MSGA Volunteer Spotlight: Mike Hinkey

Mike Hinkey (left) & Billy Peel (right)

Lutherville, Md. – Mike Hinkey currently serves as the Vice President of the Maryland State Golf Association and is likely to assume the role of President in 2027. Hinkey also serves as a rules official and chairs the Tournament and Competitions Committee. If you told Mike 10 years ago this is where he would be today, he probably would not have believed you.

Hinkey began playing golf at Rolling Road Golf Club around the age of 10. Rolling Road has been a home away from home for more than five decades. He grew up at the club, taking lessons and working in the golf shop as a teenager and young adult, and maintains a membership to this day.

“I basically grew up with golf,” Hinkey said. “I would spend my days all summer long here in one form or another. If I wasn’t working in the shop, I was playing golf. I was possibly swimming at times, but mostly I was on the golf course.”

Hinkey played high school and Division II college golf and considered himself a competitive golfer, holding a single-digit handicap for much of his playing career. He even played in some MSGA events as a teenager and young adult. He recalls knowing of and respecting the MSGA because Rolling Road had hosted events throughout the years, giving him a connection with the association long before he became involved as a volunteer.

Earlier in his life, Hinkey spent 36 years working for what was then Westinghouse Electric Corporation before the company was purchased by Northrop Grumman. He retired in late 2017, but he knew he did not want his retirement to mean simply sitting around. While he expected to play more golf, he also knew he would not be able to play every day.

“I was the kind of person that didn’t want to just sit around and do nothing,” Hinkey said.

Hinkey reached out to his friend David “Moose” Brown about finding a volunteer opportunity. Brown, an MSGA Board member who would later become president, connected him with Kelly Newland, who was then serving as the association’s Rules & Competitions Director. Hinkey began volunteering as an MSGA rules official in 2018.

“I started helping out in 2018 as a rules official, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Hinkey said. “It’s enjoyable. I have fun doing it. I get to see some really good players and some really good golf and help grow the game in the state of Maryland.”

Volunteering gave Hinkey a productive purpose in retirement while allowing him to stay connected to the game he had loved for so many years.

Hinkey believed he knew the Rules of Golf well because of his time as a player, but he quickly found out he had much to learn while studying for rules certification.

“I thought I knew the Rules of Golf pretty well, only to find out how complicated they really are once I started studying them and taking practice tests to prepare for taking the USGA exam,” Hinkey said. “After several attempts at taking the exam, I succeeded in achieving Expert Certification on the Rules.”

His background as a former competitive golfer has also given him a valuable perspective when officiating.

“I think my background of playing competitively during high school, college, and some after college gives me a perspective as an official that helps me understand where players are coming from when we have situations out on the course,” he said.

The Rules of Golf and his experience as a volunteer have also taught Hinkey greater patience when dealing with players and on-course situations. At the same time, volunteering has given him a much greater appreciation for everything involved in running a tournament.

“I sort of knew that a lot of the stuff had to happen, but I hadn’t experienced it and didn’t have a full appreciation or respect for what the staff at the MSGA, or the staff at the Middle Atlantic Golf Association or the USGA, or any organization that runs golf tournaments has to do,” Hinkey said. “There’s an awful lot that goes into it.”

When asked about his most memorable experiences with the association, Hinkey identified several moments on the golf course.

One of those came during the 2024 Maryland Junior Championships at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Course. Hinkey was working around the seventh tee when he witnessed two different players make holes-in-one on the same hole over the course of the championship.

“It was pretty cool being on or around the tee when each of them happened,” Hinkey said. “I was beginning to think maybe I was a good luck charm for the youngsters.”

Another memorable moment came at the 2024 Maryland Senior Amateur at Green Spring Valley Hunt Club, where he watched Dave Nocar make an ace on the first hole. Hinkey also recalled watching his friend and fellow Rolling Road member Kevin Grady win the 2023 Maryland Amateur at Chartwell Golf & Country Club.

But while those moments on the golf course stand out, it is the people of the MSGA who keep Hinkey coming back. The players, MSGA staff, and fellow volunteers have deepened his connection with the game and created relationships that extend beyond tournament days.

“They’re friends,” Hinkey said of his fellow volunteers. “They’re not just fellow rules officials at this point. They’re friends that I play golf with various times. We talk about things, and we know about each other’s families. They’re like a second family, in reality, and that’s how it’s become for me.”

That sense of connection is also what Hinkey believes makes the MSGA special.

“I think the people are what really make it work,” Hinkey said. “We’ve got good processes and procedures, but the collaboration among the people and the people working together is what really makes it work. It’s the glue that makes it stick together.”

Hinkey initially joined the MSGA simply because he wanted a meaningful way to volunteer. He didn’t start with aspirations of becoming president one day, but he kept finding new ways to contribute.

During his first year as a rules official, fellow volunteers and leaders began encouraging him to consider joining the Board. He initially hesitated because he and his family also spend significant time at a second home in Delaware, but he ultimately joined the Board.

“I hadn’t really even thought about being on the Board,” Hinkey said. “I was looking for something to do that I would enjoy, that would marry up my love for golf and my need to have some productive things to do. It was a fit.”

That decision eventually led Hinkey to his current role as MSGA Vice President. He expects to become president in 2027, though he says that was never part of his original plan.

“When I said I would do it, I said, ‘We’ll try it, we’ll see how it goes, and we’ll take it from there,’” Hinkey said. “I didn’t have any aspirations that that was my goal, or that’s where I wanted to go.”

Hinkey’s devotion to giving back extends well beyond the MSGA. His volunteer work is also closely connected to his career as an engineer and engineering and program management leader.

During the latter stages of his professional career, Hinkey saw firsthand the challenge of attracting enough qualified engineers, particularly from diverse backgrounds, to meet workforce needs. He and his wife, Kathy Benson, a retired STEM educator at the elementary school level, have used their retirement to find ways to help young people become more interested and excited about careers in STEM.

“I feel very strongly about making a difference for young people and putting them on a path to success into the future,” Hinkey said.

That commitment has led Hinkey to serve on several STEM-related nonprofit boards, including The Ingenuity Project and Digital Harbor Foundation. His work with those organizations has also created an opportunity to bring two of his passions together: golf and STEM.

Over the last year, Hinkey has worked with First Tee of Greater Baltimore and the National Electronics Museum to develop STEM workshops centered around golf. The programs have explored topics such as the aerodynamics of the golf ball and swing and the science involved in putting. A future workshop will give participants the opportunity to build their own putters, while another could focus on the agronomy and science behind golf courses.

Hinkey sees a similar opportunity to make a difference for young people through the MSGA. When asked about the association programs he is most proud of, he pointed to Youth on Course.

“I think the Youth on Course program is the one that I would point out there,” Hinkey said. “I think it’s really made a difference in terms of growing the game for us.”

He believes the program is helping introduce more young people to the game and create opportunities for them to remain involved. Hinkey also pointed to the MSGA’s partnerships with organizations such as First Tee and the association’s scholarship opportunities as ways the organization can help young people on and off the golf course.

Looking ahead, Hinkey hopes the MSGA will continue creating opportunities for young people while maintaining events that players want to compete in and look forward to each year.

“Making a difference for people, continuing to have our events be ones that people love to play in and want to play in and look forward to playing in,” Hinkey said.

For Hinkey, golf is also a game that can create lifelong opportunities and connections.

“I think golf is a lifetime opportunity and a lifetime sport for everyone,” he said.

He also sees opportunities for the MSGA Board to continue evolving. While rules officials have historically made up much of the association’s volunteer leadership, Hinkey believes there is value in bringing people with different professional backgrounds and areas of expertise into the organization.

For those considering becoming involved with the MSGA, Hinkey’s advice is simple: give it a try.

“It’s not a commitment for more than a few days the first year you do it, and you can do it as few days or as many days as you want,” he said.

Hinkey also highlighted the flexibility of volunteering when asked what people might not realize about being an MSGA volunteer. Participants can select the events that fit their schedules, whether they are still working or are retired and have more time to give.

Hinkey also emphasized that new volunteers are not expected to learn everything on their own.

“We’re not going to throw you out there on your own and toss you into a pool and say, ‘Swim,’” Hinkey said. “We will partner you with experienced officials to show you the ropes and help you along.”

For Hinkey, what began as a way to remain active after retirement has developed into something much larger. He has built friendships, deepened his understanding of the game, and taken on leadership roles he never originally envisioned.

Yet, his path to potentially becoming a future president of the MSGA can still be traced back to the place where his relationship with golf began. More than five decades after first being introduced to the game at Rolling Road Golf Club, Hinkey remains connected to the sport that has been a constant throughout his life, now helping guide its future for others.

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As a nonprofit organization, the MSGA relies heavily on volunteer support and continues to grow through the generosity of these individuals. Volunteers assist the staff in providing the highest level of service to golfers and golf clubs in Maryland. Interested in getting involved with the MSGA? Please visit our Volunteer webpage to learn more.

MSGA Mission
To serve, grow, and advance the game of golf in Maryland and the District of Columbia