https://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-with-johnson-wagner/My brother plays at the same club as Johnson Wagner in Charlotte, and one day on the range struck up a conversation with him. He was stunned when Johnson mentioned that two of his all-time favorite courses are The Cal Club and Chicago GC. You expect that sort of an answer from people in this Discussion Group, so Wagner’s answer was intriguing. That was in the summer of 2018 and it ultimately led to this Feature Interview.
I remember watching Wagner win in Hawaii in 2012. The design has just enough Raynor in it to make me tune in most years. Waialae has two 5 pars, but Wagner played the eight holes 9 under that week, which is pretty tidy! Certainly, the win did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm for Raynor and classic architecture in general and it is no surprise to learn that The Old White is now among his favorite Tour stops. As a 39 year old, you would certainly think that he would appreciate any edge that he could obtain when playing against the young PGA Tour bombers. That edge to me seems to be his appreciation of golf course architecture.
Wagner went to high school in Garrison, NY and played events at places like Piping Rock and The Creek. He also won the Met Open in 2001 (as an amateur) and 2002 at Bethpage Black and WFW, respectively. Not too shabby! You can imagine his surprise/delight when he went to Chattanooga, Tennessee to play in a Nationwide event and viola, there was Black Creek with a slew of similar holes that he recognized from his New York days. Wagner clearly appreciates how fortunate he was to be exposed to world class architecture early on. That passion has led him to places like Pine Valley and the Cal Club and Chicago GC to further his education.
The last PGA Tour player that GolfClubAtlas interviewed was Zac Blair (January 2018). I don’t know about you but a kindred spirit in architecture is someone that I find super easy to root for. Such is the case with Charlotte resident Johnson Wagner – best wishes in this new season!