Frank Joseph Dufina was born on Mackinac Island in the summer of 1884, the youngest of fourteen children born to Alexander and Ursula LaSieur Dufina. Typical of many late nineteenth-century Mackinac Island residents, Frank’s ancestors were French-Canadian and Native American. Frank was born in the house his father built on Bourisaw Lane, attended the Thomas W. Ferry School, and worshipped at Ste. Anne’s Catholic Church. In his early teens, he took a summer job shagging golf balls and caddying for island cottagers on their new golf grounds, called “Wawashkamo,” in the pasture just beyond Hubbard’s Annex. It was here that he fell in love with the game of golf and began a life-long career. The “pasture” golf course lasted only two summers and in the fall of 1898 the cottage golfers made arrangements to construct a new course on Peter Early’s 57-acre farm in the middle of the island.

Club members brought the name “Wawashkamo” to the new course and along with caddie Frank Dufina who was now 15-years old and smitten with the game of golf. Well-liked by the club members, Frank quickly rose from caddie to caddie-master, and club professional in 1903. As such, Frank became one of the country’s first Native American golf professionals.

In the early years, Frank studied the game and refined his golf skills. Although a talented ball striker, Frank was not at the level of the other professionals, and his competitive career was short lived. He played in a few tournaments but, for the most part, his professional career was consumed with managing the club and giving golf lessons. Early on, he was hailed as an outstanding teacher of the game. Sometimes referred to as “Professor” in recognition of his teaching prowess, Dufina instructed hundreds of golfers across multiple generations. In 1917 the Detroit Free Press lauded the 33-year-old Dufina as a gifted instructor: “There are many that beat him, probably, in Scotia’s pastime, but very few have anything on him when it comes to teaching the details of the game.”

Frank skillfully managed the Wawashkamo Golf Club until he retired after the 1966 season. At 83-years-old the “Professor” knew it was time to quit and turn his beloved golf course over to the next generation of professionals. Two years later, Golf Digest magazine recognized Frank as the “longest working golf professional in history.” In 2023 Wawashkamo Golf Club celebrated its 125th anniversary, making it one of Michigan’s oldest, continuously operated golf clubs in Michigan. Frank’s legacy as a golfer, teacher, and welcoming host resonates as an important part of the club’s rich history.

To learn more about Frank Dufina and Wawashkamo Golf Course, read The Charming Gentleman of the Game of Golf, Frank Dufina and the Dufina Family Professional Golfers of Mackinac Island, by Phil Porter with Jennifer Wohletz, available at the Island Bookstore on Mackinac Island.

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