Michael Kernicki is in his second year as the head of Ave Maria's golf programs. Kernicki was named Ave Maria's first Director of Golf in June of 2022, and also serves as the head coach for the AMU golf teams.
As Ave Maria's Director of Golf, Kernicki is in charge of all operations concerning the Gyrene golf programs, including budgeting, scheduling, coaching, and training.
As a general manager, Kernicki has led operations at True North Golf Club in Michigan, Canterbury Golf Club in Ohio, Wuskowhan Players Club in Michigan, and The Golf Club of Georgia. He oversaw all elements at these courses. Both True North and Canterbury, his two most recent stops, are award-winning courses, with True North a top ten private course in Michigan and Canterbury home to 13 major championships, including two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship.
Kernicki is also a respected golf professional, serving in such capacity at Canterbury, Indian Creek Country Club in Florida and Bloomfield Hills Country Club in Michigan. In Michigan, he was a two-time PGA Golf Professional of the Year for the Michigan section and has won several sectional PGA tournaments. He has also been a mentor to numerous current golf professionals, as 23 golf pros under his tutelage are now head golf professionals, Directors of Golf or general managers.
He has also been associated with the game of golf in several other ways. He served as a member of the PGA Rules of Golf Committee for 13 years, serving as a rules official at 12 PGA Championships and a Ryder Cup. Kernicki was also elected to the PGA National Board of Directors during his career, and is a published author, co-writing Golf's Short Game for Dummies.
