Stan Engle, a long-time GAP Executive Committee member, died last week.

PCC's Engle, long-time Executive Committee member, dies

  Stan Engle, a former Executive Committee member who spearheaded major changes to the GAP Team Matches and was a spirited supporter of the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust, died late last week after a prolonged illness.

  Engle, 77, who called Philadelphia Country Club home as well as Commonwealth National Golf Club and Moselem Springs Golf Club, served on the Golf Association of Philadelphia Executive Committee from 1996-2004. It was an active period for Engle. He also was Philadelphia CC’s president from 2000-03. Stan also was a member of the Jupiter Hills Club in Tequesta, Fla., from 1988 until his death. In 2007, Stan served as president of the Jupiter Hills Club after serving in a number of roles prior to that.

  Stan and his wife Nancy also belonged to Grandfather Golf & Country Club in Linville, N.C., and spent their winters there recently.

  Engle was GAP’s Golf Administration Committee Chairman from 1997-2001, an important time in the history of the Association and the GAP Team Matches. In 1997, the Association approved a name change of the Suburban League Matches to the GAP Team Matches as well as a realignment of Divisions and Groups.

  In 1999, as the GAP Team Matches became more popular, Engle’s Committee was responsible for more major Divisional changes. That year, the Committee approved to tweak the GAP Team Matches to its current format: Division AAA became Division AA and Divisions AA and A became Division A. It was also decided that year that Divisions A and B were assured a challenge match. The aforementioned changes officially took place in 2000.

  Also in 2000, the Association’s tournament schedule expanded exponentially to meet growing demand. It went from 23 tournaments in 1997 to 44 in 2000. Also that year, qualifiers for the Amateur Championship and Patterson Cup were created and held to provide more members with an opportunity to compete. When Engle stepped down as Golf Administration Chair, the tournament schedule had grown to 48.

  In eight of his nine years on the Golf Association of Philadelphia Executive Committee, Engle served as an organization representative on the J. Wood Platt Board. Engle was a strong believer in the Trust. He was part of a small group in 1994 that was the initial Lifetime Donor class.

  Toward the end of his Golf Association of Philadelphia term, 2003-04, Engle served as the Membership Committee Chairman. During that time, the Association welcomed a remarkable 14 clubs.

  “Stan did a superb job on behalf of the golf associations he represented over a 20-year period. He also is one of the best friends I’ve ever had,” said Craig Ammerman, a longtime friend of the Engles who served as President of GAP from 1999 to 2002. “We had a lot of fun at each other’s expense."

  "I am very sad to hear of the passing of a long-time friend and an ardent supporter of GAP,” said Ray Cross, the GAP President when Engle began his service. “Stan was an important member of GAP's Executive Committee during the late 90s when we made by-law changes and increased the number of events for member participation. He will be missed."

Golf Association of Philadelphia
  Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 150 Full Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.