A Rhode Island native is the new PGA Head Golf Professional at the historic Pittsburgh Field Club off Squaw Run Road in Fox Chapel.
Christian Sheehan will manage golf operations, including tournaments and outings, membership programming and golf shop merchandising.
“My most memorable golf experiences are simply watching the club members I’ve been able to impact over the years smile,” he said. “Having a mom and dad that were both educators, I love the process of helping people learn and creating lifelong memories for them along the way.
“It may be an event we conduct, a breakthrough on the lesson tee, meeting a new friend, a record-low score or helping raise their children into fine ladies and gentlemen in the Junior Program. Those are the best experiences I can hope for.”
Situated between Fox Chapel and Squaw Run roads, the golf course is a renowned design of architect Alexander H. Findlay, who was challenged to integrate the 18-hole course into the area’s hilly terrain. The club in 1937 hosted the PGA Championship with legendary Sam Snead among the players; in 1953, the site hosted a qualifying round for the US Open.
Sheehan, 47, comes to the Lower Valley from the Lebanon Country Club near Hershey, Pa. He previously served as PGA Director of Golf at Pelican’s Nest Golf Club in Bonita Springs, Fla., and has a long history of service, including a stint on the board of directors for the South Florida Section PGA Southwest Chapter from 2010-17.
Sheehan was named South Florida Section Southwest Chapter PGA Professional of the Year in 2016, South Florida Section Southwest Chapter PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award Winner in 2015 and South Florida Section Southwest Chapter PGA Merchandiser of the Year in 2009.
Born and raised in Warwick, R.I., Sheehan is a sports enthusiast who played hockey and baseball through his youth, captaining both teams at Trinity College.
“I got into the golf business working a college summer job on Fishers Island, New York in 1997,” he said. “From there, I spent my first six years apprenticing under two fantastic PGA Golf Professionals at world-class country clubs — Billy Harmon at BIGHORN Golf Club in Palm Desert, Calif., and Craig Harmon at Golf Digest Top 100 Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.”
Over the next two years, he went on to serve as the director of instruction at Golf Digest Top 100 Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, prior to his first PGA Head Golf Professional position in Naples, Fla., in 2004.
In all, Sheehan has 24 years of private club experience.
“Building on a ‘culture of home’ is not new at Pittsburgh Field Club, but it is certainly one that I hope to impact with my personal and professional experiences over the next few decades,” Sheehan said.
“The sense of family values and pride is palpable and what makes the club one of the finest in the country.”
