Story by Ian Guerin

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. | Little Round Top and Devil’s Den were part of Kurtis Kuhn’s geographic vernacular growing up. Yet, it took him moving away from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and his home mere minutes from the infamous Civil War battle site for him to fully appreciate what he used to consider the norm. Kuhn, the First Assistant Head Golf Professional at Tradition Golf Club, has an immediate conversation starter with visitors to his course, whether those golfers are from the northern part of the country or anywhere around the globe. “When its right there in your back yard, you don’t really think about it much,” Kuhn said. “But everybody knows where Gettysburg is. I don’t have to explain it.”

Be it during his three years at Tradition, or the three he spent as an assistant at Litchfield County Club and River Club prior, the 30-year-old Kuhn has frequently talked with visitors who find out where he’s from. It’s part of what has helped him stand out during the relatively early stages of his career. After getting married in 2010, he and his wife, Ashley, relocated to the Myrtle Beach area so he could attend the local campus of the Golf Academy of America. By the time he graduated, the couple had already decided this is where they wanted to be.

He was hired by then-Litchfield General Manager Christa Bodensteiner (currently the South end Regional Operations Manager for Founders Group International) and has steadily earned more responsibility ever since. Some of that goes back to his ability to relate with clients. “She’s one of the best at customer service,” Kuhn said. “She’s taught me how to handle situations and handle golfers. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for – so they have a good time and keep coming back to us.” Kuhn has played a part in that via his approachable personality.

In recent months, he’s been able to break down Tradition’s new greens to repeat players and still sell one of the course’s biggest draws – its people. And when folks show up to play the Ron Garl track, there’s a good chance one of the people they’ll be chatting with prior to the round is its first assistant. And Kuhn can instantly relate with just about anyone during a first-time meeting, among other reasons, because of his childhood city. “Now that I think about it, it’s cool to think that I am from somewhere with so much history,” Kuhn said. “The battlefields today, they’ve kept them up to look like it did [back then]. But I just think of it as home.”