Evan Harmeling joined the students at Savannah Legacy Academy for a swing training session on December 7, 2023, at Southbridge Savannah Golf Club. The students went through two rotations through the morning session. One rotation saw the students learning putting, with an emphasis on distance control, as they targeted two different holes from the same starting point. The second rotation featured a hitting demonstration by Evan Harmeling and then a chance for the students to discover their own full swing. Evan discussed his routine and critical points of emphasis with his swing as he called his shots for the students. It was amazing to see him call his shot time after time and the ball go exactly as he called it. Overall, this was an excellent experience for these students to get out on the course, meet an aspiring professional, and build relationships with each other and their new biggest fan, Evan.
Evan Harmeling of North Reading, Mass, was the 2013 Mass Open champion and former standout at Princeton who also won the 2020 Savannah Golf Championship. According to a recent article on the PGA Tour Website, Evan holds two subjects near his heart: education and opportunity. We saw his heart first-hand this week. The article outlines his heart for the community and impact on the future of the game of golf, “He speaks passionately and from experience. He spent four months working at an Achievement First charter school in New Haven, Connecticut, during a college gap year. “The teachers in these areas are saints,” he said. Harmeling, 35, feels fortunate to play professional golf for a living. There’s stress in fighting to keep your job on the Korn Ferry Tour and advance to the PGA TOUR, to be sure. But it doesn’t compare to life outside the ropes, he believes. “It’s a complete joke,” he said in comparison. “We live in a complete bubble and can easily get caught up in it,” said Harmeling, who played PGA TOUR Americas from 2013-19 before earning Korn Ferry Tour status in 2020. “I get caught up in it sometimes. Yes, this is my profession, but I’m in a very privileged position to be playing golf and having this as my work. Our purpose for society here is entertainment. We’re entertaining people, and that’s great. But at the same time, I want to do more than that.”
We are lucky Evan shared his time with Savannah First Tee, and we would like to thank him for his commitment to his home community and those students in the community where he plays.
Learn more about Evan’s pathway to golf here in this excellent article by Live Forever Golf and the PGA Tour article highlighting his Foundation and impact on the community.
If you would like to learn more about our school program or volunteering with First Tee-Savannah, please contact us at 912 446 5885.