A native Kentuckian who has served for the past five years at a Florida golf course operated by the PGA has been appointed director of golf for the Department of Parks, Commissioner George Ward announced.

     Dan Strohmeier has served as the head golf pro at the PGA Country Club at Port St. Lucie, Fla. During his tenure, the country club doubled its membership, Ward noted.

     “We were looking for someone with an outstanding background in marketing, and that’s just what we found in Dan,” Ward said.

     Strohmeier, 38, previously served as golf pro at the top-rated Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, Ohio. A Louisville native, he began his career at a municipal golf course there, the Charlie Vettiner Golf Course. He then was on the staff of Audubon Country Club in Louisville and also worked at the Eagle Trace Golf Course in Morehead.

     Strohmeier is a Class A PGA member. He holds a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Louisville.

    The department operates 13 18-hole courses and six nine-hole courses. Four new 18-hole courses opened last year at Grayson Lake, Yatesville Lake, and Mineral Mound state parks, and at Dale Hollow Lake State Resort. The new courses, along with those at Kentucky Dam Village and Pine Mountain state resorts, are marketed as the Signature Series of outstanding park courses.

     Department officials noted recently that golf plays an important role in bringing new revenue into the park system, and consequently reducing the department’s $29 million deficit. The courses collectively took in $227,000 more in revenue than expenses for the fiscal year that ended June 30.