of course, I worked in the store too. That’s where I learned people skills.

Rockland was different back then. It was a fishing town, There was also the Samoset Hotel on Camden Street. I caddied there.

My dad had 11 siblings. His father died in a freak accident when he was 44. His mother raised her 11 children in Rockland. Though I don’t know how he started, ever since I can remember, my father played golf with his brothers, who were avid golfers.

My dad was a good player too. He used to drag me and my younger brother to the golf course when I was around 6 or 7. I loved being outside on a beautiful course with the other kids my age and I loved the game. The first time I broke 40 for 9 holes on PGA golf course I was 13 years old.

I played football and was on the golf team in high school and I worked at the store part-time. When I was 15, they built a driving range across the street from the store. A man named Bunker Spear ran the range. A couple of us were on the golf team. He said we could hit balls if we picked up the range at night. It was the only lighted range around. I was hitting as much as I could. My father wanted me to play, but he also wanted me to be in the store bagging. He’d yell at me to get back over to the store when he needed me.

I was absorbed by golf, which was a love relationship. Unfortunately, at that time we did not have a Pro at the course. I learned from Dad and some of the other better players took me under their wing. It was hit-the-ball-and-drag-David.

When I graduated from high school in 1963, I was not ready to go to school, so I spent 4 years with the Marines starting that fall. I went almost two years without playing golf. Golf and Marine Corps did not mix. My last duty station was in the Far East in the Philippines at a communication station near Subic Bay. I worked there for 18 months as a Guard Marine Attachment doing security. While I was there, I was on the All-Navy Marine Golf Team.

I got out of the Marines in ’67 and came back to Rockland. I worked at my father’s store and did maintenance at the Rockland Golf Course under Harvey LaMontaine, who was a big influence.

I decided I was interested in getting into the golf industry and that I wanted to try to better myself. I went to the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the UMass Amherst campus for two years. I studied Turf Management. My heart was in being a golf pro, but in the end, my understanding of turf maintenance was my strength.

My first assistant job after Turf School was at the Eastwood Ho Country Club in Chatham, Massachusetts, which is a private club. There were some amazing people there, including General Lucius Clay who was second in command to President Eisenhower and “Tip” O’Neill. For someone who was only 23 and who was from Rockland, Maine, it was eye-opening. It made me want to reach for more.

That’s the year I entered the PGA Program. Though it’s different now, at that time it was called an apprentice program. It’s a national program that requires you to go to school. I had to pass a playability test to prove I was a credible player. Then there were two business schools I had to go to. It took three or four years to get my Class A card. It was expensive. but some people from the clubs I worked at helped me.

I still had not gotten my card when I became the Senior Director of golf at the Massena Country Club in New York. Though I worked there for four years, at the end of the 3rd year, I decided I wanted to come back to Maine.

Mel Strange, another strong influence on me, was the head Proat Brunswick Golf Course and the President of the Maine PGA Chapter. He told me about two jobs, one in Northport, the other in Norway. I actually got both jobs within two days. I liked the community in Norway, and the people on the board were very encouraging, so I signed a contract with Norway in November of ’75. I worked clubs in Florida that winter, and then I started in Norway that summer of ’76.

I met Gail in 1980. Gail had summered up here since she was 10 years old. Her mother Jane was a teacher. Her father Bill Bowman commuted from New York. Gail’s played at the Paris Hill Course. She later took lessons from Joe Walker who had the Lake Store and was the golf Proin Norway for 10 seasons.

Gail and I married in 1980. As part of my contract, we lived in the old farmhouse in an upstairs apartment at the course. Gail opened Gail’s Kitchen in 1981, the spring after we married. She ran it for 35 years. Her sister Marcie worked with her for 30. It was a small part of promoting the club and introducing families to golf. They were both happy to be in the community.

Back in those days, there were not a lot of tournaments for kids to play in. When I thought about my background, junior golf had been my big love.

I pioneered a junior golf program at the course which included a Tri-State Junior Open. We had four different divisions and kids coming from all over Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, the largest number being 108. The younger kids did 9 holes. The older played 18. Winning was important, but the biggest part was getting these kids together.

It was very special being at the Norway Country Club. I left in 2015 with positive feelings. I have spent 43 summers here. I know more people here than in my hometown of Rockland. We are lifetime members at the club. I can still see my friends and play golf with them when I can.

I am not retired. I teach at Guaranteed Performance School of Golf, which runs at the Bethel Inn. It’s rated one of the better golf schools in New England. This is my 3rd season. I had always gone over to Bethel and played, but I never spent time in the Bethel community until the last couple of years. When and if I retire, I am going to play golf.

Though some days are better than others, I believe every day I have been able to wake up and work with people has been a great day. Everyday I have had this job I have had some sort of fun doing it and learned something new. I don’t feel burned out. I fell energized. It’s all been great.

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