I have always been an athlete, whether
playing hockey, baseball, tennis or basketball. I am
a very competitive person. I love the excitement and
challenge of these sports.
I began taking the game of golf seriously at the age of
13. At the time, I was deeply into basketball. I wanted
to be a pro basketball player. But, having a tiny mother
meant that I probably wouldn’t hit more than 6 feet
tall. So, my father and grandfather thought I should try
golf. They believed I was a “natural”.
I didn’t care much for the game at the time. It grew
on me. During the summers, I would keep at it bouncing
around from one golf course to another, to practice every
day, all day. I met many fine people who took an interest
in my welfare and gave me lots of tips.
When my Dad asked Steve Chapman, a talented local pro golfer
to be my coach, I really caught the golf bug. He helped
me improve my game and my confidence. To this day, Steve
is my closest advisor.
When I was about 15, I made Trafalgar Golf & Country
Club in Milton, Ontario my home base. I took advantage
of its well-respected junior program and the wisdom and
encouragement of its pros.
That summer, I began to play some tournaments in Canada
and the United States sponsored by the Canadian Junior
Golf Association (C.J.G.A.), American Junior Golf Association
(A.J.G.A.) and the Future Collegiate World Tour (F.C.W.T.).
Those opportunities were important in developing my game.
By
the time I finished high school, I was making my mark as
a junior player in
Canada. That helped me get a number of offers from American
Universities to play golf while studying.
Herb Page at Kent State impressed me with his professionalism
and track record of caring for young Canadian golfers.
One of the best decisions of my athletic career was to
accept a golf scholarship at Kent State.
As a member of the Kent golf team for four years, I gained
invaluable experience at the top NCAA level. I’ve
also learned a great deal from Herb about all parts of
the game of golf and being successful in life too. Herb
is a phenomenal businessman. I know I will benefit from
his advice as I deal with the challenges of being a pro.
All along, I had tremendous support and encouragement from
the Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA). Henry Brunton
introduced me to Steve Chapman, my constant advisor and
coach. The RCGA included me in its player development program
during my college years. That gave me many opportunities
to play golf during the summers when I wasn’t playing
college golf. RCGA coaches provided constructive feedback
on the mental as well as the technical parts of golf. Overall,
my connection to RCGA helped me improve my golf game, kept
my spirits up and enabled me to keep competing with top
amateur golfers around the world. |
