After six Champions Tour seasons, Kirk Hanefeld is embarking on a new career chapter.

Although the 55-year-old pro from Somersworth was in position to earn fully exempt Champions Tour status at last fall's Q-School, he missed his card with a disappointing final round. Faced with once again playing Monday qualifiers to get into tournaments — Hanefeld has been exempt from the Monday grind in just two of his six seasons — he opted for a different route.

“Over the past year or so, I've been deliberating as to what I should be doing for the next 10 years,” said Hanefeld, a longtime club pro. “Having chased the Champions Tour for a period of time, with some success, I just thought it was time to turn the page.”

While winning last fall's Senior PGA Professional National Championship, the crown jewel for club pros 50 and older, Hanefeld attended a meeting that gave rise to an opportunity with Southworth Development, which develops golf and residential resort communities. In February, Southworth named Hanefeld director of instruction at Renaissance Golf Club, the centerpiece of a private golf community in Haverhill, Mass.

In his new post, Hanefeld will oversee creation of a state-of-the-art golf academy at Renaissance while helping establish similar facilities at other Southworth properties, which include courses in Scotland, the Caribbean and Virginia.

Although his job responsibilities will limit his playing schedule, Hanefeld's game remains sharp. At last Monday's New England PGA Ahead Stroke Play event in Newton, Mass., he shot 68 and shared low honors with Hoodkroft's Rich Berberian Jr.

And while Hanefeld will compete mostly around New England this summer, he is entered in the Senior PGA Championship, which starts Thursday in Benton Harbor, Mich. He qualified for the Champions Tour major by virtue of his Senior PGA Professional National Championship victory. Hanefeld will also aim to qualify for July's U.S. Senior Open, he said.

In 61 career Champions Tour starts, Hanefeld has earned $735,635 and notched three top-10 finishes, with his best a tie for fifth at the 2008 Principal Charity Classic. But although he hasn't ruled out a return to Q-School this fall, he's not planning on it.

“It would have taken a win to keep me going (on the Champions Tour) for a sustained period,” he said. “All things considered, it was a pretty good run. I had a blast, and some of the best players of all time I consider to be my friends now, which is pretty cool.”

@Body Copy tagline diamond:.

Players thrill: Matt Kuchar's Players Championship victory last Sunday was a thrill for his father, Peter, who grew up in Manchester and now lives just minutes from the TPC Sawgrass, site of Matt's triumph in the PGA Tour's so-called “fifth major.”

Hosting their son and his family for the week, Peter and wife Meg walked all 72 holes with Matt. And before his weekend rounds, Matt teamed with his wife, Sybi, in tennis matches against Peter and Jim Parker, Sybi's father.

Matt and Sybi, a former Georgia Tech tennis player, routed their elders on Saturday and posted a close third-set victory on Sunday, Peter said.

“It's competitive, but we keep it lighthearted, too,” he said.

With his Players victory and tie for third at this year's Masters, Matt figures to be among the favorites in next month's U.S. Open at San Francisco's Olympic Club. The last time the Open visited Olympic in 1998, Matt finished tied for 14th as a 20-year-old amateur.

Although Peter caddied for Matt in that Open, he'll be just a spectator this year. And in late July he'll return to New Hampshire for his family's annual summer vacation at Newfound Lake. Unfortunately, Matt's tour schedule won't permit him to join the family this year, his father said.

Still, Peter looks forward to seeing his son's image in the champions' gallery along the thoroughfare entering TPC Sawgrass.

“Every time I drive in now for the rest of my life, I'll see a picture of my son,” the 62-year-old said. “And that just makes me feel so proud.”

@Body Copy tagline diamond:.

Through the green: Atkinson's Joe Leavitt (70) won the NHGA's season-opening Tournament of Club Champions at Kingswood May 12. Leavitt, the 2011 State Junior champion, beat Derryfield's David Sherborne by two strokes. Cochecho's Raymond Robichaud (78) won the senior division. ... Crotched Mountain's Josh Chamberlain and Hooper's Ryan Kohler (64) won the NHGA Spring Four-Ball at Kingswood last Sunday. Kingswood's Glenn Martinsen and Pocket Valley's Ken Collins (59) won net honors. ... Although the deadline for entering the State Amateur has passed, there are still openings in all qualifiers. To enter, visit nhgolf.com. Qualifying starts Thursday at Lake Sunapee. ... Entries for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship close Wednesday. Bretwood will host a June 20 qualifier for the championship, which is slated for July 9-14 in Midway, Utah. To enter, visit usga.org. ... Entries for the New England Amateur close May 31. The tournament is July 17-19 in Falmouth, Maine. To enter, visit negagolf.org. ... Entries for the New England Women's Golf Association Championship close June 5. The tournament is July 9-11 in Vassalboro, Maine. To enter, visit nhwga.org. ... Augusta National Golf Club is accepting applications for tickets to the 2013 Masters. The club will award the chance to purchase tickets via two lotteries. Deadline to apply for Thursday-Sunday daily tournament tickets is June 30, and the deadline for Monday-Wednesday practice round tickets is July 30. For more information, visit masters.com.

@Body Copy tagline diamond:.

Mike Cullity's column on New Hampshire golf appears weekly during the golf season in the New Hampshire Sunday News. E-mail him at mcullity@unionleader.com.