The dean of Oregon golf teaching professionals is calling it a career after 53 years in the game. Al Mundle has been named teacher of the year five times in the Professional Golfers Association’s five-state Pacific Northwest Section. He also was named the section’s golf professional of the year twice and was inducted into the section’s hall of fame in 1989.
At 76, Mundle wants more time to play the game that he loves. His pending retirement this spring will leave a void in the local golf community, where his influence has extended beyond RiverRidge Golf Course, his home base since 1993.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Mundle said of the choice to retire from golf instruction. “I still get excited when I’m teaching. I thoroughly enjoy it. I think one of the things that keeps me going is that I know I can still learn about teaching, and I still get a kick out of trying to find out more things about it, as far as teaching the mental part, course management, that sort of thing.”
In fact, Mundle said the pull of teaching remains so strong — and his loyalty to his clients is equally so — that to make sure he retires from golf and stays that way, he and his wife, Ann, are moving to Walla Walla, Wash.
“I know if I stay here, I will have a hard time not teaching,” he said.
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