JOHN KERINS | Profile Tam O'Shanter owner awarded

By LISA GIRARD
PGA MAGAZINE
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- John Kerins has spent most of his life on and around Tam O'Shanter Golf Course, first as the son of head professional Jack Kerins and since 1979 as an assistant manager and then as director of golf.
There are photos of him at age 18 months swinging a golf club, and there were early dreams of becoming a PGA Tour player, but Kerins is happy to be back where it all began, where his 91-year-old father still shows up on a daily basis, giving advice and making suggestions.
Recently, the 46-year-old Kerins was named the PGA Merchandiser of the year for public golf courses. He is the second member of the Tri-State PGA section to win the honor.
Team effort
"It's always an honor and a great privilege to win a national award, and this award is a team effort and the fruits of having a great staff," said Kerins, who oversees a 15-member staff and estimates he spends 50 percent of his time merchandising.
"My father and Jerry Smith, who has been head professional for our club for 32 years, have been instrumental in helping me throughout my career," he said.
Kerins, who turned professional in 1990, the same year his father semi-retired and he became the course's director of golf, always wanted to come back and manage the course.
"Fathers and sons always have different ideas, but we've worked very well together," Kerins said. "And in the end I found out my father was always right."
Kerins graduated from Florida Southern University in 1979 and played amateur golf during his first six years as an assistant manager at Tam O'Shanter.
Family owned
The facility is family-owned, with Kerins' brother Richard serving as co-owner and superintendent, while their mother worked in the golf shop until recently.
Kerins' wife, Kimberly, who once worked as a senior account executive for designer Nicole Miller, is the soft goods buyer and merchandiser, using her background in the clothing business to make the 2,000 square-foot shop fresh and inviting for customers.
"I would say we are an upscale public facility with an average man's country club atmosphere," said Kerins, who has also coached the Kennedy Catholic High School golf team in Hermitage for the last 23 years.
"There's a large mixture of hard and soft goods, and we've tried to create a store atmosphere in a golf course setting," he said.
Longevity on staff
In addition to family, the Tam O'Shanter staff has some members who have nearly been adopted by the Kerins clan. There's Smith, a PGA member who has been with the facility for 38 years, and Tim Johnson, who has been the first assistant for 15 years.
"It's pretty rare to get longevity like that, but it's been an asset to the organization," said Kerins. "Customers come in and see the same faces year after year; it gives a sense of stability."