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One of Pennsylvania's finest PGA golf professionals, and a man who also left his mark here in central PA nearly five decades ago, is currently enjoying retirement life along Florida's Atlantic Coast.
Jack MacCarty, now 78 years old, began his golf career in State College at Centre Hills and Toftrees country clubs before serving as the head golf professional at Scotch Valley Country Club near Hollidaysburg from 1976 through 1981.
MacCarty eventually left there to become head pro at the prestigious LuLu Country Club near Philadelphia while also serving in several top leadership positions in the PGA's Philadelphia Section before closing out his golf career.
MacCarty, known as "Jack Mac" to his closest friends, grew up playing baseball in the 1950s as a youth in the Philadelphia suburbs. He didn't have much golf experience when he left home to attend Penn State University in 1965 majoring in physical education, but that would change in 1968.
While looking for summer employment that year at nearby Centre Hills Country Club, MacCarty had the chance to caddie for the club's head pro, Clarke George, and made such a good impression he was offered a summer position at the course as a "club cleaner."
After returning in the fall to resume his studies at Penn State, MacCarty would go on to earn his physical education degree. Over that same time period, his continued good work at Centre Hills led to a promotion as the club's assistant professional.
It wasn't long afterward that nearby Toftrees Country Club was looking for a new head pro, and toward the end of 1971 a young MacCarty, who was working to earn his PGA membership card, was hired to fill the position by founding member Phil Sieg.
"The next spring, Toftrees was expanding from nine to 18 holes, and I remember my pro shop being just a little blueprint shack located near the first tee," MacCarty said. "It didn't take long, though, for the entire place to develop into a beautiful facility."
After two years at Toftrees, MacCarty was looking for a new position and eventually landed at nearby Scotch Valley Country Club, taking over the duties from head pro from Frank Kiraly.
At that time the club's pro shop and club house facilities were located in the large barn that stands near today's 14th green.
MacCarty would spend his first winter there remodeling the club's pro shop with the help of his father. From the start, MacCarty made a strong impression on the Scotch Valley membership. His professional skills and ability to connect with members was quickly noticed.
"All the members at Scotch Valley were great to me, and I have many fond memories of my time there," MacCarty said. "Guys like Ed Sarp, Bill Book, Lou Ventura, Skip Hughes, Tom Treese, Bob McGregor, Ron Dandrea and many more. Everyone there treated me well, and I really learned a lot from them."
During his time in Blair County, MacCarty also left his mark as the high school golf coach for the Hollidaysburg Golden Tigers, overseeing several successful teams and mentoring the likes of Brian Smith, Dave Treese, Mark Wagner, Dave Wagner, Mark Kleiner and Ty Grove.
In 1980, MacCarty would join forces with Park Hills pro Ron Ireland to open the successful PGA Pros Golf World shop and driving range located where the Altoona Walmart is situated today. Local golf standout Scott Kline was a teenager at that time and worked in the shop.
"Jack was the nicest man you could ever work for," Kline said. "I enjoyed every minute of my time there. He was a real pro's pro."
By 1981, MacCarty was looking for an opportunity to move closer to his Philadelphia roots and landed the position of head professional at the prestigious LuLu Country Club.
While at LuLu, MacCarty also became active in the leadership of the Philadelphia Section of the PGA, eventually serving as president of the organization in 1994 and 1995. In 1995, MacCarty was also named Philadelphia's Golf Professional of the Year.
After 20 successful years as head pro at the LuLu Club, MacCarty left in 2001 to try his hand in the insurance business. Two years later, he had the opportunity to open a beer distributorship, creating Mac's Neighborhood Beverage, a highly successful business which MacCarty owned and operated through 2018.
Since selling his business and deciding to retire, MacCarty and his wife CJ have been enjoying life in Florida, having moved to the PGA Village Golf community in Port St. Lucie.
In 2024, MacCarty received recognition as a Half Century member of the PGA of America, an honor reserved for the exclusive group of golf professionals with at least 50 years of service.
"I've had a great life and have had the opportunity to meet a lot of wonderful people through the world of golf," MacCarty said. "Today I get to enjoy life here in Port St. Lucie, golfing, spending time with my wife, and enjoying our kids and our nine wonderful grandkids."