U.S. Mid-Am at Bandon Dunes

[Brad Swanson]

Two interesting thing in Trip's interview -

1. He said the Masters MIGHT be his last tournament and

2. He said he didn't like the fact that were more than 100 reinstated amateurs in the field this week. That's about 40% of the field.

That last statistic is pretty alarming for someone that has a pipe dream about trying to compete on this level.  I guess it'll be city tournaments and state ams for this working stiff.

Cheers,
Brad

[George Pazin]

There is a great interview on the usga midam website with Kuehne.  He says that the Masters will be his last tournament.  Worth a read...

www.usmidam.org

Thanks for the notice - here is the link a little more direct:

Champion's Interview

That really is an amazing read. Trip might be the most grounded person I've ever read about, he just seems so happy with life. I agree with Jamie, though, it's hard to imagine him just walking away.

Maybe he could start a golf club and his own little invitational and let it grow from there....

 

[Mike Benham]

Trying to come up with a medal score for a match is silly no matter how you do it.

Joe -

Did you get a bag this week?  If so, comments on the play you saw? The strategy used?  And how your "job" was with more skilled players.

Mike

[rgkeller]

>>Trip might be the most grounded person I've ever read about, he just seems so happy with life.<<

Born rich and then taken under wing by Druckenmiller are good bases for happiness.

[BCrosby]

100 reinstated pros? Wow.

If you add the number of golf coaches and other people for whom playing golf is part of their job description, what guys like Trip and Steve did is all the more impressive.

Bob

[George Pazin]

>>Trip might be the most grounded person I've ever read about, he just seems so happy with life.<<

Born rich and then taken under wing by Druckenmiller are good bases for happiness.

Not judging by my fellow alums at school. I guess you're fortunate if your experiences have been otherwise.

Maybe all the GCGC guys are just good guys.

[Sean Leary]

I struggle with the pro thing.  It doesn't bother me at all if a pro who played mini-tour  and below gets reinstated.  If they played consistently at Nationwide Tour or higher, then I don't like it. Most ex pros were not touring pros.

Around here, many of the top am's like to play in the small pro events because the competition is lesser than the top am events and it is easier for them to earn points (forState Team, etc).

[Doug Wright]

There is a great interview on the usga midam website with Kuehne.  He says that the Masters will be his last tournament.  Worth a read...

www.usmidam.org

Thanks for the notice - here is the link a little more direct:

Champion's Interview

That really is an amazing read. Trip might be the most grounded person I've ever read about, he just seems so happy with life. I agree with Jamie, though, it's hard to imagine him just walking away.

Maybe he could start a golf club and his own little invitational and let it grow from there....

 

Great interview.

[JESII]

It was a great interview.

I'm curious though, how does retiring from competition after achieving such great heights as he has this year illustrate that you have 'played golf solely for the love of the game'? And how is this going to 'change amateur golf'?






As to the college coaching question...would you consider college basketball coaches professional basketball players? I doubt, as Bob Crosby stated above, that "playing golf" is in the job description of a single college golf coach. A good playing coach is just an added bonus in the recruiting phase, nothing more. Once the season begins, it's about numbers...

[George Pazin]

As to the college coaching question...would you consider college basketball coaches professional basketball players?

Generally speaking, of course, they're too old, and they're usually former players, pro or college anyway, but I'd be surprised if the NCAA would consider them amateurs and allow them to play.

Just seems like an odd place to draw the line.

[JESII]

My point is that "playing ability" is not a direct correlation to any success as a college coach, and coaching college golf does not provide more "free time" to practice than several other occupations you see represented at a USGA Mid-Am...

[JSlonis]

I'm a reinstated amateur.  As an Asst. Golf Professional at the club level, I was about as far away from being a "professional golfer" as you could get.  Most top-level mid-am players are playing more and playing better than a large majority of PGA club level professionals.

[Jason Topp]

It seems like many of the amateurs I know that compete, even on a state level, play so much golf that I find it difficult to believe that reinstated amateurs have any advantage over them.  

[AndrewB]

My reading of Trip's words from this interview and a few during the Walker Cup are not that he feels these former professionals shouldn't be allowed to get the amateur status back, but that he thinks it's sad that practically all of the really good young players are choosing professional golf over amateur golf.  He chose amateur golf over professional golf and, I believe, is the only first team division one All-American to do so in the past 20 years or so; he alone is the reason why my previous senence contained "practically all" instead of just "all".  His words make it clear that he truly appreciates and loves amateur golf, and simply wants the amateur game to be viewed on the same level as professional golf.  I really respect him for this and hope that his success, both in golf and in life, will at least make many players realize how special the amateur game is.

[Russell Lo]

My friend hosted Trip at Olympic a couple of months before the Am so he could get a look at the course. My buddy ws the high handicapper at 7, the otheres were a 4 and a 2 respectively. Trip at +5 was clearly the low.

When trying to calculate strokes for the match they were playing they asked Trip how many strokes each should get since this was his first go round at Olympic.

He looked at them and said, "Y'all take as many strokes as you think you'll need".

Way to go Trip!

[George Pazin]

My point is that "playing ability" is not a direct correlation to any success as a college coach, and coaching college golf does not provide more "free time" to practice than several other occupations you see represented at a USGA Mid-Am...

I agree.

However, can you explain why a driving range pro or club pro would be considered a pro and a college coach isn't? I see JohnV's point that many club pros play events for money, but if that's the case, couldn't there be a distinction there?

I don't know, there's no easy answer. I can certainly understand why there are reinstated am's, and I personally have no problem with it, outside of the small number of guys who actually make the PGA Tour for a few years.

All in all, it's about 100th in terms of pressing issues in golf today, to me. I'm just curious about the logic behind it.

[Tim Pitner]

I'm not sure why we should pat Trip Kuehne on the back for being a money manager and amateur golfer rather than a professional golfer.  He made that choice--good for him.  But, if others would rather use their talents in the professional ranks, why would anyone object?  It seems like there's some kind of outdated, hard-on-for-Bobby Jones, looking-down-on-professional-golfers sort of thing going on here.  

[Steve Kline]

I think he chose amateur golf because he knew what Tiger did to him in the 94 Am was going to happen to him the rest of his life if he turned pro and he figured he could make a hell of a lot of money running a venture capital fund while still playing a lot of golf.

[JohnV]

For those that think that the local section pros aren't playing for real money here is the breakdown of the top of the money list for the Tri-State Section.  The Tri-State includes WV, most of western PA (not Erie) and a little bit of MD.

Note, their money list doesn't include the West Penn Open or other events that allow non-section pros to participate so they probably all made more than this.
      

Official Money     10/3/07

TOTAL              $580,689.45

Ryan Sikora             $35,037.75
Robert Moss             $30,000.00
Joseph J Boros          $27,067.50
Brad Westfall           $25,441.50
Gordon F. Vietmeier     $25,143.75
Barry Evans             $23,536.75
John Aber               $22,075.75
Brent Johnson           $21,513.50
Roy Vucinich            $20,638.00
John Mazza              $18,780.50
Scott Davis             $18,567.25
Jason Martin            $17,865.75
Robert McClellan        $17,242.50
Bob Ford                $15,550.00
Bob Meyer               $15,069.25
Dennis Dolci            $14,891.95
Richard von Tacky       $13,757.50
Ty Roush                $12,407.25
John Aubrey             $11,851.50
Travis Dickson          $11,391.00

[TEPaul]

YOU BROUGHT IT HOME TRIPEROO!

YOU MAH MAN!!!

[Joe Bentham]

Trying to come up with a medal score for a match is silly no matter how you do it.

Joe -

Did you get a bag this week?  If so, comments on the play you saw? The strategy used?  And how your "job" was with more skilled players.

Mike

Mike
I did.  What do you do for a living?  Is it something that should be in quotation marks as well?

[Richard Boult]

I'm not sure why we should pat Trip Kuehne on the back for being a money manager and amateur golfer rather than a professional golfer.  He made that choice--good for him.  But, if others would rather use their talents in the professional ranks, why would anyone object?  It seems like there's some kind of outdated, hard-on-for-Bobby Jones, looking-down-on-professional-golfers sort of thing going on here.  

In "A Love Affair with the Game" by Sandy Tatum, he shares, "The word amateur derives from the Greek words meaning, as a verb, to love and, as a noun, lover. That word, therefore, puts amateur golfers in the right frame of reference, because they are the lovers of it whose love provides the heart, and indeed the soul, of the game of golf."

To me, it seems that golf played professionally, is an entirely different game than the one we play... a game I think Trip can be "patted on the back" for recognizing the value of.

Obviously, many pros "love the game". However, when their livelihood begins to depend on it, their relationship with the game inevitably changes.

I think the point Trip is trying to make is that there is an alternative for good young golfers, one that preserves their love of the game, instead of taking them down a path of frustration, lack of income, and eventual failure (the fate of the majority of wanna-be pros).

[George Pazin]

Trying to come up with a medal score for a match is silly no matter how you do it.

Joe -

Did you get a bag this week?  If so, comments on the play you saw? The strategy used?  And how your "job" was with more skilled players.

Mike

Mike
I did.  What do you do for a living?  Is it something that should be in quotation marks as well?

Joe, I think Mike meant it as a compliment. Most people don't really like what they do, hence it's just a job. When you love it, it is no longer a job, hence the quotation marks.

[Mike Benham]

Mike
I did.  What do you do for a living?  Is it something that should be in quotation marks as well?

Joe -

Yep, I put "job" in quotation because it is obviously something that you enjoy doing and get satisfaction for helping others playing the wonderful game of golf.  Not everyone has the opportunity to have a job that gives that type of satisfaction.  

Of course, I could be wrong, you actually hate the job and the idiot hackers who have to be with for 4+ hours a day that want to play from the championship tees.  If that is the case, then I can see why you are so defensive ...

Can you share some of your experiences carrying for top Mid-Ams in the tournament?  

Mike