A Myrtle Beach golf pro who was a friend to many of the golf writers across North America has died after a battle with cancer.
Frank Monk, who left an impression on those he met for his geniality and wit, died in hospice care at the age of 62 on Christmas Day.
Those he met included dozens of members of the Golf Writers Association of America, whom Monk hosted as the director of golf at Belle Terre Golf Course from 1995 to 2004.
The facility held a round of golf, cocktail social and dinner on the eve of the opening round of the GWAA Championship, which was held in Myrtle Beach for more than 50 years.
Many kept in touch with Monk in the years that followed the end of the event.
“Some of them have reached out to me that I didn’t even know he knew. He looked forward to doing that every year,” said Monk’s only son, George Monk, who followed his father’s career choice and is a club pro at Hartsville Country Club.
“He was the guy that everybody always wanted to talk to and he wanted to make everybody laugh,” George said. “He was not shy, that’s for sure. He was always so positive and looking for the good in everyone and the lighter side of life for sure.”
Monk and Jimmy D’Angelo, who created the GWAA Championship in 1954 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, were the host pros in the early years of the Belle Terre gathering until D’Angelo’s death in 2000.
“[The writers] all looked forward to that. They looked forward in particular to catching up with Frank and Jimmy D’Angelo,” said David Singleton, who was a founder and managing partner of Belle Terre for its existence from 1995-2005.
Monk also worked at Myrtlewood Golf Club from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s before moving to Belle Terre, and later worked at River Oaks Golf Club and Bald Head Island Club, and taught at the Myrtle Beach campus of the Golf Academy of America.
Monk was also known to many as one of two members of the rules committee for the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship for 25 years, along with Lew Gach.
The tournament has had as many as 5,000 players at its peak and still attracts more than 3,000 annually. Anyone who was facing a possible disqualification or other penalty for a potential rules violation had the pleasure of meeting with Monk and Gach at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for discussion and their ruling.
“We had the final decisions on the rules. I think the reason it worked so well is we looked at them similarly,” said Gach, who now doles out rules decisions with fellow pro Martyn Woodhouse. “He was always so professional, and even when we had to give somebody bad news he was so empathetic about it.
“I certainly love Frank and will forever, and there will always be a special place in my heart for him.”
Myrtle Beach and golf
Monk grew up in Concord, N.C., was a good junior golfer who regularly visited the Grand Strand, and moved to Myrtle Beach to be a lifeguard. He met George’s mother on the beach.
He entered the golf business and became a Class A PGA of America pro and began his career at Myrtlewood.
He was an advocate for junior golf, and donated his time to instruct in the Carolyn Cudone Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Program. He hosted the season-ending championship of the program while at Belle Terre.
“Some of my best memories of him, and the thing he loved the most, was he loved juniors and loved being out there with us,” George said.
Monk began having health issues several years ago and he had a kidney transplant in May 2019.
“That definitely afforded him some quality of life and probably some extra time on earth, so that was a great thing for him,” George said.
Monk is survived by his son and his granddaughter, Margaret Frances.
“As any Monk can attest, his family meant the world to him,” George wrote in a Facebook post announcing his father’s death. “His love for his granddaughter, my daughter, was always most special to me and I will forever be grateful for the time the three of us had together.”
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 6 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, N.C., and George hopes to organize a golf-related gathering to remember Monk and celebrate his life in Myrtle Beach in January.
