Heidi Wright-Tennyson a welcome addition for Mesa Verde Country Club

Heidi Wright-Tennyson has spent roughly half her life, nearly 24 years, as the director of golf at Moss Creek Golf Club in South Carolina.

Wright-Tennyson grew up professionally at that course and had success there. In 2015, she won the prestigious Carolinas Section PGA Golf Professional of the Year award.

Still, she said she was looking for a new challenge, a new opportunity. Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa has provided that.

The private club is currently under roughly $8 million worth of construction, approved by the equity members, general manager Jeremy Samson said. Thirteen new tee complexes and three new greens are being installed, and the lake is being redone. The clubhouse is being renovated and expanded, with a larger kitchen and upstairs patio area.

These renovations started in February, the same month that a change in leadership occurred. Wright-Tennyson was hired as Mesa Verde’s head golf professional on Feb. 1, taking over for Tom Sargent, who held that post for nearly 23 years at Mesa Verde before retiring.

Wright-Tennyson is a generation younger, as she turns 50 on Jan. 8.

“Me and Elvis,” she said, noting that she shares her birthday with Elvis Presley. Wright-Tennyson is Mesa Verde’s new rock star.

The head golf professional not only represents the club as a figurehead, she said. She oversees the entire golf operation, from staffing to merchandising to tournaments to instruction.

She has been getting to know the members at a club that has skewed younger in recent years, Samson said, and is in high demand. The club has a waiting list.

“I understand being very involved in your community, knowing everybody and everybody knowing you,” Wright-Tennyson said. “I was pleased to find out I was replacing somebody that had been here a long time, because I think that says a lot about the facility. I was very honored to follow and be chosen after somebody like Tom Sargent.

“He’s been absolutely terrific with me in my transition. Even before I arrived, I called him and drilled him with all kinds of questions to get to know more about the club. He’s always in my back pocket if I need him, and I’m always open to other peers’ advice or mentors … I hope to retire here just like he did.”

Sargent had played in the Jones Cup, the annual community golf tournament in which area clubs compete against each other every year. But this year, it was Wright-Tennyson leading the charge for Mesa Verde. The club failed to win its third straight Jones Cup title, but finished a respectable second place at six-under-par.

Wright-Tennyson had fun, sure, but she also wanted to win.

“Although I love every dynamic of my job, playing and teaching are still my favorite parts,” she said. “I still love competitive golf … I’ve kind of promised myself that if I get to the point where I’m not thrilled about the game, I’ll find a new profession. I don’t think you can be an outstanding professional unless you’re still truly passionate about playing and teaching.”

One program she has implemented at Mesa Verde is Operation 36, developed by Ryan Dailey and Matt Reagan. It is designed for junior players or newcomers to the sport, teaching them to play from the green backward.

Players start 25 yards from the hole and have to shoot a 36 for nine holes. If they do, they play the next round 50 yards from the hole, and so on.

On one recent Tuesday night, Wright-Tennyson said she had 24 youngsters competing.

“It’s fun to see them get excited,” she said. “You can tell immediately if they hit their goal, just from their walk and their facial expressions as they come to the scoring table. They’re a blast.”

Samson, who has been the general manager at Mesa Verde for five years, would say the same about having Wright-Tennyson on board as head golf professional. Out of about 25,000 PGA golf professionals nationwide, Wright-Tennyson said she is one of the 4% that are female.

“It was talked about, not because of Heidi,” Samson said. “It was more like, how would the members take it? It’s not common. Me, I had concern of members’ comments, but honestly, I’ve heard more comments about being proud. It didn’t matter, but they’re proud that we have a female head golf professional, because it shows that the club didn’t put that as a factor. We were just going after the best person, which we found, and that’s really neat to me.”

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo