This is the first in a series of MGA member spotlight stories that we will be posting throughout the year

Name: Dennis Lynch
Age: 50
Club: Nassau Players Club
Hometown: Smithtown, N.Y.

Dennis Lynch, the two-time MGA Mid-Amateur champion, integral member of the 2011 MGA team that earned a victory in the Carey Cup Matches at Bethpage Black, and one of the newest members of the MGA Executive Committee, sat down with us to talk about his golfing life, outside interests, work and more.

How did your interest in golf develop?
My dad taught me, but he wouldn’t take me to the course until I could hit it 200 yards. When I was 12, I played my first official round of golf which happened to be at the Yellow course at Bethpage State Park. I played on the Bethpage high school golf team from 1977-1979 but then stopped (seems to be a gap in time hereto focus on getting established in my career [Lynch is a Suffolk County police officer]. 

About 18 years ago now, I started working midnights with four days on followed by four days off, and that schedule was really the catalyst that allowed me the time to practice my golf game, take lessons, and make significant progress.

How long have you worked for the Suffolk County Police?
I’ve been a Suffolk County police officer now for 25 years. When I was younger I worked as an auto-mechanic but my wife went to school at Stony Brook and I kept running into people in Suffolk [who were also police officers] and that’s how I ended up here.  

Being a police officer can be very physically demanding. How do you find the time and the focus to practice?
Well I will say that as I get older it’s most certainly getting tougher. Back in my younger days it was no problem to work a night shift and then head out to practice, but now it’s a little different story.

I’ve got a pretty good setup in my backyard…I have enough space to do pitch shots up to 35-40 yards so that’s huge. I also have a net. I’m also lucky enough to live near the Wind Watch Golf & Country Club and they’re one of the only public courses that has a short game practice area with bunkers, chipping areas and more, so that’s extremely valuable.

What is your favorite event?
[Laughs] Well I’m probably a little partial to the Mid-Amateur Championship [Lynch is a two-time winner], but to be honest I’d have to say the Ike Championship is my favorite.  The three rounds of stroke play and the best of the best courses definitely make it my favorite.

What does being elected to the MGA Executive Committee mean to you and what are your expectations of being an MGA Board member?
I’m looking forward to being a member of the Executive Committee. At this point I’m excited to see what I’ll be involved in, but I know that I’d love to do more in the area of junior golf. Everything ranging from clinics, caddie academies and increasing the involvement of both elementary and high school students is something I am extremely interested in.

You’re coming off another great season, capped by your performance at the Carey Cup. What are your goals for this year and beyond?
It’s a little early for goals…in fact I’ve only played one round since the Carey Cup. I will say that my daughter, who leaves for college in Clarion [Pennsylvania] this fall, has really been getting into golf so I’m always out practicing with her. As far as actual tournaments, my main goal this year is to place well in as many Long Island events as I can, in particular the Ike Championship at Atlantic.

What’s your favorite thing to do other than play golf?
I would say hunting. I go deer and bear hunting, and thanks to finally getting a bone chip removed from my elbow, I’m able to bow hunt for the first time in over 5 years. Beyond that I really do love golf, and now that my daughter as well as my 7-year-old son is taking up an interest in it, I spend a lot of time working with them.