DECATUR - The new head professional at Hickory Point will be a familiar face to many Decatur golfers.

Chuck Weigel, 30, takes over next week and will replace Jay Dexter, who is retiring after running the pro shop since 2002.

Weigel has been the head pro at Scovill since 2003 and has worked at various Decatur Park District courses since he was 16 and worked part-time at Faries Park.

"I'm excited. I think it will be a good thing," Weigel said. "It's going to be a little bit of a change but I look forward to working with a new staff. Andy Potts will be my assistant and we've already talked a little bit. We each have some ideas and I think we'll work real well as a team."

Potts becomes the full-time assistant at Hickory Point. Current Park District assistant pros Travis Lehman and Joe Hammel will assume most of the day-to-day operations at Scovill.

Weigel started to play golf at age 5 in the Decatur Park District's junior program. He was a member of the MacArthur High School golf team and after graduating in 1997, he attended Kentucky Wesleyan University, where he played collegiate golf and was a manager on the school's basketball team that won the Division II national championship in 2000.

Weigel is an avid motorsports fans and is a regular at Macon Speedway and at assorted NASCAR races. Ironically, he said the only downside to his new job will be the drive. He lives adjacent to Scovill and could look over the course from his home.

"That's all right," he said. "It's not a bad drive out here. And I'm excited about this golf course."

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