Mark
Sperling
Mark was born on Nov. 20th,1961 in Albany,
New
York but grew up in River Falls where he excelled as a
Junior State and CVGA
player. Mark’s
backyard in River Falls
backed up to a football field and it was there that he
began his self-taught golf
career. In 1979, he earned 2nd place
at the Wisconsin State Junior Masters.
Mark attended River Falls High School where he
qualified 3 times for the WIAA
State Tournament and finished 4th as an
individual and 4th as
a team in 1980, and 3rd as a team in
1979. In addition to golf, Mark
lettered 2 years in wrestling at River Falls High
School.
After High School,
Mark worked with Craig Palmer at River
Falls Country Club to further sharpen his golf game. Mark attended
Phoenix College and Steven F.
Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas where he played
golf all four years finishing 2nd
as a team in 1985 at the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Mark’s first CVGA victory
came at Whitehall in 1980. He would
follow that victory with an astounding 41 more wins
making him 2nd
in all-time CVGA
wins. His greatest achievement occurred in one weekend
1988, shooting 91 (-11) at
Chetek and the next day firing a 98 (-7) at Bloomer
(these were the days of the 27 hole tournaments) . In 1995,
2011, and 2012 Mark was CVGA Player
of the Year and finished Runner-up in 2006 and 2008.
On the state level,
Mark won the 1987 WSGA Match Play at Kenosha Country
Club; in 1993, at the
Eau Claire Country Club, Mark finished
runner-up in the State Match Play, and in 2011,
Mark also won the prestigious
Minnesota Mid-Am.
In 1987, Mark was the
5th medalist in the United States Public
Links Championship.
Mark has worked in the
mortgage business since 2008. He and his
wife Patricia have three
children and live Lakeville, MN.
His sons Tanner and Brandon play regularly the
CVGA, and his daughter,
Nicole, is currently in Medical School.