Write-Ups provided by Gary D’Amato (garydamatogolf@gmail.com) and Wisconsin.Golf
Mick Smith – WPGA Member & Senior Player of the Year
Mick Smith moved to the United States from his native Sydney, Australia, in 1997 to pursue his dream of playing on the PGA Tour.
He never made it to golf’s promised land, but he’ll get to chase a consolation prize when he competes Tuesday through Friday next week in the first stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School at Grand Bear Golf Club in Saucier, Miss.
“I don’t think it will ever make up for that,” Smith said of trading the PGA Tour for the Champions tour. “Those are the prime years of your life, when you’re hitting it the best and the farthest and all that kind of stuff, and playing against the other guys at their very best, as well.
Smith, 52, the owner of Mick Smith Golf, goes into Champions tour qualifying on the heels of a monster year in the Wisconsin PGA.
The Summit resident swept WPGA Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year honors, becoming only the third golfer to do so. Michael Crowley, the head professional at Morningstar Golfers Club, did it in 2022 and Jim Schuman, a teaching professional at Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, did it each year from 2017 through 2020.
“It’s obviously great to win them both,” Smith said. “I’m very happy to accomplish that feat. I was talking to Jim Schuman at the (Senior PGA Professional Championship) and he said, ‘Did you win them both?’ I said I did and I said, ‘How many times did you do that?’ He said he did it four times in a row. I’ve still got a ways to go, you know?”
In the member race, Smith totaled 1,286.67 points to edge Whistling Straits assistant professional David Bach (1,252.50), with Crowley finishing third (1,101.67).
Smith’s signature victory came at the WPGA Professional Championship, where he shot 66-66 at The Wisconsin Club to win the title by seven shots. He also finished T-5 in the WPGA Match Play, T-45 at the Wisconsin State Open and T-39 in the PGA Professional Championship.
In the senior race, Smith dominated, compiling 2,715 points in 13 events to easily outdistance Crowley (1,845), with Brad Lanning of Rise Up Golf Consulting finishing a distant third (913.33).
Smith swept the section’s Senior Match Play and Senior Professional titles and shot 69-68 at North Shore Golf Club in Menasha to win the 40th Wisconsin State Senior Open.
In the latter, he played the final 11 holes in 4-under and birdied Nos. 15 and 17 to break out of a three-way tie for the lead. Smith finished the 36-hole tournament at 3-under 137 and was the only player under par.
“I would say I’m most proud of my body of work,” he said. “Winning those four individual events and the (WPGA) Four-Ball, I was proud to put them kind of back-to-back in a reasonably short amount of time.”
He also played in the 2024 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich., where he made the cut and went on to finish T-75. It was his second PGA Tour Champions major, having played in the 2023 U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld.
“I’m definitely getting more comfortable and more confident playing in that arena,” he said. “Making the cut at Harbor Shores was a big boost to my confidence and to know that I can do this. So I’m really looking forward to the opportunities coming up.”
Last year, Smith got through the first stage of PGA Tour Champions Q-School at Grand Bear and opened the final stage with a 67, but he tore a ligament in his wrist while hitting a shot on the second hole of the second round and was forced to withdraw five holes later.
Smith also has had issues with his back, but said he has been working with a chiropractor, Dr. Daniel Murray at the Lake Country Health Center, and is feeling great.
“Turning 50 has reinvigorated me and my golf game and has given me the opportunity now to at least play against the guys that I was hoping to many years ago,” he said. “It definitely has made it more exciting for me now when I go play to know that if I keep improving, I can still at least achieve the goal of playing on the Champions tour.”
The long-hitting Bach won the WPGA Match Play Championship, beating Andy Hansen, 1-up, in the final. He also finished T-16 at the Wisconsin State Open to lead all WPGA members, shooting 72-70-66-72 at Minocqua Country Club.
Crowley, a two-time WPGA Player of the Year and the Senior Player of the Year in 2022, finished T-3 at the Match Play, T-4 at the WPGA Professional Championship and T-58 at the State Open. He also won the Hornung’s Classic with a 67.
Crowley will join Smith in the first stage of Champions tour qualifying at Grand Bear.
Member Player of the Year Standings
Senior Player of the Year Standings
David Bach – WPGA Assistant Player of the Year
Only one golfer has earned Wisconsin PGA Section Player of the Year and Assistant Player of the Year honors in the same year since the latter award was instituted in 1975.
Ryan Helminen, a member of the Wisconsin Golf Hall of Fame, did it three years running (2008-2010).
David Bach, an assistant professional at Whistling Straits, came very close to pulling off the rare double in 2024.
Bach, 29, who lives in Cleveland, Wis., repeated as WPGA Assistant Player of the Year and has now won the award four times since 2019. He totaled 1,122 points in the season-long race, with Michael Nagy of TPC Wisconsin finishing second (892.50) and Cody Strang of The Legend at Bergamont finishing third (662.50).
In the Member race, Bach (1,252.50) finished a close second to Mick Smith of Mick Smith Golf (1,286.67). The point differential was a mere 34.17.
The race came down to the WPGA Championship, Sept. 9-10 at The Wisconsin Club. Smith shot 66-66 to win and earned 400 points; Bach shot 70-73 to finish eighth and earned 160 points.
“I certainly wanted to try to hold both at the same time but Mick played really well at the Section Championship,” Bach said. “It’s always great to have another player of the year title. I always hold those pretty high. Hopefully, the day will come where I’ll maybe be able to hold both of them.”
Bach’s signature victory of 2024 came at the WPGA Match Play Championship, where he edged Andy Hansen, 1-up, in the final. Along the way, Bach beat 2019 Match Play champion Kurt Mantyla and Michael Crowley, a two-time WPGA Player of the Year.
Best of all, the tournament was held on the Kohler Co. courses, where Bach has worked for eight years.
“I couldn’t be more proud of winning that one, especially winning it on home turf,” said Bach, who reached the final in 2023 but lost to Brian Brodell, 2 and 1. “That was definitely the highlight of the year. It was the highest accomplishment I had this year.”
Bach is known for his prodigious length off the tee, which gives him an edge in both formats, match play and stroke play.
“In match play it’s obviously super advantageous to be able to see where your opponent is when you’re hitting approach shots in,” he said. “So it’s definitely an advantage there. And also stroke play tournaments, just being able to have a little less club into hard par-4s or short par-5s, it’s an advantage as well.”
Another highlight for Bach was finishing T-16 in the 104th Suter Ward Group Wisconsin State Open at Minocqua Country Club, where he was the low WPGA member. He shot 72-70-66-72 for an 8-under 280 total.
“I had so-so rounds one and two but the third round, I think I shot the low round of all competitors,” Bach said. “I tried to do it again in the fourth round and made a few more bogeys, but it was a good tournament.”
If there was a disappointment, it was that Bach did not qualify for the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship. He’d played in the tournament in each of the previous three years.
“Really, the big thing I circle every year is just trying to qualify for our national events,” he said. “Although this year was a good year — I won the Match Play and then the Assistant Player of the Year — I didn’t qualify for the national member or the national assistant so that’s always something that I try to do.
“Unfortunately, I sat out this year. I always view that as the big priority when I look at the year ahead.”
Bach grew up in Brown Deer, graduated from UW-Stout and interned at Whistling Straits, where he has been ever since.
“The thing that I love the most about golf in general is the instruction side of it,” he said. “So I think the future for me is teaching. I’m set up in a pretty good spot here to do that when the time comes.”