Diamonds in the Rough

Ari had some great comments on some of the questions we asked prior to the interview.  Let us know what you think:

* What excites you creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

* I get most excited by playing a great old classic or great golf course.  I love old classic golf courses and the feeling that I get from playing them.  The connection to the earth and the connection to the past history of the game stirs up great emotion in me and is why I love the game so much.

* What travel experience changed your life and why?

* My first trip to Sand Hills Golf Club changed my life.  It made me realize how natural and amazing a golf course could be and how enjoyable and peaceful it is spending time at a place like that.  It was one of the first times I felt truly content on a vacation.  Usually I am too worried about work and other responsibility to truly enjoy myself but something about the remoteness and peacefullness of Sand Hills did it for me.

What’s on your “Bucket List?” (Top 5 things you’d still like to do)

* 1 – Play Sand Hills Golf Club with my son Milo
2 – See my father get a hole in one somewhere, anywhere
3 – play in a USGA championship
4 – goto Galapagos Islands with my wife
5 – Caddy for my son in a USGA championship

* What activity could you do all day long without getting bored

* As cliche as it might sound the only activity I could do all day long without getting bored is play golf.  On the right golf course I could stay out there indefinitely and never get bored.

* For what do you want to be remembered professionally

*  Id like to be remembered as someone who helped bring custom fitting into the main stream of golf and as someone who helped bring quality and old world craftsmanship back into golf equipment.

* What three things have you worried most about the future of golf or development?

* Money, land and interest are the 3 things that worry me most about the future of golf course development.  The money is drying up to build courses and alot of the great land is already used up on courses or houses.  Interest from the public is also waning in terms of the number of golfers, it is not going up like it was a few years ago.  My biggest concern is that we will start to lose some of the great old courses as they struggle to stay afloat in todays economy.  One thing I would love more than anything would be to play a round at Lido Golf Club.  Unfortunately Lido ceased to exist in the 1950s so I will never be able to do that.  My biggest fear is that there will be many courses added to the list of great courses that no longer exist.

Listen to the complete interview tomorrow on iTunes…JOM