Sean Noonan, the coach of Mass. state champion St. John’s Shrewsbury boys team, is the guest on today’s show to talk about his team. Noonan also talks about his own career as an amateur.
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Welcome to the encourse podcast presented by new golf Journal I am Sean milia and I have to my right as always Jim mcavee Jim how you doing I well just came back I’m winter th I’m thoring out yeah was starting to get a little warmer I was out at Pebble Beach got absolutely
Hammered with rain hurricane wind all the good stuff so I’m kind of just thoring up from all that yeah that 54 hole event out in Pebble a little bit Yeah the 54 holees seemed like it was 154 holes but yeah it was uh it was vintage Pebble Beach weather yeah uh any
Any takeaways just from being there from the week the you know the signature event thing small field amser the amateur side was shrunk uh considerably what was the vibe I’ll say this the weather was horrible um yet I think we all went in with the attitude
At least the people like my attitude and I think it was consistent with every the jury’s out we’ll see yep we were all pretty stunned and surprised in a good way at the crowds they were okay there were some pretty good crowds um you know
I was I I walked the last four holes Windom clock when he was looked like he was going to shoot 57 58 59 settled for 60 um and it was good it was good vibe and listen there r a lot of golf courses that people will
Pay just to say hey I I played Pebble Beach I walked Pebble Beach but Pebble Beach is in that or you know I I love it I told a friend of mine I would rather play Pebble Beach in the rain than any TPC course in sunshine okay I I just I
Love Pebble that much it was tough tough tough tough weather we’ll see about the tournament I I think it’s going to be okay yeah um but we don’t have the time right now to discuss the whole landscape of the PJ because it’s so different but yeah pebble’s
Pebble I love it yeah uh and then you the other thing I just wanted to pick your brain about which I dropped on you right before we hit record and and uh part of me wishes we had your reaction on on tape but the USGA kind of has
Slowly rolled out some new US am um exemption and qualifying rules expectations I don’t really know the right word it’s also I didn’t tell you this part before we hopped on the Junior and the US Women’s am has some different things going on too um so the news is
And you can read about this on uh on the website uh as well I put together a little something just because it’s a lot and to try to uh kind of just process it all in uh auditorially can be tough but in in short the US amateur the biggest
Amateur event in the country um and some would say in the world but maybe folks in in England might have something to say about it yeah you would you get a fight yep for sure uh has always had a 36 hole grueling qualifier and they have tweaked it where players will now be
Able to play or will have to play an 18-hole local qualifier and then uh move on if they do to a final qualifier at a different date at a different venue so now we’ve got suddenly kind of two different days uh that players will be playing in order to qualify for the US
Amer this year it’s in hazeline um up in up in Minesota um so that’s one little difference and then the other difference which is super exciting for this region I think is that every one of the Six States in New England will send their state amateur champion
To the US am so if you if you win the U if you win the state am um you are automatically going to the USM which is a really amazing perk um you think about a kid like Ryan DS winning last year he will not be going this year but if he
Wins the massam again at Framingham he’s booked his ticket uh so all six and then the Northeast am which is an elite Amer series event and the New England am winner uh will also get births into the US Amer so kind of a that’s kind of
Great um you just you you’re right you just threw this at me my initial reaction is I like all of it I do I especially love state am State amateurs are special they need to stay special yep you can’t I I get frustrating when I look at
Um I know good amateur players kind of bypassing something uhhuh maybe to keep points his or her ranking where it is I don’t like that part I like tradition I like history State amateur winning your state amateure yep should be a big deal it should be and I
Think it I think for 90% of the players 95% of the players it is a big deal and this kind of puts a stamp of approval that you’ve done something special not only will you put your name in in the record book along great players in our
Region but you you get your little reward your little perk you get to go to the National amateur yep I love that the two-day thing I I do like layering it out I like okay you’ve done nicely but you know I always I always thought the US Open qualifying lost
Something a little bit when it took away the 36 Lo it was I think it was a 36 hole qualifier local oh I didn’t know that you had to play 36 holes both times so was a 72 holes in in total I think so
If I I could be wrong but I I I seem to remember that I know it’s the two layers of okay yeah you got through locco yep um now you got to go to the um the the the regional qualify I like that I do now it’s a
Little more golf but listen a lot of these a lot of the kids we’re talking about y um for the USA amateur they they’re going to make the time for it I hope other tournaments kind of don’t lose lose something because oh well there’s another day I
Have to uhhuh um I could see that happening but I I I don’t know I kind of like it I think um I think I think USGA usually puts a lot of thought into stuff like this and we’ll see we don’t um yeah I mean you know a lot I’m I’m
Not going to be involved in these as a player I know that um but I do love I I my initial reaction is I like it yeah it’s it’s uh the other kind of piece to it is it allows the USGA to give some exemptions in into the final qualifying
So they you know so the other kind of piece even in the state AMS is all six um I think because some are some are stroke play amers and some are match play I or maybe every everything in match everything in New England is is stroke play or I’m sorry is match play
If you are a semi-finalist in match play or a top three in stroke play you automatically get final exemption um final qualifying exemption into the 2025 in this case in 2024 so you get to skip so like local qualifying will definitely will have maybe a different
Feel because it’ll be the the I’m not going to say the play isn’t as good but it will there’s going to be so many guys who have who have exemptions already into the final qualifying that local qualifying will be interesting it they’re trying to make the field stronger it it feels like to
Me because 36 holes you could you you always get a couple guys who just have a lightning in a bottle day and have an awesome 36 holes and maybe the usj is trying to kind of filter out I don’t know four five six seven 10 guys like that in the field every year
And this is one way to do it where like you got to play 18 good holes and then you got to go play 18 really good holes somewhere else you got to travel a little farther you can’t just pick a course that you feel good on and kind of
Go Domin for 36 holes um I don’t love that it is asking a lot more of golfers and it’s asking a lot more of guys mid AMS and people who might have jobs and families who then have to suddenly get take another day off from work maybe
Have to travel to I mean if you want to play in these things you gotta go maybe see the golf course have a practice round um stay at stay a night in a hotel like all of those things kind of start to add up a little bit to which makes it
Feel like they’re filtering out so a a subset of people who can’t make that work we we do know the college kids that and the they’re playing golf they they uh that’s what they do in the golf in the summer they play a lot of golf yep
It to them it probably well it adds another really good tournament that I wanted to add in but I might take that maybe I skipped the I don’t know I’m just picking something out the wora county amateur maybe El I won’t play maybe some of those tournaments will lose a a player or
Two but the bigger picture the usua I think they absolutely are trying to okay if you’re really good not only should you you know get yourself to local comfortably now test yourself regionally against you know yeah I I can see it yeah I mean when I go back
And look and we’re not going to go going out but I I was like the 2018 was a US amateur at Pebble Beach Victor Victor hin I was looking at the field and trying I had a four or five guys and I’m like why wasn’t this guy there why
Wasn’t this guy they were amatees and the answer is they one day of local qualify and they maybe only shot whatever two two two under y two over you know good score but not good enough um I think now it this they they’re assured of getting more of they’re going
To still lose a couple of good players um but I think they are going to strengthen their field yeah I mean they’ve also expanded world the world amateur golf rankings wagger it used to be the top 50 are just you’re in no matter what and now it’s the top hundred
Are in um automatically so um a kid like Cole Anderson who’s ranked 44th in the world right now from Maine is going to get in um he doesn’t have to go qualify he’s he’s already in which might change how the qualifiers work too right you
Take out out 100 100 of the best players in the world who don’t have to go to qualifying um you’re probably there’s probably 50 guys in that group that would have had to go qualify in some respect like Michael thorbjornson he’s going to be a pro by by August anyways
But like he was already in Ben James already in he’s not going to qualifying he’s he qualified last year just based on his excellent play um so I think it’s it’s going to be interesting over the course of a couple years obviously we’ll kind of get a sample of are there fewer
Mid AMS in the field are there fewer of the older you know you always get the stories of some older guys who qualify in their 50s who can make it through and have a really good 36 holes and maybe they’ll get final qualifying J seag was a US threat buddy maruchi yep
Mark plumber who was on with us in the but you know Time Marches On and the reality is these these kid there’s so many of them in that 16 to 24 age group that yep you know it’s there’s still plenty the the midium is is let’s face it the
Midium to the true if you’re a true effici Auto of the am golf the midm is is the tournament you you that they want to play that you want to look at you know that that’s almost like the real USM yeah yeah I mean it gives them a
That’s a master’s birth and everything sure it does um but it’s just it’s going to make the state AMS this summer so interesting absolutely um and you know Bobby Leupold is the Rhode Island am champ and um and Dowling is the Connecticut am like those are two mid-ams who would just
Automatically be and I mean Maine has had you know last few years their amateur players a you know it’s main yes it’s main but they’re really good they’re playing at Georgia they’re playing at Florida State y um and now if they maybe um you know oh co Cole Anderson will be
Really but maybe maybe a stadium ah you know I wasn’t that you know warmed up by the stadium I had another tournament to play in oh wait a minute yeah that this is this is the year this is the year I’m really gonna play the stadium yeah and also
Kind of a neat way to uh just to give some kids who maybe wouldn’t ever have a chance to play in the usam like the Vermont am is you know probably the smallest am uh event of the six and it’s a stroke play event um I think
That’s the only stroke play event as as I’m kind of running through them in my brain but that’s that’s going to be a major deal in that uh in that week that you know they’re especially stroke play like top five guys all coming down the stretch
Trying to win that and get a birth and then that guy gets to go and play the usam and who the heck knows what happens and you get some cool stories out of some kids who maybe wouldn’t have qualified through 36 holes no question um so it’ll be interesting uh but
Definitely add some great flavor to those last few days at uh all six State AMS and the New England am as well um we have Sean Nan on today from St John’s Shrewsberry High he’s the head coach there uh they are the division one state champs he has kind of a great story
Reminds me a little bit of Bruce chalice just as far as a guy who like got himself into golf and has just stayed in golf and done a bunch of different things and uh really speaks to the small world of New England Golf and
How it can uh help you and and uh and then now he’s kind of on the side where he’s helping others so he’s our guest and let’s bring in Shan Nunan Our Guest today on the encour podcast looking to improve the way you move and perform on and off the golf
Course Dr Michael Edwards with sure golf performance is your answer he is the movement expert for the golfer if you truly want to understand why you move and why you swing the way you do then give him a call today at 401 86411 2 or to learn more visit Shore
Golf performance.com that’s s h Rolf performance.com sh golf performance is located inside The Golf Academy with golf instructor Todd Campbell at Cranston Country Club in Cranston Rhode Island Shore Golf performance is ready to get your golf game going in the right direction Today all right Sean Nan here with us in studio made the drive thanks for being here Sean uh my pleasure great to be here excited to talk to you guys yeah so we we chatted on the phone in the fall after uh after you’re the team you coach
You are the St John Shrewsberry a head golf coach been doing it for a decade and uh wrote a story about their win a great horse and we just we got to chatting about your life and your career and and uh golf has obviously been a a
Big part of it and I think I said you at the end of the phone call we’d love to have you on the podcast because you’ve got some great stories to tell yeah I appreciate that um yeah I guess my you know I was the ninth of 11
Kids I have six brothers Four Sisters grew up in Central Mass um you know played all sports just tagged along with my older brothers eventually got into golf by the time I was eight or nine and then started playing kind of more competitively 11 12 and there wasn’t many uh opportunities
Out there back then we’re talking 1980 so 40 something years ago um and my mom had gone back to work my dad was a chemical engineer my mom went back and got her Nursing degree after having 11 kids oh and she worked she worked at a hospital in uh Worcester St Vincent’s
Hospital and Green Hill used to be you know 5 minute drive from there so every Thursday when I was a kid in the summer Green Hill would run like a a free nine-hole Junior event every Thursday morning 7:30 shotgun she would drop me off at seven uh you know pick me up at
Four but we’d go out it was the greatest I thought it was the greatest thing ever you know you get a hot dog afterwards they didn’t charge it to play golf I think it was Bruce Doby was the pro and Rick Morris was the assistant back then
And they have like an 8-week uh season season long trophy at the end uh so that kind of where I got my first taste of of competition and I I just was intrigued by the game and I played a lot of team sports growing up and you know then I
Got to high school and I it was we played in the spring back then so yeah baseball wasn’t an option anymore so I I chose Golf and I obviously I think that was the right decision so I played at David prowdy high school and you know we
We took a team three of the kids on the team had never played and and seventh e8th grade and I convinced them to start playing and by the time we got to junior senior year I think we finished second or third in the state one year um you
Know we won the district so it was it was pretty cool my I still play with some of those friends from my high school team um so yeah when I finished up high school 1986 um again the college Golf Scene wasn’t like it is now I mean we we
My coach and I would sit down and write letters and send letters out to coaches and you wait for letters to come back in there was no like there was no internet first of all so you know we reached out to a number of schools um and then I
Took a ride down to uh Norfolk Virginia and met the coach one of the few coaches that would give me actually let me walk into his you know meet him uh they you know he he was one of the other ones a it was division one B they had a good
Engineering program which is kind of what I wanted to get into um and and and see he had like an open try out which was unusual so so you know pack up parents drive me down 1986 don’t know anyone there you know then you got to play golf right right
Out of the gate um you know to make the team we had seven qualifying rounds for seven for the team and it came down to the last round I was a freshman there was a senior that was him and I were tied for the 12th and final spot and I
Actually remember birding the last hole at this course BWI out in Portsmith Virginia you know to make the team wow and that changed my whole life I mean changed everyone I all my friends from college I mean actually Jim McGovern was on that team he had transferred in that
Year from Arkansas he had been playing with John Daly he transferred into Old Dominion and we’ve been lifelong friends ever since you know he played 20 something years on the PJ tour one one on the PJ tour newe Jersey area now he’s a New Jersey guy yeah big family kind of
Like us um Holy Cross big Holy Cross family um good good guy so you know again it changed my whole life the game of golf allowed me to a walk on B meet all these guys that I’m still lifelong friends with and compete by by by the my
Freshman year in the fall I actually won a qualifier to travel and I traveled to the iron dke classic you know the first tournament so here I was showed up on campus as a walk-on and then within a month I’m they’re announcing my name at
At the iron dud classic and I was more nervous for that I still remember I popped up a t-shot like maybe a 100 yards cuz they said uh it was you know my last name is very recognizable in golf Nunan you know so they announced it
On they announced it on the pting green and then all of a sudden all these guys are making like Hey where’s denunzio where’s Mitchell you know you know from the so you know I was nervous enough and then I had that but uh you know went on
And actually that year um you know I traveled with the team not every tournament um at the end of the year I actually finished in the top 20 in the uh we were in the sun Bel conference we finished second as a team I think to
South Florida back then and that kind of you know gave me some confidence uh um you know so that was like 87 uh that was the year I think I we we played at the Country Club so I came home and I had a pretty good summer
Um you know Amer golf wasn’t getting in the big in Invitational tournaments though you know just trying to play the local events and then the mass the mass am was always a big one for us back then sure it is so that was a year I believe I qualified at Oak
Hill um okay and then the tournament the finals was 87 was at the country club in Brooklyn yeah Kevin Kevin Johnson Kevin Johnson ended up winning uh he he was at Clemson I mean he was he had won a USGA event I mean that guy was he had already
Won the state believe he had yeah I mean he was he was he was the man you know Kevin was yeah Kevin Kevin was really good unbelievable and and he and his brother chip I know well as well and they’ve been Staples in the Massachusetts golf uhh you know forever
So so then College you know I I I I was one of the few that tried to juggle on Engineering in a golf you know we played both uh fall and spring seasons and you know I had top 10 finishes I had a top five finish in the our uh in 1989 for
Our sunbell conference down in Gulf Shores Alabama and I made the first team all conference and and so 89 I was playing pretty darn well and I think in that year I finished I played with Brett Quigley the last round of the East Amer and and it was at our home course where
We practiced at Old Dominion um and uh you know I had a top 10 finish I think Jim furck I I still have the the cutout cuz I always say well you know my name’s in between Brett Quigley and Jim F and I think they’ve gone in a little different
Trajectory than I have especially in the the banking account end of it but uh I keep I keep that in my basement just as a reminder when some of the kids when we host a a team event I say I point I say yeah I used to be able to play pretty
Well street cred right yeah so you know and then I dabbled around and and then I think 19 91 I I I had graduated and I you know my convinced my parents that yeah I was going to drive to Florida and get a job at a golf course and try to
Start to play professionally practice and you know they they saw me pack up a Chevy Nova with like 500 bucks in my pocket and they’re like they were probably shaking their head like he’s got a civil engineering degree and he’s he’s going to be going down and cleaning
You know putting bags on carts cleaning clubs and cleaning the carts and but that’s that’s what I you know they always all 11 of us they’ve always taught us to chase you know chase your dreams you know don’t don’t put limits on what you can do don’t don’t get out
Of your comfort zone and it you know when you have 11 kids I I don’t know how you I don’t I I don’t know how they put all 11 through college so how do you do that I know I wow golf is such an interesting sport that way
Just packing up your car a few bucks in the pocket and driving South to just chase a dream it doesn’t it that that story doesn’t exist in a lot of other sports you can’t be like a college basketball player and back up and drive somewhere to just try to catch on with a
Team you got to get drafted or someone’s got to find you and you got to make a roster and in golf you just if you can get the right events and you can sign up and play uh so like when did you what point at Old Dominion did you realize
That it was something you wanted to try uh and then what was the kind of overall experience being down there just kind of around other people who are chasing the same dream and and battling uh and just that that battle sure um well Old Dominion helped immensely especially
Because like I said Jim McGovern had transferred in and there was another player Rich pnik who was an All-American uh second team I believe when I got there and one of the things I noticed right away and which I try to do today with the high school team is is once I
Made the team they treated me like a brother and they didn’t care okay he’s basically the 12th player on the team quote unquote and we became lifelong friends and it’s a great lesson I I pass on to my current team but I you know I
Was never a guy so I saw Jim and Rich turn pro Rich was a better college player than Jim and then I saw Jim you know win three times on the used to be the Ben Hogan tour to get his card um so I you know and I play golf with him
Almost every day for two years and I’m like you know he was better than me but I you know I was still younger and I I thought I could you know give it it a shot and one of the other things that the college golf you know we had a lot
Of good players you know I I would play four five six on the team you know but I was still either stupid enough or crazy enough to think hey I can go compete on you know compete on on a national level and uh you know one of the things that I
You know I always say is I was NE I never thought I could be like I want to be the best player in the world I was like hey I’d like I’d to finish 12th on the money list every year and do that for like 10 years 15 years and see the
Whole world and play golf yeah to me that would have been the coolest thing and that’s kind of why I chased it I ended up chasing it for a while for eight nine years yeah and I had some a lot of highs and and a lot of lows
Anyone that plays this game knows you know unfortunately we remember more of the bad shots than the good shots this game but back to what you originally asked uh yeah Old Dominion showed me that okay I can compete on a higher level we used to play at Duke we used to
Play at North Carolina we played a lot of the big schools and golf wasn’t quite honestly back then wasn’t an international sport yet I mean there was you know now you look at the college ranks and a lot of teams have four five six players from overseas oh sure so so
I mean that that Journey there’s some really you know 1993 I actually traveled with Kevin Hester who is was a St grab but grew up in Worcester and his brother Brendan the whole family is just a golf family as well and Kevin and I traveled together on a tour called the TC Jordan
Tour which then became the Hooters tour I guess but it was it was run similar to like a a the Hogan tour where but it you paid your you paid a massive entry and you played and if you made the cut you’d get some money back and yeah so
93 I played a full schedule with him I think we played 18 events maybe and I was in the top 50 on the money list that year and and I actually I I had a fourth place finish that year um in in Bowling Green Kentucky I shot 64 in the last
Round so I was like I can I can play I can play a little bit I’m I’m a grinder I I’m not naturally talented but so I went to PJ tour school that year in 1993 um you know I think my my parents had to do a
Fundraiser you know to get it was $33,000 entry and then you had to pay your own way yeah so they they you know we were we were doing Raffles we were doing whatever we had to do and I went to uh Murphy’s Boro Tennessee was the first stage back then they have three
Kind of they’re going back to it I believe now where you have multiple stages anyway I uh went to Murphy’s Boro again I was so nervous when I got there because I thought it was only a two round they could cut after two rounds and it cost 3,000 and I’m like then I
Read the rules and they’re like no you get four rounds and I’m like all right at least I’ll get four rounds but anyway I went out and and I think the field was like 78 players and they cut it to 23 24 and I went out and played played good
Shot under par for four rounds got through was excited you know like wow this is this is unbelievable didn’t even have anyone with me either like I couldn’t afford to have a caddy yeah so I’m celebrating you know getting in you know rental car to go back to the
Airport to fly fly home at the time um and then you Advanced the second stage that year 1993 second stage I went to this place in Panama City area called the Ombre and it wasn’t a good decision for me I got off the first practice round I looked around there’s out of-
Bounds left there’s water right every hole you’re in second stage of tour school so I I mean again I struggled I mean that that type of pressure at Second Stage because if you if you get through and you get to finals then you’ve got some type of job the next
Year yeah second stage was the key one you’re in you’re in no man’s land if you don’t advance so my story unfortunately you’ll hear about second stage a lot over the next decade but anyway that year and the in the in the story on about that year you know it was a huge
Learning curve and it actually knocked me down pretty good because it was more of an internal battle than you know you get there and it’s just more of a mental thing you know everyone that’s there there was 75 golfers third second stage of tour school they’re all great golfers
Yeah and one of the things that I never figured about that I I’m hitting balls in the range the first practice round and Mike darn walks by and starts hitting balls and I’m like Mike Donal three years ago he was in a playoff to win the US Open against H Orwin and I
Was at the US Open in Chicago cuz my brother lives out there and I’m like I was like almost in awe you know like I shouldn’t I’ve been I was more focused on what he was doing than what I was supposed to be doing so it was uh that
One knocked me down pretty good it took me a couple years to to Really recover mentally because you felt like all right I’m playing I’m playing great you know so I think I you know it it it it knocked me down for a few years and I
Wasn’t playing good golf in Florida I was working at a couple different clubs you know some some of the guys I used to live with you know Bobby Brown who I actually played at Green Hill when we were 12 together we’ve been lifelong friends he’s a club professional down in
Connecticut and and you know I used to live with him in Florida he got me a job at a golf court you know we just that’s the kind of small stories yeah anyone that plays golf for as long as I have you there’s amazing things so so 94 95 I
Just kind of was playing down in Florida trying to figure it out 96 comes around I said all right me and a couple other guys that I was practicing with we said let’s go up to the try to qualify for the Canadian Canadian tour Canadian PGA Tour yeah okay you know so qualifiers
We’re living in uh Florida West Palm qualifiers in um it’s in Vancouver Vancouver Island the opposite side of the continent so again driving a Chevy Nova I don’t have much money I’m working doubles at the golf course to try to save some money my parents are trying to
Help me but they my younger brother and sister are still in college um anyway we get on a plane we get up to this place called Morning Star which isn’t one of the most unbelievable golf courses just snow cap mountains and then you’re down and it’s 70° and it’s just incredible
And there was bald eagles everywhere and just you know you had to we flew to Vancouver and then we took like a 2-hour ferry to the Island and then a two-hour drive and then so you you’re learning how to travel as well um so anyway I get
There I play a practice round I can’t break 80 no chance you know played three practice rounds I think I my lowest round was 82 I’m like what a this is such a waste why why am I here you know I mean I flew all the way across the
Country I’m spending all this money anyway uh I got a late tea time the first round um I’m on the putting green I’ve got no confidence at all I’m I’m like already thinking all right when do we take the fairy back should I you know
Is it Anyway long story short I get on the Range that morning and I I start hitting a few shots and I start flushing it and I’m like okay all right where’s this been for almost two years you know and I go out in a four round tournament
And I finish third in a q school and no notay won that Q school that year so then I then I’m like oh my God now what do I do I I don’t have any money and now I’ve got to travel to 12 or 14 events in you know so we had to
Fly all the way back to Orlando get our stuff I drove home I started flying to events and it was a great experience I mean we played all over the what a beautiful country and we played all over we played in Edmonton and Montreal and Prince Edward Island and Ontario you
Know just outside of Toronto and so and I struggled again it became again a mental thing you know I mean that that tour was pretty darn good I think Mike we was the leading Money winner that year Nota played great that year um there’s a couple other players that are
Just household names so um it was it was an awesome experience I tell people sometimes now that I reflect I say yeah I retired I you know no you know I basically retired in my 20s for 10 years and traveled around the world playing golf and now I’m going to have to work
Till I’m 90 pay for everything so so you know you know 96 again I probably made three out of 12 or four out of 12 Cuts didn’t really do much and when I when I felt in my element I could compete when I didn’t I it’s just such a mental battle when
You’re a grinder you know like I would watch guys on the Range I wouldn’t want to hit Balls next to some of them like these guys are hitting it so good yeah which which brings me back to a story back um back to 93 and I do have to tell this quickly
But about playing with someone that you feel like oh my God how how am I going to compete with this person so back in 93 when we were playing that TC Jordan tour I had made the cut in uh in uh we were playing this place called Foxfire in
Pinehurst and I get paired with Craig perks the third round you know Craig won the PLAYERS Championship he’s the he’s the like a six foot4 New Zealand guy like physical specimen and here I am like you know what’s going on and I I so we’re both I think we were both at three
Or four under after two rounds and we’re paired together and it’s just him and I and he had a caddy and I I think I had a caddy on the weekend cuz I had knew I was going to be making some money so I would get a caddy for the last two days
And not have to carry my own and uh we go out and it’s just him and I and I watched this guy put a absolute ball just a golf display was most amazing thing i’ had ever seen like he shot 64 and missed like four putts inside of 10
Feet hit like 17 greens and and I shot 200 under that day you know and I got off the you know I got off the course and I used to check in with my brothers and my dad or after you know we didn’t have any cell phones back then so it was
Like go to a pay phone call talking to my brother Tommy and he says what how’d it go today I said yeah I played pretty good I shot I shot two under I’m at five under for the tournament but I play with this kid that I can’t never beat I can
Never beat that guy yeah you know I just I said I just witnessed and you know within 5 years the guy was on tour he W of players you know the crazy thing is I think he tried to change his swing after he won the PLAYERS Championship which I
Why are you changing well and he’s another one he’s like hit a mental block Y and never never was able to do that again um don’t you know we’ll never he’ll never be able to figure out why uh um it’s it’s remarkable really um you get to a point one thing about
The game is it will everyone faces that moment okay I’m good but these guys and you don’t when you know in your heart oh my goodness um that then becomes a real challenge okay do I keep doing this or what is that aha moment for guys and that used to be one
Of my favorite questions to guys I I can tell you exactly what mine was it was uh so anyway after 96 I kind of bounced around but then I came back to New England I I had met my I had met uh my my wife now have 25 years that that
Summer when I was playing in Canada and and she lived in Newton and worked in Boston and you know so I I wanted to be around my family and you know I wanted to be around her and uh 25 years later everything’s we got three adult kids and
Everything’s that was the best call I made during the late ‘ 90s I think or mid to late ’90s anyway I went to tour School 97 got to Second Stage couldn’t get through went to tour School in 98 got to Second Stage missed by like three
Shots went to tour school again in 99 second stage this time I was in a playoff at first stage which they don’t even do anymore and then I was an alternate so then I drove to South Carolina waited on the driving range no one withdraws drive home flew to Arizona
Drove to the driving range sat on the tea no one withdraw got on a plane flew home and then and I said all right I’m giving it one more year you know one more year and and uh 99 into 2000 I I knew when I got on the plane I I had
Just tried first stage didn’t didn’t get through first stage that year first time basically and I got on the plane and I I shot two under for four rounds which wasn’t bad and and David Gosset who it was like a a Phenom Amer shot 26 under so I got on the and and
Here I am am 31 32 and he’s 22 23 and I got on the plane and I knew that was it I could tell yeah I knew exactly when I got home and I was okay with the decision and I was you know I was okay with it I was
Like yep I can’t beat these guys I’m getting older the guy’s coming out getting younger this isn’t a good you know the engineering part of me said yeah it’s time to move on and I’ll guarantee you Sean if I went up you that day and said I’ll bet you $100 David
Gossett never does anything in pro golf you would have taken the BET and lost $100 to me absolutely and that tells you how inexplicable this game is you cannot you can’t tell me why you know some kids you know get better get better and then get out there
And you just can’t you can’t can’t you can’t put a finger on it you just know in your heart that um it’s it’s an it’s string of intangibles that some some players have yeah I mean there’s no Rhyme or Reason to it I mean no that’s the maddening maddening part of of this
Great game that we play is you know no one can like you said earlier Sean like that’s why we have the US Open anyone can play and and that’s what I tell my current players is like if you’re good enough they’ll find you at a college or if you’re good enough you’ll eventually
Get to a us amiter and then win a match or you you know that’s the beauty of this game it’s the it’s the love hate relationship with golf I mean so anyway you know I knew then I I will share one other story Kind of a Funny stretch in
99 when I and and I kept going back to these tour schools because I always felt like I was still getting a little better but uh in ’99 so that year my wife and I got married in 90 and in ’98 of course we uh booked the wedding after tour
School just in case I made it or you know so whatever and then we we took a really small honeymoon but we said ah we we we both are wanted to go to Ireland so we had booked we had booked like 10 10 12 days in Ireland in in
July um so I already had that that year I actually made it through the local for the US Open and uh the sectional was down at Canoe Brook in New Jersey sure and uh believe it or not again nothing’s we don’t even have really computers cell phones I get something in the mail
Saying my pairing I was paired with Jim McGovern my my college roommate as a toome and he you know he he calls me he’s like oh we’re both going to get in no one’s watching us I’m like oh there’ll be plenty of people watching you you’re still on tour and anyway long
Story short I I played I I beat him in the morning round and then I I sh like 70 and I’m in fourth and I get a chance to it was at Pinehurst that that year and I I went out and again I couldn’t handle it like shot 81 but you know he
Made it and he went on to make the cut at the open that year so then you know two weeks later mass mass open at Welsley um and uh so 98 Mass open at oakill I was in the final round with Rodney butcher who ended up winning that year
So fast forward it’s Rodney and I again we’re in the second or third to the last round final round Mass open Welsley with a chance to win I think it uh I think there was a playoff I think an Amer or Jeff curl or an Amer might have won or
Kevin Quinn might have won that year anyway so I’m I’m playing really good golf and and I also noticed that in Ireland there was a British Open local qualifier for the British at Carusi that year so back then you had to request to you know they’ send it to you mail it in
And my wife’s like well I thought we were going on our honeymoon I said well we are but we just you know we I have an opportunity try to qualify and we’re already over there so yeah why not so we had a great trip and then funny of
Course we go to this place draetta or call it ball Tre it’s north of Dublin and don’t I go out and qualify for to go over to Scotland the following week to try to qualify for the open yeah so I still remember I’m at Shannon Airport I put her on the plane
That I’m supposed to be on with her and I see that thing take off cuz there’s a golf course right at the airport I’m she stayed with you through all this no she went oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah we’re still married yes yes she flew home and
Then uh luckily my brother Mike had had a business and he had a a European uh cooworker what have you uh live in Ireland and he came over to Scotland with me and caded for me um but it was the coolest thing I I again some of those stories it’s almost like you’re
Making it up I’m like no I’m not making it up like I flew over she flew home and then we played this place Mona which was like 15 minutes from Carusi and uh I made the mistake to drive over and walk Carusi before trying to qualify and I I
I literally again called my brother says what do you think I said I don’t know if I can break 90 there yeah the r was would have been the only one KN High well I think Sergio shot 91 and he had just won the Irish open the week before
So I mean I Mona was a true links course um but it was the coolest thing ever when they announced you on the first te from the United States I’ll never ever forget those two first te announcements my whole life and and that’s again
Because of the game of golf I me I grew up I grew up playing like green hill and and bayth and and Strawberry Hill or Lester Hill or whatever that you know like public cough courses and then 15 years later I I I mean I got a chance to
Make the British Open and and it was pretty cool that year obviously uh vanderville actually won the qualifier at Mona oh is that how he did and then he traveled he he he shot uh 133 under at the qualifying site where I was and then he goes to the open and he’s
Leading for 71 holes so he he had the most amazing 100 whatever holes and then he gave it all away in one one 20 minute stretch so anyway so then you know going back to yeah I I kind of my golf career was over playing I had met some uh you
Know I was very interested in Golf construction or construction architecture I I I met a few uh people when I lived in Florida one one of them a good friend of mine Tim Freeland who was Gary play’s lead architect back in the early 90s all the way through maybe
20 years and then I think he’s now working by him for himself uh now that the Golf Construction world is picked back up but anyway long story short I’m looking for a job I don’t know what to do with myself you know and Tim I reach
Out to Tim they had just signed a he was working for a management company and they had just signed a contract to manage the construction of wbury Hills down in Bloomfield so he called me and he said hey we might need an assistant project manager you have any interests I
I was all over it yeah absolutely I can still stay in the golf and and and um you know use use my engineering and we can you know we can do this so so that’s kind of where I I was able to at least more from playing to something else I
Really wanted to do and love to do so I worked on that project for for five years um Pete Tai came out a couple times during the construction wow um it was great walk the whole property with them when we were just shaping it um everything I learned about just the golf
Infrastructure it gave a whole new meaning to why we all play this game um so I did that and and actually the management company went bankrupt during the like the third year I was working for them so then I started my own company and took took control of the
Project and finished it for the city of or town of BL Bloomfield and and that was uh yeah that was crazy and then by because of that I I did get another job in the Golf Construction world as a again a almost a clerk of the works or
Another Municipal uh golf course was being built in southern Connecticut in Trumble and it was funny they they bring me down and they’re like all right we’re going to hire you and I’m like wow this was easy he’s like no we’ve been we’ve been planning this for 11 and a half
Years you know they had had to jump through so many hoops and they finally got it approved and I happened to just stop working at whittenbury and slid into that job and I I think I was there for about two or three years on my own
At this point I had started a a Consulting you know construction management company um but we Mike zorus his his dad Al zorus has done over like a 100 golf courses in New England and Mike lives in Maine and he would come down and it was great we did an N hole
It was kind of like a executive length um hole but it was it was pretty cool uh again just to see a golf course be built from from the ground up and uh you know and then right around we were getting around I I had twins and then we had a
Third one right right around this time so we had three kids in in 17 months so we had a lot going on at home too would um so I I don’t know yeah you know I don’t know how we were able to always juggle it um but uh we just made it
Happen and the kids were getting older the only way to stay in the Golf construction business was to go overseas at that point because the golf bubble was bursting the housing market everything was kind of sure going at the at that time and so I wasn’t going to
Leave and you know like I said my my twins were two when I finished um the second course my little one was one you know I wasn’t going to get on a plane and go three months at a time and I would never do that to my wife and to my
Kids I wanted to raise my kids so with her you know so anyway um so that’s kind of the the construction end I loved it but again it was one of those waves that golf had been overbuilt yeah and and you know there was there was too many golf
Courses the reports back in the 90s had the tiger effect to it and they were saying you know we got to build x amount of golf courses every day for this many years to you know and I think now with with Co you are seeing golf getting
Booming again which is great A lot of like my friends that were Architects and designers they they were out of the business for 10 years A lot of them went to do or they’d get small renovation projects for the clubs that had you know that type of budget to do it but now
They’re all booming again so it’s great it’s great you know and and and I guess that leads us into coaching yeah uh St John’s so about 10 years ago um I did go to St John’s again we we lived in Spencer St John’s was in shrewbury um I I I took
The entrance exam and it was on the waiting list and and was going to go my brother-in-law had just started working there he had been dating my sister his name is Pat White he had been dating my sister Karen since I was like four years
Old so he had he had oh he was working at the school in the early early 80s um anyway I went I I I took the exam didn’t get it went to proudy that was fine I could walk to proudy I I couldn’t have my family try to get me to to shury
Anyway about a decade ago um my son was in seventh grade uh and he had already drank the Kool-Aid about St John’s because we had a lot of nephews and nieces and my my brother-in-law was still there and he has just since retired a year ago um and Coach
Prenderville had been there for 43 years the coach previous to me and and Bill uh who I have a great relationship with and and he he’s he comes up and sees us whenever he can physically um he he notified the school that he was not going to come back but he he waited
In until the summer which was you know we play fall golf so you know they were under the gun to try to find someone and and my brother-in-law at this time now had been he’s he was now the athletic athletic director at St John’s and he
Reached out to me and he said hey do you have any interest in in coaching Golf and I said yeah let me think about it I I’ve coached my kids in all the sports Youth Sports I I really enjoyed coaching um you know but and I know both
Sides of golf it’s an individual Sport and then you got to try to coach it as a team and it’s very very difficult to try to juggling get the kids to to buy in you know because all year long they’re trying to beat each other in these other
Events and then you try to get them together and say no we got a common gold so so yeah I I went through some interviews and uh they they offered the position I took it I didn’t know what to expect you know High School golf I
Didn’t know you know I had kids that were younger and my son ended up Liam ended up coming up uh two years later and and going to school there and he actually played for me which was the coolest thing ever to to be able to still coach your kids in high school
Usually by the time you get to 8th grade sorry you know now on to the high school rank so that was cool um and My Girls both play too and my wife is now playing golf so it it’s a family affair but the the coaching aspect I learned a lot a lot about
Myself and and uh coaching because I had to take a whole new role in the game of golf you know you’re always I used to my first few years I really struggle with the kids that weren’t putting in the time yeah you know and it it bothered me
Because I I was always I didn’t have enough talent I had to put the time in right I had to try to outwork people but then I learned to to actually embrace those kids and and work with them more you know and the kids that I early on in
My coaching career I I would get so mad I’m like how can you shoot that score and you know and then I’d say wait a second maybe I can go help him instead of and it kind of changed the way I approached it uh most of the kids most
Of the players I mean you you did a story this year I mean we get fantastic golers I mean this isn’t we’re lucky I mean us and the the rest of the Catholic conference we we get the best Junior you know the best Junior amers in the state
Going to these schools um golf I think is one of the few Sports left that the the the haven’t ripped the good players away meaning like the prep schools you know golf is the P the Mia golf is still where to where it is really good you know and and and unfortunately
Basketball and football and other sports are kind of getting fractured uh because of kids you know declass and saying I’m going to go extra year and then they so we don’t deal with that with golf so so I mean we it’s it’s been a pleasure to coach the kids this
Year was just a dream season like I I can’t say enough because you know two years ago so the the my my I had seven seniors on the team three of them had never even played Varsity before um so that was cool that I was able to keep
13 uh but I had players like Nick Gart um you know had been a a stalard on Varsity for three years and a leader and and then I had a couple other seniors you know so we had some leadership and then we had some younger players that
Were really coming into their own but these guys were all working they were playing in the off season that’s all I’ve ever asked them I said stay competitive you know there’s a lot of there’s a lot of opportunities for you guys unlike you know nine holes at Green
Hill on the back nine at 7 o’ that was our competition back in the 1980 you know and now they’re traveling all over the the country playing and and uh so it was a dream season but it it was a culmination of I you know I get a lot I
Got a lot ton of texts and calls from ex players and I just said you know this is for all you guys I mean we 10 years in I think we had two runner UPS a third a fourth a fifth so we’re always right there and it’s you have to do it that
One day so to win a state championship by 11 Strokes I think you and I talked it was that’s like that’s like a 30o basketball win or something you know I mean that’s the value of every shot you know and we we we went 17- one in the
Season lost to zarian by one stroke and then ran the tables everywhere else so so I and and the most fun of the whole thing is now it it’s I feel like we have like the Stanley Cup because every every couple weeks one of the parents is saying hey we’re having another
Celebration coach can you come by and I’m like this is great yeah we just got Rings you know a local businessman in Shrewsbury stepped up and bought the team rings and it’s just been a fantastic journey and I said good no one’s going to take it for a year so
We’re going to it feels like the Stanley Cup so sure it does and because it’s a it’s it’s the magic of golf is it is an individual Sport and you you really you know but that element of high school and college golf where okay I just I’m
Only shooting 74 today but you know what’s what are the kids behind me doing what is someone else doing um that makes it special that absolutely and it is a tough it is Twist one of things I’ll say about two of the senior captains okay
Tim Breen and Matt lay were two of my captains and I think we spoke so I had to make a a hard decision to leave them off the top six and they were two senior returning captains but I made the decision for the team because I said the the other
Players are playing better than those two at the time right and they couldn’t have been bigger cheerleaders at the state tournament they were there yeah they were not only were they there they were just as excited as anyone that played which really that’s what we want
To build in a program you know you’re like it’s bigger than you you know golf is so individual like you said Jim like you’re always trying to beat everyone else but high school and college are really the only times that you can you can you might play bad but you’re still
Rooting for your teammate and so there’s nothing like it and and and I tell you know I the only thing I ever try to tell them um a lot of them didn’t even know I played competitive golf some of them yeah some of my players it’s not about
Me it was always about I wanted the program and the and the and and the the kids to and the players to succeed and but I I would just say we you know you’re building a good foundation every year that’s kind of what we try to do
Build a good foundation and I tell them that then you can take that in life too you know right and and if you have a good sound foundation and and you have good friends and family and Faith you know you you can accomplish anything and and I think we talked briefly about Curtis
McDonald and I’ll I’ll briefly touch on this and then uh you know Curtis fourth year senior first year on Varsity never played a varsity match usually we try to bring up a player or two during the season if a Junior’s on JV and he’s playing well we might bring him up he
Didn’t play well offensive Junior and then all of a sudden he comes to comes to us for tryouts and plays well and then just continue to snowball his confidence and uh we get to the end of the season and that was one of the you know some of the coaches we we got
Together and a couple other coaches on my staff were like should we leave Curtis off he he’s never had experience in the state finals and I said no he’s one of our best six players yeah so and then he went out and shot 77 in the in the state championship and was a
Counting score in a state championship team so I mean that’s that again that story I’ll use that story for the rest of my coaching career is how he kind of he you know he just kept working right working it’s program versus a team right you’re correct just that those whether
It’s college or high school just the the most successful long-term teams are built around a program and not just a group of talented individuals who end up on a team and it’s kind of like happen stance that these six good golfers just happened to go to St John’s at the same time but
They were nurtured and and the and a program is built you have a JV you have a JV team as well which kind of feeds up into a varsity uh so and the school actually just started a middle school so we’re the only Central Mass cool uh school that
I’m aware of that has a middle school program as well that’s true I mean because you’re right about in a whole there’s a whole generation the kids today would probably think you you know grown up in the dark ages if you told them the 1900s yeah know some my kids
Used to say I was born in the 1900s you know oh let’s see we had the COO championship we had the brain I’ll stick to Great to Boston cuz that’s where I know um you had the COO championships the bra Tre fourball Y and maybe the
State junior you Tred to get in the state junior and that was it everything everything else was you and then I think the New England Junior Amer was at Pony and it was a match play yeah Don a Pon but you other than that you played when
You could get out at Pony or feris brook or the Wester Elks used to have a tournament and we’ play in you know what I mean like it was so they didn’t have these opportunities and now now that more kids are you know learning how to
Play the game in a young age I’m I’m a member of the Milton hoic and I’m looking at you know these kids in Milton High had a pretty good team this year Canton has a very good team and you’re looking at these kids and all you want
For them is opportunities to play and it’s difficult out when there is you know there’s a high school team but I can only play six at a time but I want to carry 10 or 12 kids because practice practice rounds end up being way more entertaining and way more
Productive if you have kids that want to play you just want kids to play no no question about it we do a lot of um team building like chipping contest putting contest if if if the course is tooo busy and we can’t get out we still try to get
Together and you know you just want them I tell them just keep your hands on a club you’re you know it’s going to help you in anything you do if you go into business or you it’s going to help right you know you can also make the I
Mean I I don’t know any it’s I don’t think kids go out for the high school football team because they want to play in the NFL they don’t even I mean they just want to play football and kids not every kid is out there thinking oh you
Maybe yeah oh I could be the next Tiger Woods or the next Jordan speed or something they just want to play gol yeah um and for years the school environment wasn’t where you did that I mean it was like okay yeah let’s put together a golf team um now it’s now
They are it’s it’s really a become an event now the Mia High School golf tournaments a really competitive they play at good golf courses you know who the kids are and you know all the power to coaches like you who you know still yeah give me 12 kids you know give me a
JV program um all the power to you well and the middle school now I know okay am I going to stick around we got two really good seventh graders or yeah something like that but it’s now it’s been it’s been more rewarding than I thought it would be coaching
Just because of the relationships and and my wife you know she’ll say you know cuz there’s a lot of long bus trips and you know you get home late and we have three kids in college and they’re all down south so it’s you know she’s home
With the dogs and she’s like oh what time you getting you know off the bus and Shrewsberry and then drive to Sturbridge and so when we win this year she said is is is that it then she’s like no I saw she didn’t even ask me cuz
She saw like a one of the kids put an Instagram up of me saying I’ll be back next year to help you guys defend and she didn’t even she I got home she’s like couldn’t you have waited to tell me or we were just joking about it and
Because it’s hard to walk away like I now I’ve got a freshman that’s on Varsity so I’m not going to be like Oh I’m GNA leave him right you know his soft more you know so it’s it it becomes more about what we want it to become
About the program and the kids than me getting you know all the accolades is is great for the school that’s why that’s why I’m here here too is like it’s a great story because we we came in and beat a lot of the Boston teams and
That’s that’s hard to do yeahh you know I mean a lot of good players um and like you said they they have so many more opportunities which is great it’s growing the game I mean you know I hope all the the guys that do it on TV aren’t
The ones growing the game per se it’s it’s it’s they grow in the B it’s coaches it’s it’s PGA club Pros it’s in instructors you they’re growing the game yeah it’s families that give up their golf courses like the right theoni family gives up their golf course they have simulators
In the winter I mean we we’re blessed yeah that’s the stuff for sure yeah because it is I mean that teaching a valuable the reason you don’t play you’re not going to play football and baseball and well you can still play hockey and stuff like that but my point
Is always um kids yeah enjoy enjoy what you’re doing here because golf is what you’re going to be be playing the rest of your life yep um absolutely and it’s going to be there’s still some really really good players that you know take pride in the fact they were on a um
Good golf team in high school or in college um never never under the impression that you know oh I I was number six player that you know Hopkinson the kids who played at Hopkinson will still talk about playing alongside Keegan they probably had the greatest high school team in
Massachusetts history I mean you know that was just you know happen stance but um you know maybe they thought oh jeez Keegan could play college golf and go from there the others just you know were playing golf because they loved it and I’ll guarantee you John C was on that
Team John was on that team John was the year you know John John was actually the the the the well kid um the point being that all those kids I still know Kim dunan was on that team took took golf helped get her into Duke
And she still plays golf it’s a big part of her life yeah it’s amazing it really is and and you know we were fortunate a couple weeks ago they they they unveiled the banner put it up in the gym at at at St John’s during a basketball game um
And I told the boys you know I said look when you guys come back to the school that Banner is always going to be there and you’re one of eight state championship golf teams at St John’s in the last 125 years that’s pretty cool yeah you know they can’t take that away
And the friendships they’ve made as a team and you know and I told them that’s part of why we were successful is everyone was picking everyone up all year I mean even though you’re winning we were having different guys contribute in different ways every every match so
No one kind of you know I even said you know we didn’t have like a super talent because I don’t have any none of the seniors have committed to even play college golf yet which I hope hopefully will change for Nick um you know so but
It’s they’ll never be able to take that away from him so yep yeah but someone who has a text change with my high school and college golf teammates it’s like those are the those are the things those are the friendships that that last it’s it’s pretty amazing yeah all the
Weddings and and yep all the good times I’ve been all over the country with my old teammates from old minion and David proudy even and yeah and now St John’s you know now they’re dragging the cach in all right I’ll I’ll do it well this
Was uh this was great uh thank you for joining us we asked you for 30 minutes and we’ve gone uh we’ve gone 51 uh and we could probably go another 51 if we want easily I could I could talk to both you guys for days I mean and I didn’t
Even scratch some of the stories because there some are made for radio some probably won’t be right able to be told out loud but no thank you for the opportunity and you guys do a great job thank you I’ve been telling everyone to go on and subscribe because I got a big
Family and I’m like well you can go read that Artic we go we’ll get a bunch of those yeah well thank you and we’ll have have to have you back on again and get hope next year we have another another trophy I appreciate it yeah thanks Sean bye thank you Sean
Thanks thanks to Sean Nunan for joining the podcast and we are just going to do a you know it’s golf confident Golf Course confidential we do this at the end of every episode it is February what is it 9th today as we as we speak uh the
Weather is going to be strikingly warm this weekend uh but you will be listening to this after everyone is uh putting on their suntan lotion and going outside into that 55 degree weather um but I I thought we could just quickly run through instead of focusing on one
Golf Course uh it is still winter there are golf courses that are open in the winter and uh you know we’ve talked about some of them on Golf Course confidential Cape an we’ve talked about Cape Cod Country Club um cross wins we’ve talked about a bunch so there’s
There are tons of golf courses that if you want to play some late winter early spring golf you can go play if you are not one of those people who likes to Brave the cold and put on six layers uh and go play um on an icy Golf Course uh
Which there are many of you and sometimes to be honest I am one of them uh there are a bunch of places you can just go and practice and play hit balls indoors MH um so I I just wanted to give a a shout out to a few places that I
Have been uh that I appreciate that are kind of different types of places if you’re looking for different spots obviously Top Golf have you been to a top golf uh not up here in Florida in Florida okay I have not been to Top Golf ever um but there’s obviously two now in
New England there’s one in Cranston and there’s one in is it Canton would be where it is just off 95 um right on the highway you can see it from the highway you can see it from 95 that’s for sure you see I can confirm uh producer Dave
Can confirm it’s in Canton I drive I drive by there all the time they created a new like offramp the highway for for are you serious for the top golf yeah exactly that’s amazing all right so uh Top Golf taking over Canton uh that’s obviously like the fun grab a beer go on
A date bring the family uh if you you know all that kind of corporate events and all that stuff so that’s kind of one side of it uh maybe not the grinder spot that’s not where you go if you want to grind and you want to practice and
You’re looking at you’re looking at numbers if you’re looking for your ball speed you don’t go to top top golf well I mean you could but you’re going to be distracted yeah there’s a whole genre of I mean there there’s locker rooms SW in New England now they’re all setting up
Nets in the locker rooms and you know walliston Golf Club has two beautiful launch launch you know indoor Sims Indo the simulated and stuff and you’re making tea times so y yes you’re booking time people people do love hitting you know they they’d rather be outside sure but they’ll they’ll go
Inside December January February and hit balls yep um a place another place that’s indoors but you can hit Outdoors that is pretty great is the barn which is down in southers Marsh oh yeah uh so that’s a place where you are inside in warmth but you’re you’re
Hitting golf balls out of the barn out of big garage doors onto a onto a range so that’s kind of like you’re starting to get to this is this is fun I’m seeing my ball I’m seeing it Fly outside I get the top Tracer or trackman or whatever
They have there so the barn in Plymouth is another good one that’s south of the city as well uh core golf that’s more of like they have an indoor spot they also they are open I get lessons there and I I’ve been there on 30 40 degree days on
Walking kind of across icy snowy ground and it is open and you can go and hit balls if you want to if you want to be outside and just hit balls for 30 40 minutes um that’s another place so core golf is a is a good spot I don’t know if
You uh frequent core golf I know of it I know many of the you know the instructors people behind it um awesome spot yep track man across the whole range you can just have the app and it’ll tell you how far your ball is carried and uh and traveled in all it’s
It’s it’s pretty great in the city five iron golf which is a brand new it’s a it’s new it’s a year old now but it’s kind of an uh you know they’re in cities all over the country that’s kind of their that’s kind of their thing um
There’s a bar you can I’ve I’ve gone and done the you know morning you can kind of grind it’s a 20-minute walk for me uh if you’re a member they will store your golf clubs which is which is kind of nice you can stick some wedges in your
Backpack and walk down the street and go hit balls at five iron and then the last place is Pure Drive which is in wuber Adam Koloff who uh I went to school with and was a very very good Junior player worked under Jim mlan down at Liberty
National as well he worked there um like you know Golf Digest top instructor and all that stuff but he has a great five bay this is where you go and grind this is like this is the grinder place um they have you know one TV in each Bay
But you’re not getting beers you’re you’re getting numbers and uh you’re looking at your at your stuff and they have some great instructors there as well another place if you live kind of north of the city I know you’re not a big north of the city guy but not um in
Wuber it’s easy enough to get to I live you know I live in Charlestown and it’s a when there’s no traffic it’s a 15-minute drive up there you can book an hour hour and a half two hours they have a they have a putting semi they have one
Of those putting mats you know the crazy ones that will show you the putting lines and kind of slant and slope they have one of those you can book for 30 minutes to an hour if you want to work on your putting um so that’s a another
One do you have any places that you know of that you like to go to or you just walking outside with your n iron or your e- club and slapping it around you know what I used to be the type of guy I’d go
I’d just go out okay I’m going to take a walk and um you know find a golf course and you know I sometimes you just i’ take a seven ion and just hit you know four seven ions into try to reach a power five or something like that then I
Kind of got away from that cuz then started getting guilty about oh my goodness they taking divots in December January February and they they’re not going to grow back to you know August um so I don’t do that as much anymore I will go I will make the Journey Down to
The cape I’m um obviously I’ve said it before I’ll forever say it that Highland links and Toro and um CH chested um I know they’re open right now because uh my friend tweets out photos of what chested is looking like today I will tend to do that um more I go I’ll
Hit balls inside occasionally yep um but I I’m not really I don’t need no shouldn’t say that you’re not trying to make the US am here Jim no and I don’t need numbers because I know what they are they’re low they’re low numbers they’re not big numbers um I I just you
Know I do like hitting balls into Nets and because you can I don’t need to look at the ball you can feel you feel the contact for sure um yeah there’s no I get nowhere you know Harmon Club if you if you’re you know I I know the people down there
That’s good place to go I also think winter is the time if you love The Game you love to play you can you can spare 10 days away from your clubs get them regripped yeah yeah you know that’s a time to do it y um there are several eye golfs around
That are very very good yep um and they all serve a purpose sure so if you uh well I want to drink a beer and take five swings and drink you know the there’s those places top golfs um but check out some of the eye golfs on the
South Shore we have some um you you’d be surprised how if you if you haven’t done it you can get a lot out of it if you if you take the time to to study it for sure yeah X go X golf is another one I
Want to shout out because I’ve written a written something in the in our magazine about them as well and they have a a bunch of locations there’s one in Acton there’s one in whan there’s one kind of there’s a bunch on the Southshore uh maybe in Walpole so ex golf is another
Place that people uh tend to like as well so just wanted to kind of give a quick wrap as as uh the weather starts to warm but it will no doubt get cold again and we’ll have these little fake spring moments but if you’re looking for places indoors to hit balls Outdoors uh
If you want to go play we just mentioned a few golf courses that are typically open uh during the year and uh and that kind of does it for today’s podcast so thanks for listening to the encourse podcast please rate review subscribe we are on all of the platforms including
YouTube uh so go check us out there thanks to Dave Yas for producing this podcast and for factchecking as always the encourse podcast is a seaman media production
