Kyle Bauer (second from left) and three Glen View Club members on a recent golf trip to Royal Dornoch in Scotland. Courtesy Kyle Bauer Head professionals at private golf clubs in America perform many functions. They play, teach, merchandise the golf shop, hire and supervise a staff, and sometimes lend a friendly ear to a golfer after a bad day on the course. Occasionally, as in the case of Kyle Bauer, head professional at the Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois, they serve as full-fledged travel planners.
Bauer’s journey to the Glen View Club began during his junior year at Illinois State University. He worked two summers in the mid 1990s for Illinois Golf Hall of Fame professional Tim O’Neal at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Illinois. During that time he became intrigued with the business of golf and decided that this would be his career path. Upon graduation, he became a seasonal assistant professional in the Chicago area and in Florida before returning to North Shore in 2001 as the lead assistant to O’Neal. He landed his first...