Dr. Klenton Sparks, Sr., D.B.A. PGA
Director
PGA Golf Management
Kiah Hall, 2110
Princess Anne, MD 21853
Phone: 410-621-1359
Email: ksparks@umes.edu
Servant Leadership
Klenton Sparks Sr. DBA leads the PGA Golf Management Program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as the Director within the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Klenton teaches courses in First Year Experience, Golf Facility Operations, Management, Retail Management, Business Planning, and Golf Instruction.
Dr. Sparks is a native of Flint, Michigan. A graduate of Liberty University with a Doctorate in Business Administration holds a Master of Education degree along with a Master of Business Administration. Klenton is a 28-year member of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America currently serving in the Mid Atlantic Sections with past tenures in Georgia, Michigan, and South Florida Sections. Klenton is the former Associate Dean at Florida Career College in Boynton Beach, Florida. He is a creative education coach with the ethical use of technology for classroom delivery of syllabus, administrative qualities of accountability, mission statement adherence, with an obligation to profit. Quantitative for results while qualitative for understanding.
Sparks golf credentials include the most recent being The Old Course at Broken Sound Golf Club in Boca Raton, Florida responsible for conducting hiring interviews with onboarding sessions to train new hires to manage the driving range, golf carts for officials, and caddies for the Champions Tour Timber Tech Championship Charles Schwab Cup semifinal round of the playoffs. At Callaway Gardens Golf and Resort managed the full operations of a 54-hole golf resort which hosted the Buick Southern Open.
Founder of the Women’s Collegiate Golf Championship in Atlanta, Georgia, a major fund-raising event, recently celebrating 28 years, where selected women HBCU teams participate and play in the 3-day event. As a PGA Coach, American Development Model (ADM), and First Tee volunteer, Dr. Sparks creates positive experiences early, for all athletes, to keep more players engaged and retained in our sport. Introducing the right aspects of play in a structure that is fun, engaging, and progressively challenging allows golfers of all ages to experience the challenges and joys of golf. First Tee is an international youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to kids and teens while shaping the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like integrity, respect, and perseverance through the game of golf.
Klenton served in the United States Air Force, 1977-1981 with an Honorable Discharge and has authored five self-published books thru Amazon Digital Services that include Sanfrin’s Rainbow, A Crow’s Shade, United China: Operation Little York, My Daddy Raised Men, and Touched. This includes a peer-reviewed journal publication, “Sparks, K., Cates, S., (2018). Pedagogic technology in adult vocation education: Self efficacy. International Journal of Business Research and Information Technology, Vol.5, No. 1, Winter, 2018.”
