Sean Rice needs new business cards, but he doesn't need a new home address.
Black Creek Club has hired Rice to be its new head professional starting Thursday in Cummings Cove.
Rice spent the last three golf seasons as an assistant pro at The Honors Course and will oversee golf operations, instruction and other professional duties in his new role.
"As we move ahead, Sean is going to be that person who gets people amped up about golf and our golf course," Black Creek general manager Ben Jones said. "He's very organized, very positive, upbeat, energetic, and very excited about the game,"
The timing seems right this time for Rice.
He interviewed for the position about two years ago while the club was undergoing multi-million dollar renovations to the clubhouse and a little work on the course which has hosted Web.com events as well as Tennessee Golf Association championships.
His growth at The Honors -- specifically in administrative and personal-relationship roles, according to Jones -- led him to Black Creek.
"It's a great course that's headed in the right direction," the 33-year-old Rice said. "The clubhouse is fantastic, the course is fantastic, and the amenities are in place. The golf operation catching up will be a big benefit."
Rice grew up in Nashville and worked at Temple Hills Country Club. While earning his degree at Tennessee (class of 2004) Rice worked at Holston Hills Country Club. Head professional Chris Dibble then hired him for four years. During that time, Rice earned his Class-A certification from the PGA of America. Then he accepted a position at The Honors under head professional Henrik Simonsen.
"My wife (Carol) and I have fallen in love with Chattanooga, and I've built a lot of relationships in Tennessee," said Rice, who will retain his residence near Hamilton Place. "The experience of being at The Honors -- in terms of the operations, the service level, the positive attitude that I saw, and the way Henrik performed his job -- was a tremendous addition to my career."
Rice is the second pro from the Honors Course under Simonsen's leadership to become a head professional. Bruce Bowen took that the head job at the fabled Olde Course in Virginia.
"What we try to do with our assistant professional is to get them in a position to be ready to be a head professional," Simonsen said. "I relinquished a lot of duties to Sean and just let him go do his own work. He's extremely responsible, very detail-orientated and handles so much behind the scenes.
"He's going to bring tons of energy to the place and enhance their junior programs, their tournaments and create a vibrant club in the community.There's nothing he can't do."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/Uchiyama