Scully charged with stealing, reselling Streamsong merchandise

Friday, January 5, 2024

Writing from Chicago

In his decade as Medinah Country Club’s head professional, Mike Scully conducted himself with the utmost propriety.

Scully’s sterling reputation took a blow on Nov. 22, when he was arrested in Florida and charged with three felony counts of grand theft, scheming to defraud and selling merchandise worth nearly $100,000 belonging to Streamsong Golf Resort, the multi-course facility Scully worked for from February 2022 to July 29, 2023.

Under Florida law, the organized scheme to defraud is a first degree felony. The other counts are second-degree charges.

When he was arrested, Scully was in his fifth week as the general manager and director of golf for Kinsale Golf Club, a Gil Hanse-Jim Wagner design under construction in North Naples, Fla. Kinsale immediately severed its relationship with Scully.

Scully’s attorney, Mark Rankin of St. Petersburg. Fla., did not respond to inquiries.

The arraignment, in which Scully or Rankin will receive the formal charges, is set for Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m. ET, in the Polk County Courthouse in Bartow, Fla. Scully need not appear at that hearing if his counsel has filed the required paperwork.

Florida sentencing guidelines are complicated, but as a first offender, Scully could get probation should he be convicted.

Scully, 58, offered no resistance when Polk County sheriff’s officers came to his Fort Myers apartment, served the warrant and arrested him. He was released upon posting $2,500 bond.

According to the affidavit filed by the Polk County sheriff’s department to induce the arrest warrant, Streamsong accountants discovered a pair of purchases of Titleist golf balls, one for 100 dozen ProV1s ordered on Aug. 29, a month after he left Streamsong for the under-construction Kinsale Country Club, and shipped to the Detroit office of Kinsale’s management company. An additional 24 dozen ProV1s had been ordered on June 2 but drop-shipped to a James Haught of Fort Myers.

The two purchases totaled about $5,600. Kinsale reimbursed Streamsong for the purchase promptly, but the interest of Streamsong’s accountants was stirred. According to the affidavit, “it was learned Scully shipped multiple packages through FedEx under Streamsong’s account. Streamsong estimated approximately 63 FedEx shipments occurred” to a pair of club resale companies, proclubs.com, of Phoenix, Ariz., and Golfstix of Eden Prairie, Minn.

Merchandise Scully is said to have trafficked in includes not only balls, but clubs, putters, rental sets, apparel, invitational putters and custom club covers. Some items ended up on eBay, the sheriff’s department said.

According to records provided the sheriff’s department by the two companies, Scully was paid $93,680 by Proclubs and $7,963 by Golfstix while he worked for Streamsong, and an additional $41,893 by Proclubs. The total of $143,536 apparently covers sales while Scully was working elsewhere.

Medinah reviewed its financial records and found no irregularities during Scully’s tenure, which ended shortly after the 2012 Ryder Cup. Since then, Scully ran the golf department at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. for about a dozen years, followed by a stint at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga.

Scully, a Prospect High and Illinois graduate who played on the Fighting Illini's 1983 Big Ten football title team, made $202,826 in his final year at Medinah, according to the club’s public tax return. He earned $300,788 at Desert Mountain in 2016. He was making $150,000 annually from Streamsong, which is managed by Northbrook-based KemperSports.

Within the golf community, Scully, a Class A PGA of America member who was the Illinois Section’s professional of the year in 2008, would be subject to expulsion from the national club pro body should he be found guilty of any of the three felony charges.

Right now, that’s the least of his problems.

– Tim Cronin

Photo of Scully from RecentlyBooked.com