Jim St Pierre has long been a standout on the golf course. St Pierre played at the University of Hartford, where he studied business - more on the relevance of that later - and has put together quite a golfing resume, both in terms of his play and teaching skills at various courses.

St Pierre, 45 and a Shelton resident, took over as the head golf professional at Newtown Country Club this year. St Pierre has been working hard to help increase enrollment, which had been on the decline, at the club. Memberships are up 30 to 40 percent to about 260 this year, St Pierre said.

A spring open house led to about a dozen new memberships, and reinstatement of the Wednesday Night Scramble has aided that boost. He is striving to build up the junior golf community, for participants ages 14-18, and put together a junior team that would compete against junior lineups at other country clubs.

The future of golf, after all, is in the younger generation, St Pierre acknowledges.

This is St Pierre's first job as head golf professional. He previously spent nine years at Redding Country Club, and has also worked at Richter Park Country Club in Danbury, Brownson Country Club in Shelton, and Woodbridge Country Club - each in the role of assistant golf professional.

As the head pro, St Pierre's new responsibilities include running the pro shop. He orders merchandise and keeps a close eye on what members are looking for. Ironically, St Pierre was a business finance major, but never really applied his major field of study to his career until now. In his new role, St Pierre's major field of study, more than a couple of decades later, is coming in as handy as his golf skills.

St Pierre played a variety of sports - football, basketball, and baseball - from a young age, and started golfing when he was 8. He began focusing on golf in his sophomore year of high school, not knowing that golf would soon be an integral part of his life and means for making a living.

An All-State golfer at Shelton High, St Pierre continued to excel on the fairways and greens in the years that followed high school and collegiate playing days.

St Pierre went on to win the 2006 Connecticut PGA championship, was the state's PGA Player of the Year in 2006, and won the Connecticut Open in 2002. In 2005, '06, and '07 St Pierre qualified for and played in the Travelers Championship.

St Pierre and his wife Julie have four children, Colin (16), Kyle (13), Cameron (11), and Cole (8). Golf runs in the family. Kyle recently won the championship in his age group of the Watertown Junior Classic.

The new head pro has plans to continue playing the game for many years to come.

"It is the only game you can really play and compete into your 70s and 80s," said St Pierre, pointing out that the club tournament champion is Bill Girard, who is in his 70s.

He points out that while golfers' skills may decline a bit in their later years, golf's handicap system evens the playing field.

"I've seen 10-year-old kids and 80-year-old guys who are just as good as each other. Golf doesn't discriminate against age," St Pierre said.

St Pierre, in fact, has coached golfers ranging in age from 4 to 94. He works with each individual golfer differently, he said, and varies his instructing techniques appropriately based on their competitiveness and how much they want to be pushed.

Whether it is a golfer new to the course or a seasoned player honing his or her skills, the enjoyment of assisting his clients is what St Pierre enjoys most about the job.

"I love it. You get to see people develop. It's like watching your kid grow up. You get to see them mature," St Pierre said. "It gives me a lot of satisfaction seeing people improve."

For more information about Newtown Country Club, visit newtowncountryclub.com or call 203-426-9311.