NORTH SEWICKLEY TWP. — As John Mazza settles into the twilight of his career, he has passed the torch when it comes to golf pro duties at Connoquenessing Country Club.
For the past seven years, Mazza served as head pro. Now he's director of golf.
David Yokitis, the assistant pro at Connoquenessing the past four years, now moves up to head pro.
Maybe their job descriptions are a matter of semantics, but the bottom line is that they provide a strong presence in the pro shop.
"We work hand in hand," said Mazza, 62. "We get along great. We do everything we have to do."
"It's been a privilege to work with a guy like John the past few years," said Yokitis, 32. "He's been a great pro and a great player for a long time in (the Tri-State Section PGA)."
Mazza, a Beaver Falls native who's been living in Chippewa Township for most of his adult life, unquestionably ranks as the most accomplished golfer in Beaver County history.
He played on the PGA Tour from 1979-1982. No one else from Beaver County has ever held a tour card.
He's been a local club pro for nearly 35 years, and during that time earned Player of the Year honors in the Tri-State Section PGA six times. No one else from Beaver County has ever won that award since it was established in 1973.
On four occasions, Mazza has played in a PGA Tour major: the U.S. Open in 1989 and 1997, and the PGA Championship in 1997 and 2001.
"Golf's been good to me," Mazza said.
Golf has also been good to Yokitis, even though he's a relative newcomer when it comes to working as a golf pro.
Yokitis is the son of George Yokitis, a western Pennsylvania high school basketball coach who led Vincentian to WPIAL 1A titles in 2011 and '13. David Yokitis did play golf at North Hills High School, but at Robert Morris University, he played on the men's tennis team.
It wasn't until he graduated from RMU in 2008 that he turned his full attention to golf. He first served as an assistant pro at Butler Country Club. One of his playing highlights so far was earning TSPGA Apprentice Player of the Year honors in 2014.
Yokitis first met Mazza in 2012 when he stopped by Connoquenessing for a putting lesson. A few weeks later, Yokitis played in the same foursome as Mazza in the TSPGA tournament at New Castle Country Club.
At one point while playing on a par-5 that featured a two-tiered green, Mazza drained a putt that was well over 100-feet long.
"That was just amazing," Yokitis said.
Now that Mazza rarely plays in TSPGA events, Yokitis hopes to play more regularly in section events. But his main priority right now is being the best pro he can be for Connoquenessing members.
That's important because in recent years, Connoquenessing has shown a positive spike in golf memberships.
When Mazza was hired eight years ago after previously serving as head pro at Montour Heights Country Club in Moon, Connoquenessing had 138 members. Now there are 260. Around 100 of the new members joined in the last three or four years.
In some instances, membership rates were lowered and new membership plans were offered such as a Tuesday through Friday week-day plan.
"Just getting people out here and seeing the club," Yokitis said when asked to explain the increase in memberships. "The golf course is awesome, and I think that once people play it, they really enjoy it and want to come back. We get people in the door, and they love it."
"This is a great little setting," Mazza said of the par-71 course that plays 6,301 yards from the back tees.