Tom Evart was packing his bags Monday afternoon, getting ready to move to Carson City.
Friday the 13th proved to be far from a bad-luck day for the pro golfer from Page, Ariz. First, he got a call from Carson City-owned Eagle Valley Golf Course board members asking him to become the new general manager and director of Golf.
Then, he proposed to his girlfriend, and she said "yes."
"I'm very excited about the opportunity," Evart said Monday. "I believe there's some turnaround to be had. I'm a businessman and a promoter, and I just happen to play good golf."
Board member Kit Weaver said Evart was chosen from 58 applicants from around the country and Canada for his experience in food and beverage, golf instruction and work with a municipal course in Arizona.
"He came with a reputation of working with courses that were having difficulty and (of) improving their performance," Weaver said.
Carson City Golf Corp., which runs the two courses at Eagle Valley, decided not to renew a contract with General Manager Mike McGehee in November. McGehee was hired in 1997.
Weaver said the corporation didn't think the course was living up to its potential, and the board had a different vision for its future.
Interim General Manager Mark Sattler has taken over operations since McGehee's departure.
The municipal golf corporation also ran into problems last year with the course's golf pro, Mike Browning, who was suspected of embezzling $4,600 from men's club dues. Sheriff's detectives were investigating the case after Browning resigned in August. Browning was in charge of a bank account for the men's club and its 100 players.
Carson City owns the courses off Centennial Drive. The corporation was put in place in 1997 to operate them as a nonprofit organization.
Board members are hoping Evart can help them increase tournament play and encourage locals to learn to play golf and enjoy the courses, Weaver said.
Evart said he has spent a lot of time in the past few years teaching women and children how to improve their swing and improve their golf as a way to get them excited to play.
"It takes me five to 10 minutes to fix a problem with a golf swing," he said.
"I will have to do an awful lot of public relations work to make the game enjoyable and build players," Evart said. "It's a matter of developing players. What I want to do at Eagle Valley is to make people want to come back there for the personalities and service and the quality of their golfing experience.
"I want to make the game fun," he said.
Evart became the head teaching pro for the municipal course near Lake Powell more than three years ago.
At Eagle Valley, Evart sees a "tremendous" facility that can give golfers an experience directly related to their individual talents.
"There's tremendous opportunity to not only improve play, but improve the bottom line for the city - and by generating income, we can improve the quality of the course."
Contact Jill Lufrano at jlufrano@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.
