08/10/2026
Welcome to another "Meet The Members Monday," where we help you get to know the members of your City of Liberty Lake staff. Teeing up for the feature today is CHRIS JOHNSTON, the HEAD PGA GOLF PRO at Trailhead Golf Course. Let the Q&A scramble begin!
Q: What are your job duties?
A: "My duties are to oversee all staff that work in the Golf Shop. This includes four PGA assistant golf professionals and three golf shop employees. I do all of the scheduling for employees. Work closely with the grounds superintendent and his staff to ensure we have issues on the golf course addressed. Merchandising in the Golf Shop is a big part of my job. I do all of the buying, receiving, pricing and displaying of all the merchandise sold. I also help run golf tournaments for the public and for our men's and ladies' clubs. I also give lessons to players of all ages and abilities."
Q: What prepared you for this job?
A: "I started working at a golf course when I was 14 years old picking the driving range for my dad, who was a golf professional for 38 years, so I started working for him. I moved to night watering the course, then to golf course maintenance and ultimately made it to working in the golf shop. I became a golf professional soon after and joined the PGA of America in 1997. Over my career I have worked at a few golf courses in the Spokane area as an assistant, a head professional and a general manager before coming to Trailhead, where I started as head professional in September of 2011."
Q: What's your favorite book?
A: "I have never been a big reader, and the only two books I have in my office are 'Golf My Way' by Jack Nicklaus and 'Ben Hogan's Five Lessons.' They are basic golf instruction books, but I have also read a lot of golf books about the mental side of the game."
Q: What's your favorite movie?
A: "I am a huge movie guy. It's hard to pinpoint just one but right now the one popping in my head is 'A Few Good Men.' I like movies where you have to try and figure out the outcome. I have always liked courtroom banter. It's also probably the reason I like the TV show "Law & Order.'"
Q: What's the most memorable trip you've taken?
A: "My wife of 29 years and I are cruisers. Our parents were both cruise people, so we kept going with that way of vacationing. My wife likes the Caribbean, so we usually try go each winter in my off season. Now that our kids are older and have significant others, we all cruise together. We have three kids, so we have been cruising each year with them and a good friend of mine and his wife. This winter all 10 of us are going. I love cruises."
Q: What's something you like to do in your off time?
A: "I've been an avid snowboarder since 1986 when I bought my first snowboard out of a skateboard magazine. Recently I have not enjoyed being cold on chairlifts, so I have transitioned to wake surfing in the summers. I still can't believe someone figured out how to get a boat to produce a surfable wave without the surfer touching the boat. It's an amazing and much warmer sport."
Q: What’s one of the most memorable accomplishments or experiences you’ve had at work here?
A: "I was fortunate enough to be highly involved in the design and building of our new clubhouse, which opened in 2023. It was a great experience learning how commercial buildings are budgeted, designed and then built. There are many areas of that process that I never knew happened when you set out to do such a large project. I learned so much from that experience. I would do it again tomorrow."
