Michael Boyd a Hit at Indian Springs
By D. FORREST CAMERON
Editor and Publisher
CLUB PROFESSIONAL: Former University of Tulsa golfer and PGA golf professional Michael Boyd became the Indian Springs Country Club professional last October.
GTR Newspapers photo
Members of Indian Springs Country Club picked up an ace last October when well-known local golfer Michael Boyd became the club professional.
Boyd has lived with accolades for his golfing prowess since his high school days at Tulsa’s Union High School, where he was an All-State golfer, winning the Frontier Conference Tournament, Regional Tournament and the State High School Tournament. He attended the University of Tulsa, where he played under Coach Bill Brogden. After graduation from TU in 1998, at the age of 23, he turned pro. By 2007 he made his PGA Tour debut at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
Born in Little Rock, Ark. in 1976, the Boyd family moved to Tulsa from Kansas City in 1990, the summer before ninth grade. He attended Union Intermediate School, then Union High School, where he graduated in 1994. He has lived in Tulsa since 1990 except for short times in Florida and Plano, Texas.
Boyd started playing golf when he was very young. His late father, Charles Richard “Dick” Boyd, was a serious golfer who played at the University of Arkansas in the 1950s. He passed away in 2002.
Boyd says his decision to attend the University of Tulsa was largely due to his relationship with golf coach Bill Brogden. Boyd had talked to Oklahoma State, Stanford and Arkansas. But it was Brogden who impressed the young golfer. Boyd says, “Coach Brogden is a great guy. I really didn’t want to stay home. I liked Arkansas, but I liked Coach Brogden more. I thought he would be good to play for, and I was right.”
Boyd graduated from TU in 1998 with a degree in psychology. He says, “In high school I took an advanced placement psychology class, and at TU I concentrated on industrial and organizational psychology.”
Boyd says he always wanted to be a professional golfer. “I was a confident kid. I always thought I would be out playing on the pro tour.”
Playing on the mini tours was a grind for the young Boyd family. In 2003, Boyd married the former Jamie Fuente, a Tulsa native and graduate from Union High School, and they now have two children. An all-around athlete for the Redskins, Jamie earned all-state honors in both softball and basketball. A Nebraska graduate, she was a coach for the University of Tulsa softball team from 2005 to 2007.
Boyd’s family owns Elder Paint and Wallpaper, where Michael would work part-time while not playing golf, with his brother Mark and mother Sue Boyd.
Boyd says, “I had not thought much about being a club pro until John Phillips called soon after he became the general manager of Indian Springs. It was “out of the blue” when John asked me last October to be the Indian Springs club professional. It took me about a day to accept the position.”
He had known Phillips, the former University of Tulsa head basketball coach, since they were both at TU in the 1990s.
Boyd is excited and happy with his club pro position. Club professionals are members of the PGA of America, not to be confused with the PGA Tour. The mission of The PGA of America is to promote enjoyment and involvement in golf among the general public, as well as to contribute to the game’s growth by producing services to golf professionals and the industry.
He says, “PGA of America is more or less a business school of running a golf operation. Every day is different and exciting. There are happenings such as junior golf days, ladies days, guests, club championships, helping to run tournaments, giving lessons, coordinating merchandise in the pro shop, coordinating food and beverages, meeting with the superintendent of the golf course about playing conditions and other events and responsibilities.”
Boyd says he plays golf when possible, about three times per week, sometimes just once a week. “I enjoy it when I play,” he says.
Indian Springs has one of the largest memberships in the state. Boyd says, “This is a very social club. Members like it that way. We are a big family, where the pros try to play with the members, where everybody gets to know everybody.”
Sole owner of Indian Springs Jim Pharr has poured millions of dollars into the club and golf courses. Boyd says, “It says a lot about our owner when he builds his house right on the course and walking distance from the clubhouse. He is a very generous man. He loves the club and wants it to be a social place. He is a great person.”
Boyd says what really makes Indian Springs special are the two 18-hole courses, the River Course and the Windmill Course. The advantages: members can play more often, there is always a place to play, it is great for special days such as ladies days, it is excellent for tournaments, and at least one course is open seven days a week, which means Monday play is available. They are both great courses.”
Boyd enjoys high school teams practicing at Indian Springs. He is trying to build a strong junior program, saying, “With two courses and a large practice area, it will be a great fit.”
Indian Springs has found a true champion with Michael Boyd.
Updated 08-17-2010
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