New golf home his final one?
ELLWOOD CITY — Frank Blazewick insists he’s still “a Butler kid.”
The 1985 Butler graduate played golf and baseball for the Golden Tornado, since enjoying a career in the former. And this “Butler kid” has never strayed far from home.
Blazewick, 56, is beginning his new position as head golf professional at Connoquenessing Country Club this week. He succeeds Dave Yokitis, who moved on to become club pro at Wildwood Country Club in Allison Park last month.
He lives in Cranberry Township.
“I see this as being my final stop,” Blazewick said of Connoquenessing CC. “This is the job I want to do until my retirement time, whenever that is. Dave was highly regarded and a favorite among the members here.
“I have big shoes to fill.”
But he can draw upon plenty of experiences in trying to do so.
Blazewick began his golf career as an assistant pro at Armco Golf Cub in Slippery Rock in 1989. He became an assistant pro at Highland Country Club in the north hills of Pittsburgh in 1993, serving as head pro there from 1996 through 2009. He was general manager there for two years as well.
“Highland was sold and the new ownership made some changes ... I was one of them,” Blazewick said. “They no longer had interest in my services, so I was on my own.”
He wound up at Stonecrest Golf Course in Wampum as head pro in 2010, where he’s been until accepting the Connoquenessing position.He is still helping Stonecrest in an administrative role as part of that facility’s transition.
Stonecrest is being turned into an industrial park within the next few years.
“When the Connoquenessing position came open, I had to go after it,” Blazewick said. “This facility has always been attractive to me. It has a membership filled with good people.
“Over the last five or 10 years, Connoquenessing Country Club has dramatically improved its course conditions. Its membership is at full capacity now.”
Connoquenessing CC — located between Zelienople and Ellwood City, near the Connoquenessing Creek — has 365 golfing members with a waiting list of approximately 20.
Among Blazewick's duties are running the golf shop, serving club members and their guests, scheduling golf outings and overseeing member events, running the junior golf program and giving golf lessons.
“I handle the membership applications, too,” he said. “All of that goes through me.”
Staying on as Blazewick’s assistant pro is John Mazza, the former head pro there. Mazza had Yokitis as his assistant pro at one point before the two flipped positions.
Blazewick remains an active golfer himself. He competes in Tri-State PGA events, won the Nike Classic at Olde Stonewall in 2003 and qualified for the National Senior Club Pro Championships two years ago. He’s also played in eight Frank Fuhrer Invitationals and multiple Palmer Cups.
“Connoquenessing encourages its club pros to play,” Blazewick said. “They are very accommodating that way.”
Connoquenessing Country Club was founded in 1919. The club has hosted numerous local and national tournaments, including several Tri-State Pro-Ams and two Senior PGA Qualifiers.
The original nine-hole course was expanded to 18 in 1990.
