Golfing Herald met up with Pete Kelbel, PGA Professional at the Walloon Lake Country Club, Petoskey, Michigan for our series ‘Meet the Professional’.
Pete Kelbel is a 3rd generation professional golfer, following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, both of whom had distinguished careers as teaching professionals.
From a very early age, Pete accompanied his dad to Harbor Point Golf Club where he would help out around the course with jobs such as picking up balls from the range and washing golf clubs. After a spell as a caddy, Pete started playing with ‘sawed-off’ clubs and by the age of 14 shot his first even-par round.
Pete joined the Professional ranks whilst still at college and successfully completed his PGA Apprenticeship. Initially based in South Florida an opportunity arose at Walloon Lake Country Club in Petoskey, Michigan. After several years going back and forth between Florida and Michigan, Pete finally settled in Michigan and has now been the professional at Walloon Lake for just over 30 years.
In addition to his full diary as a Teaching Professional, Pete is very passionate about junior golf and coaches both the girls and boys teams at Harbor Springs High School, taking great pride in their performances at school and then at college. Pete also writes for WomensGolf.com in which he analyses the swings of the top LPGA players.
It was an absolute pleasure to chat with Pete and I hope you enjoy reading his golfing story.
Walloon Lake Country Club
Walloon Lake, located just to the South West of the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, has a long and rich history. Although no evidence of a settlement has been found, it is believed that a group of Walloons, a distinctive ethnic community from Belgium, settled at the northside of the lake, then known as Bear Lake.
The Walloon Lake Country Club was established in 1904 with an initial 9 hole configuration. In 1925 the golf course was expanded to 18 holes after the purchase of adjoining land.
During World War II the club faced financial challenges and as a consequence had to sell some land and property. Thus, in 1947, the course re-opened as a 9 hole layout with temporary greens, though permanent greens were in operation the following year.
In 1990, after finally securing approval from the members, the golf course expanded once again. Today, the 18 hole course provides an excellent test of golf with well-tended fairways and fast greens, with terrific views of Walloon Lake and the surrounding countryside.
A regular visitor to the Club is the 8-time major winner Tom Watson, who as a youngster used to play at the club when his family spent the summer months at Walloon Lake. The Watson Cup, the annual invitational golf tournament at Walloon Lake, is named in his honour.
In addition to the golf course, the Walloon Lake Country Club also offers:
- Professional Golf Lessons with Pete Kelbel
- Professional Tennis Tuition and 4 tennis courts
- A varied activity programme for children including swimming and sailing
The First Tee
Golfing Herald (GH): Hitherto, all of the Professional golfers who have participated in the series ‘Meet the Professional’ have been based in the United Kingdom, with interviews conducted ‘face-2-face’ at their respective clubs. As the Golfing Herald readership has started to grow in a number of countries I thought now was the right time to also try and interview Professionals from ‘around the world’…luckily for Golfing Herald, Pete Kelbel kindly agreed to be ‘the first’…but how it unfolded was all down to causality as follows:
- My late mother struck up a life long friendship with an American pen pal when they were growing up during World War II.
- Her pen pal lived in Petoskey, Michigan.
- Pete and I follow each other on Twitter.
- I then discovered that Pete is based in Petoskey, Michigan!!
Once I had correctly calculated the time zone difference between the United Kingdom and Michigan and successfully navigated the hurdles presented by Skype, I ‘teed off’ by asking Pete when and where his golfing journey all began.
Pete Kelbel (PK): I have a pretty unique story. My grandfather (John Kelbel Sr) was a golf pro believe it or not at the Petoskey-Bay View Country Club here in Northern Michigan. He was very far-sighted in that he was also an excellent caddy…in fact back in the 1920s when he was 15 he went down to Miami Beach, to caddy in those days. My dad (Ed Kelbel Sr) grew up right beside Petoskey-Bay View Country Club so my dad got into golf and he was a terrific golf pro. My two brothers were golf pros. So an unusual but unique story in that I am a 3rd generation golf professional!!
(GH): Are your two golfing professional brothers older than you?
(PK): My oldest brother unfortunately passed. He played golf for Michigan State University in the Big Ten Conference. He was the Head Pro at Petoskey-Bay View and then at Cheboygan Golf and Country Club but when he passed he was the Director of the Professional Golf Management Programme at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. This was just down the road from where my middle brother Mark was the Head Pro for 18 years at The Broadmoor Golf Club. Now Mark runs a Leadership Program and a Caddie Program for the Colorado Golf Association. He is also a golf instructor at both The Broadmoor and The Air Force Academy.
Destiny
(GH): With that unique family history you were destined to be a Professional Golfer!! So what were your first steps on the golfing ladder?
(PK): I was 5 years old when I first got actively involved. My dad took me out to Harbor Point and made me pick the balls from the Range, wash the clubs and put the carts away…in those days there wasn’t really an age restriction…though I am not that old…I am only 55!! Yeah, I have been hanging around golf courses since 1969!!
(GH): How did you progress from helping out your dad to playing the game yourself?
(PK): Working there and listening to him and in fact, he made us actually watch him. He was a very popular Teaching Pro and I probably watched him give thousands of lessons without saying a word. From picking the balls up I progressed to being a caddy. I was just there on the course so I had free access and so I played. It looked like fun as my dad could really get people to hit the ball and I thought this is something I want to do. He sawed off some clubs for me in those days. My first goal was to just break a 10 on a hole, then 9, then 8…in the end I shot my first even-par round when I was 14.
(GH): Did you always sense and know that you were going to be a Professional Golfer?
(PK): Yes…I just never knew anything else. I am thankful for that now. We kind of have a unique family that has done this and I don’t know I could stand to do anything else.
Playing or Teaching
(GH): Did you have aspirations to be a Playing/Touring Professional or to follow in the footsteps of your dad and be a successful Teaching Professional?
(PK): I saw the joy my dad brought to so many members and so being a Teaching Professional is really what I wanted to do. I also played basketball but I had a really bad shoulder injury that really messed up my arm for a while. I then recouped. I was a young Pro in Naples, South Florida where I tried to play in the Pro-Ams there. I got very good because I played every single day. I had a really ‘sweet’ set up as an Assistant Pro which then turned into a Teaching Pro. I had a free apartment. I played in all of these Pro-Ams and I averaged around a score of 72 and I never won a dime!! After a while, I am thinking I am spending $150 to play in a Pro-Am, get excited shooting a 71 or a 72, go look at the leaderboard and I didn’t win a dime. I would go back to the club and the members would be saying “We were trying to get a lesson from you but you are out playing again in the tournaments…you stay here and give us lessons!!”. So since a young age teaching was just something I was destined to do.
PGA Apprenticeship
(GH): Quickly returning to your comment on being a young Pro in Naples, Florida. In the United Kingdom, Professionals have to undertake a 3-year training course to attain the required PGA qualifications…is there an equivalent Programme in the States?
(PK): Yes there is. I was still at college and I think I was 19 when I joined the PGA Apprenticeship. My degree at Michigan State University gave me 8 credits towards the 36 credits I needed. So I went down to South Florida and I was an Assistant for Jon Ebert. He was a terrific Pro in South Florida. Then I went back to Michigan until I had my 36 credits.
Move to Walloon Lake Country Club
(GH): From your Social Media profile, I am aware that you have now been the Professional at Walloon Lake Country Club for just over 30 years…so turning back the clock, how did the role at Walloon Lake come about?
(PK): After my dad left Harbor Point he went back to Walloon Lake and after he retired there he was playing with some of the (Walloon Lake) members in Naples, Florida. They were complaining saying (something like) “that since he had left the 3 new guys, who they kept for 2 years…did not like kids, did not like teaching, came in at 10, left at 2…”. So my dad said, “why don’t you talk to Pete as he is just down the road at the Hole in the Wall Golf Club”. So I ended up going back and forth for several years between Michigan and Florida until I got married and had kids and I learned from fellow friends that it is not the best thing to do to drag your family back and forth!! So I stayed put at Walloon Lake. My wife, a school teacher who just retired last year, wanted to stay here as her family is from Michigan so I kind of ‘bit the bullet’ and returned to the cold winters up here!!
Golfing Season
(GH): Do the cold winters in Michigan severely truncate the golf playing season?
(PK): Around here May 1st is the typical day for clubs to open.
(GH): Is that something specific to Walloon Lake or Michigan State in general?
(PK): We are a different world from a city like Detroit which is 4 hours drive south from here. They may be playing right now (last week in March). We have a much shorter season. We usually go until mid-October. Downstate such as Detroit, Grand Rapids or Lansing they may play upwards of Thanksgiving Day (late November).
(GH): Such a contrast to the UK where courses try to remain open all year round except when closed due to snow or flooding…having said that all courses in the UK are now closed due to this dreadful Coronavirus. So how does the (six months) offseason map out for you?
(PK): Thankfully there are a couple of places up here such as the Petoskey Golf Center where I can still teach. I am also a golf coach at my old high school across the bay…Harbor Springs High School. We have had a lot of success, especially with the Girls team. I now get kids from all over Northern Michigan to come and see me after school or at weekends to take lessons indoors. And after this last long winter working with 25 high school players, we have had to shut down because of the Coronavirus.
Tom Watson
(GH): Unfortunately, it is the same in the UK in that individual and group coaching lessons are now on hold indefinitely due to the virus…returning to golf, what does a (typical) 5 and 1/2 month season look like at Walloon Lake Country Club?
(PK): We are a very busy, ultra-private club. A lot of our members are from Midwest cities such as Columbus, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati. In the winter they are typically in Naples or Palm Beach in Florida and they come up here for at least part of the summer. I teach an awful lot and we run a lot of tournaments for such a small club. One special one is the Watson Cup. When Tom Watson was a young boy his family were members at Walloon Lake Country Club and my dad was the Pro. He actually took Tom to many junior tournaments around the area and had a really special relationship not only with Tom but with his dad Ray. It’s kind of neat in that when I came back Tom would come up to Walloon Lake, just pop in and walk through the golf shop door!! As the club evolved we thought why not name our men’s invitational the ‘Watson Cup’. Tom Watson writes a special opening letter for these past 13 years and in 4 of those years, he actually mentioned my dad’s name which almost chokes me up to read the opening letter. It’s special to have Tom Watson as part of our history at Walloon Lake Country Club.
(GH): What is the format of the prestigious Watson Cup?
(PK): It’s five 9 hole matches, better-ball team format. Accumulative scoring with the teams gathering points every 9 holes and then there is a shootout at the end, with the shootout being alternate format…it’s a lot of fun.
WomensGolf.com
(GH): In preparation for today, I noted that you have written a number of fascinating articles for WomensGolf.com in which you analyse the swings of the top LPGA players. How did you get involved with this venture?
(PK): I don’t know really!! I have always enjoyed the WomensGolf.com site and I think it is the best site for female golf. They said they were looking for someone that has a relationship with the success of a female golfer and are looking for someone to write for the site. I thought ‘what the heck’, I have taught my daughter a lot, she was an all-state golfer. I let them know that I was a coach and a 3rd generation golf pro and that I had worked with my daughter. They wrote right back and they kind of steered me into the analysis of Pro golfers.
(GH): Do you receive any feedback from any of the LPGA players whose swing you have analysed?
(PK): Very little but I do get a lot of feedback from all around the world, such as “Hey, I enjoyed your article” and “This is something that I can do with my swing” and I think that is more special to me to help other golfers. My main customer is the common golfer. I work with golfers ranging from Club Champion to Junior Club Champion to someone trying to break 100. I like to see the girls play. I have 2 daughters who are really good players. I coach lots of young girls and boys but before too long the girls quit playing so it’s my mission to say “Hey, this is a fun game” and to try to keep them playing this great game.
To read Pete’s excellent articles then please click LPGA Player Swing Analysis
Harbor Springs High School
(GH): Earlier you mentioned that during the off-season you are involved with the coaching of boys and girls at Harbor Springs High School. How did that role start?
(PK): They needed a coach. My oldest brother started the golf program and my dad had coached that team in the past. So, luckily for me, the boys season is mainly in May and we are really not busy at Walloon Lake Country Club then and with the girls its mainly September when the Summer starts to take a downturn. So the club was nice enough to let me instruct at my old High School across the bay. The ‘Regional’ coaching came about by other high school coaches asking me to work with their teams as they were teachers and not necessarily qualified to offer a lot to the kids in the way of instruction. In no time I am working with kids from 7 different towns!! I really enjoy it. We started putting girls and some boys in college…especially the girls. That makes me delighted as that was my mission.
(GH): Have any of the girls or boys that you have helped guide over the years through high school into college made the grade as a professional?
(PK): One girl, Ellen Breighner, who I coached at High School, played golf for Kent State University in Ohio and is now an LPGA Professional in South Florida. She has a lot to do with the South Florida PGA in helping youth.
(GH): Incredible that Ellen’s golf journey has come full circle?
(PK): Yes, makes me really proud. I have other girls that are playing golf at college right now. One special Summer student, Lucy Fry, worked her way up to #1 at the University of Dayton in Ohio but so far only Ellen has become a Professional.
Coaching Philosophy
(GH): When it comes to coaching, do you have a specific Philosophy?
(PK): Right now, because my driving range is only 500 yards from my golf shop I still do a lot with props and ‘Down the Line’ and ‘Face On’ video. In the winter I do more with a launch monitor and even I am learning from this type of equipment. The launch monitor can offer so many different pieces of information that I try to narrow that down for the person I am coaching. They look at the Screen and a Chart with all these cells so I try to get them to know one at a time. Typically I work with 1 to 4 pieces of information such as Path, Clubface, Angle of Descent whether it is hit towards the heel or the toe…I try to make it manageable. I love all the pieces of information but I always have to remind myself that you can’t cram too much into someone’s head…you have to keep it simple. That approach has made me a very busy instructor!! This is my 31st year at Walloon Lake Country Club and you know people are lined up out of the door!! Simple has worked for me. But the feedback is important for me because I kind of pressure myself in that I want to see a person progress. I teach and look at other peoples videos and learn every day from coaches Mike Bender, Jeff Coston, Bernard Sheridan and many others. The day you quit trying to learn as a golf instructor you are becoming a worse instructor. I swear I learn a little something every day or maybe a better way to say something.
(GH): That last point is so relevant to all of us whatever our trajectory in life, whatever career path we follow, in that we do need to continually ‘look inside’ and ‘challenge ourselves’ and ‘learn from our peers’ to hopefully improve and become a better person.
Biggest Change
(GH): Moving swiftly on…during all the years you have been involved with golf, what would you say is the biggest change you have observed in the game of golf?
(PK): Gosh…I think the changes in the equipment and the ball. Kids seem about the same size as when I played. There were big strong kids then though their size isn’t the only factor. Look at Rory McIlroy …he is about 5ft 8in or 9 and he is the second-longest on tour. I remember hitting golf balls and putting a smile on them as we used to say!!
(GH): Yes, I had lots of happy/smiling golf balls back in the ‘good old days’!!
(PK): Luckily I am on the Callaway Professional staff and to this day when I try to get fitted ‘the lighter the better’ as I am 55 now!! A big difference being custom fitted. Having a demo day at the club is priceless as we can say to people “Here is your old heavy driver, why not try this light one with a bit more loft and a little more Flex Point?”…the reaction is just amazing.
Hickory Golf
(GH): Returning to the playing side of your game, do you get to play any competitive golf these days?
(PK): I don’t play too much any more competitively. The Pro-Am day around here is on a Monday but I am stacked from morning until evening giving lessons and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I am just super loaded!! So I have kind of accepted that I am a teacher and I now play just a few events…for example, there is a Hickory Golf Event at Belvedere Golf Club in Charlevoix, close by to Walloon Lake. It is one of the Top 4 Hickory Tournaments in the world. I decided just to try that once and I came in 4th…in the first round I had an 83 with 7 three-putts and in the second round I had a 77 with 3 three-putts. But I do very little competitively anymore.
(GH): For this prestigious Hickory Tournament do Belvedere Golf Club supply the players with hickory clubs or do you have your own set?
(PK): No, I bought my own. There are a couple of nice sources in the United States and I bought mine from Louisville Golf. They are an exact replica…some players restore the clubs which date from the 1920s or 1930s whilst some players like myself have brand new ones. I find that a lot of fun and when I have some spare time I like to hit some shots with my hickory clubs.
To find out more about hickory golf then please click Belvedere Golf Club Hickory Golf
The best facet of your game
(GH): Continuing with the theme of playing, when you do play what would you say is the best facet of your game?
(PK): Oh I think my fellow friends would say my short game. I know all of the shots and I am pretty crafty around the green…chipping and pitching.
(GH): Only joking Pete, but pleased you did not say putting after your experience at the Hickory Tournament!!
(PK): Yes!! In that event you also have to play with a wooden putter…boy, that was hard to get used to. It was a 2-day event, with 18 holes each day. I had never played 18 holes (of hickory golf). So I thought this is easy enough but it turned out not be so easy. The biggest challenge to me was that wooden putter.
Best Ever Round
(GH): It doesn’t necessarily have to have been your lowest ever score but hitherto what has been your best ever round?
(PK): I didn’t care whether I played by myself or in a Tournament. My lowest round was with my brother (Ed Kelbel Jr) and some members from Cheboygan Golf and Country Club when I shot a 67 at Flushing Valley near Flint, North Michigan. I just remember that day I couldn’t do anything wrong. I do believe there is a zone and you just have that feeling that you know you are going to hit a good shot before you even hit it. Another time I remember was in South Florida where I was working for a couple of years with my brother Mark. Florida gets dark pretty early and I said: “Mark, you better hop into the cart as I am in the zone right now and I am going to shoot in the 60s today!!”
(GH): And I take it you did shoot a score in the 60s?
(PK): I had a 68. I just knew. So those 2 rounds jump out at me. Wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t a tournament but I just enjoyed my golf being in the zone.
Advice
(GH): What advice would you give to any aspiring amateurs who are looking to or thinking about joining the Professional ranks?
(PK): I think you have got to learn to love your practice. I had some drills that I would do…10 over the bunker, 10 out of the bunker and so on. That evolved so that I had to do 10 in a row. Then I would go home with the best feeling…now when I play golf and a particular golf shot pops up I have just done so many of these that you gain confidence and the joy of not being afraid of any golf shot. You learn to love it and look forward to the challenge rather than ‘Oh no, I hope I don’t get a tight lie today’. I see other athletes such as basketball players who have to make 10 jump shots in a row and then 10 jump shots from the corner. I was always that way. You gain confidence by having what I call ‘self-pressure’ in that you pressure yourself and you learn to enjoy it and then you are really satisfied once you accomplish that.
Outside of golf
(GH): What are your interests outside of golf?
(PK): My wife has helped me in that she is not a golfer. My wife got me into Hiking. My oldest daughter lives in Phoenix, Arizona and I love to hike all those mountains around Phoenix…Camelback, Squaw Peak, Tom’s Thumb and others. I really enjoy hiking. I still spin my basketball…I can spin around all my fingers!! But I would just say being outdoors trying to enjoy wildlife and nature. Golf gives me so much joy that I don’t have much time for a lot but I always enjoy being outdoors.
Bucket List
(GH): Pete…assuming you have one, what is at the top of your golfing bucket list?
(PK): I did get to play the Old Course, St Andrews with my daughter Grace a few years ago. That was on my bucket list. Now I would like to expand that to get rounds of golf in with my son (Pete Kelbel Jr) who is in Washington DC, my daughter Mckenzie who is in Phoenix and with my daughter Grace. A family foursome would be special. And with my brother Mark, who I mentioned earlier is a Pro in Colorado Springs, I would like to somehow get as many family rounds in as I can at famous courses…whether it be Bandon Dunes, Pebble Beach, the Old Course. After losing my dad and my older brother you realise just how short time is. Family golf at special places is #1 on my bucket list. I would like to play in other countries and I have still got a lot of courses to play in the States.
Favourite Sporting Event
(GH): What is your favourite sporting event?
(PK): My favourite sporting event is probably the Masters.
(GH): Which sadly has been postponed.
(PK): Yes it has. All these years our whole family had followed Tom Watson from my youngest memory on…he did so well, especially winning the Masters. I would have to say the Masters is my #1. My #2, being a Michigan State University Spartan, the March Madness college basketball has been a special thing in my family. My 2 oldest kids went to Michigan State and Grace is still going to Michigan State. Following college basketball is a favourite family pastime.
(GH): Have Michigan State University got a good basketball team this year?
(PK): Yeah. Michigan State won the Big Ten again this year for the 3rd year in a row but now the NCAA tournament has been cancelled (due to COVID-19) so at least they did get their Big Ten Championship which is not an easy thing to do.
Fantasy Fourball
(GH): In addition to yourself, who would you pick for your dream fantasy Fourball?
(PK): I would have to say, Tom Watson. Then probably my brother Mark but I don’t know who exactly would make that 4th spot. If I chose one of my daughters the other would be mad!! Probably my son Pete for the final spot.
(GH): Who would play who in your fantasy Fourball?
(PK): I would want to be in his (Tom Watson’s) team!! And maybe challenge my son Pete who hits the ball a long way and my brother Mark who is a very fine player.
If not a Professional Golfer
(GH): Earlier in our chat you said that you have known nothing but golf, but if you were not a Professional Golfer, then what?
(PK): I am always crunching numbers. I use ratio in my teaching…hit it a third, roll it a third, the ball is in the air 90% of the trip it lands and rolls 10%. I would have to say maybe something in the financial world or accounting. Numbers are always on my mind.
Favourite Golf Course
(GH): Which is your favourite golf course in the United States?
(PK): Boy there is a lot of great courses, some more famous than others. I had the best time in my life at Hole in the Wall Golf Club in Naples, Florida. I lived there in that apartment I mentioned earlier. It is the oldest private club in Naples. Perfect weather all Winter and a lot of those rounds there were by myself…with the alligators and the storks and all of the other birds. I got really good and I practised even when it got dark early. We had some lights by the 18th green where I would hit countless bunker shots. A special place to me is the Hole in the Wall Golf Club. How can I not mention Walloon Lake Country Club? I have been there so long and before that my dad was there, my brothers have worked there and the history of Tom Watson. I have seen how much that place has improved, that would be a close second.
(GH): Earlier you mentioned the Old Course at St Andrews. Would that be your favourite golf course outside of the United States?
(PK): Yeah…I played the Jubilee Course and the Old Course and yes that was special. I learned a lot there like they had 8 shared greens. I remember hitting one really beautiful iron shot all over the pin…too bad it was the wrong pin!! I thought that was such a special day to play there with my daughter. The course was in really good shape and the people were so friendly. We stayed in a room overlooking the Swilken…I will never forget it.
Marooned
(GH): If you were to be stranded or marooned on a remote desert island, what three items would you not be without?
(PK): Three items…food, water and a golf club.
(GH): Obviously I can allow you to have a ‘golf club with a ball’ combination as a single item!! Any particular or favourite food?
(PK): Oh, I have a sweet tooth which I wish I didn’t have so bad…today I have already had a piece of Banana bread with chocolate chips in it. I am trying to be healthy but sweets are my weakness.
The Nineteenth
(GH): And finally. You put your current role and responsibilities at Walloon Lake on hold whilst you are in temporary charge of the USGA. What idea(s) would you like to implement for this great game of golf over the next few years?
(PK): I think they have done a great job already with the rule changes. One thing I am pretty big on but it is hard to get to the start is the idea of single-person carts. They almost look like motorbikes where you can hold one set of golf clubs. In our busy world, people are having trouble in many cases taking the 4 to 5 hours it takes to play golf, especially the people who are still working. I think any time you can get people going to their own ball rather than stopping at someone else’s ball is good…I have experimented with this and I think it can take an hour off a round of golf. I know in Phoenix they put the people out on single carts first as they finish so much faster than the people who play behind them in the carts that hold two bags. Sometimes people say golf is a social game, what is the hurry? I say I am not really in a hurry but I find I am still talking to the other player(s) even if I take a single cart. I still feel social. We meet at every tee, we meet at every green. In my mind, the future has got to go that way rather than shorter courses with bigger golf holes. I would like to keep the game ‘as is’ but just play a little faster.
(GH): Pete, a great way to finish at the Nineteenth. Thanks so much for your time today and for kindly sharing such a passionate insight into your golfing journey to date…and thanks for being the first, but hopefully not the last, American Professional to participate in this series.
Acknowledgements
In addition to Pete and Walloon Lake Country Club, I would also like to say thanks to
- Dennis ‘Marty’ Joy II, PGA Professional at Belvedere Golf Club, Charlevoix, Michigan. Dennis kindly shared an array of brilliant photographs, from which I had the enjoyable challenge to select one, to augment the piece within the article on the Hickory Open at Belvedere.
- Brian Sanderson, PGA Professional at Petoskey-Bay View Country Club where Pete’s grandfather and father both served as Professionals during their distinguished careers. Brian provided some stunning photographs from which I had another enjoyable challenge to select ‘my favourite’.
- Tom Watson, who I contacted to ascertain whether he had a photo from when he played junior golf at Walloon Lake. He responded by saying that unfortunately, he does not have a photo from all those decades ago…a gentleman and a legend.
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