Since the age of 3, golf has been a constant source of joy in Nic Ishee’s life.
The Laurel native, who these days calls Columbus home and spends his time at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point as director of golf, took part in the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina in May. In some ways, it was a culmination of a lifetime of playing the game, but that would imply he plans on stopping. He isn’t.
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Ishee said the sport has brought him countless opportunities he would have never had otherwise. From traveling to new places to giving private lessons to former U.S. presidents, it’s a part of his life to which he feels forever indebted.
A passion for golf may run through Ishee’s DNA. Both his father and grandfather played, and they introduced him to Laurel Country Club, the place that over the years helped him gain a deeper love for the sport. When he and his friends all quit playing baseball in middle school, this local course became like a second home.
Once he was in high school and taking golf seriously, Ishee worked at Laurel Country Club and knew at just 15 years old that working at golf courses was something for which he had a deep passion and wanted to do forever. He maintained this job even throughout college, soaking up knowledge and experience in the world of golf in any way he could.
With low expectations when it came to recruitment, he started his collegiate career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College under golf coach Tommy Snell.
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“He took a chance on me when I was a senior in high school and taught me a lot. The learning curve was huge because, at that point, I didn’t know a lot about what it took to really play the sport,” Ishee said.
During his time at MGCCC, Ishee was named Mississippi Association of Junior and Community Colleges First Team All-State in 2009 and Second Team All-State in 2010. Ishee was also selected as NJCAA All-Region 23 in 2009 and First-Team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American in 2010, finishing fifth in the nation. He was also inducted into the MGCCC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
Ishee spent the second half of his college years playing for William Carey University, where he studied education and gained a lot of skill and experience playing for golf coach DJ Pulley.
“He was a lot more hands-off as a coach than what I was used to, which really taught everyone that if we wanted to get better, we had to work for it ourselves,” Ishee said.
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Here, he led William Carey to its first ever Southern States Athletic Conference championship in 2011 and 2012. He was named SSAC Player of the Week twice in 2011, All-SSAC in 2012 and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Second Team All-American also in 2012.
After college, Ishee returned home and became assistant golf professional at Laurel Country Club where he worked for two more years testing the waters of working while playing golf professionally. In May 2014, Ishee and his wife, Cheyanne, who at the time were only dating, moved to New Orleans where he became the assistant golf professional at Metairie Country Club.
“I kind of always knew that I probably wouldn’t live in Laurel my entire life, and so it was really exciting to just pack everything up and see where that adventure took us,” Ishee said.
After four-and-a-half years in Louisiana, they then made the move to Dallas where Ishee worked for six-and-a-half at Preston Trail Golf Club as assistant golf professional for more than five years and head golf professional for nine months.
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While Ishee’s buddies were getting jobs as head golf professionals he still felt like he didn’t know what he was doing, stumbling upon this club in Dallas was just what he needed to further solidify himself in the world of golf.
“I sat down for my interview, and it was just incredible. Other than the fact that it was a more exclusive club, I knew that it was a place that specialized in developing employees to go higher in this profession,” Ishee said.
Ishee worked alongside the club’s golf professional, Cameron Doan, who dedicated his career to developing people and training them to one day have higher up positions or even run their own golf clubs.
While in Dallas, Ishee played in the 2022 PGA championship, where he finished tied for 11th place. Then, in August 2024, he won the Northern Texas PGA Professional Championship, which qualified him for the 2025 PGA professional championship at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina this past month.
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With a week of heavy rain just before the tournament, Ishee hoped to play the best he could while still having fun. On the first day, he scored 82. On the second, 76, finishing with 158 total and +16 to par.
When discussing the pressure of this tournament, Ishee cited a text from his former boss in Dallas that read, “One of the greatest challenges in golf is playing under pressure when there’s nothing but pride to play for.”
Personal pressure, he explained, feels more daunting than being surrounded by the best pros in the world or playing in front of thousands of people.
Ishee also said it was an honor for him to represent Mississippi in this tournament, recognizing the prevalence golf has in the state that often gets overlooked.
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“There’s a lot of history that golf has here and not a lot of people outside of Mississippi know about it,” he said.A kid from Mississippi finished second in the 2025 PGA tournament and a lot of people don’t even know he’s from here. A lot of kids have come out of Old Waverly and accomplished great things, there’s a kid from West Point that was in the final match to take Ole Miss to the national championship. There’s even a lady from Laurel who won two majors. It’s really cool for me to be a part of putting more of a spotlight on this history of golf in Mississippi.”
Between qualifying and now post tournament, Ishee made the move from Dallas to live in Columbus and take the job as Director of Golf at Old Waverly in West Point.
Being able to work in a higher up position, Ishee describes his job as just keeping everyone happy. He hopes to continue his career doing just this, and focusing on his responsibilities at Old Waverly.
“This job is really a jack of all trades. You learn how to handle a lot of different things at once while also learning how to make sure everyone around you is having a good day,” Ishee said.
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To Ishee, the balance between work and competing makes it hard to find the time for practice. He says it is often easy to forget that he became a golf pro because he loves golf. Being burnt out becomes easy when you’re focusing on work but he strives to enjoy every moment to its fullest.
“I love being around people and making others happy, and this truly is the perfect game for that,” he said. I could never give back enough to what golf has given me. Tome, it’s a game I can play forever.”
