Q&A with Jeff Brinegar, Head Pro at Old Macdonald

Posted by Rob Rigg
April 2010

1. How were you drawn to golf?

Born on Masters Sunday, 1965, when Jack Nicklaus won his second green jacket, I can’t remember a world without golf. My dad taught me the game when I was around 8 years old, and then took me to Great Britain for the first time when I was 17. I really owe it all to my Dad. His silky smooth swing, coupled with afternoons on the course with family, made me fall in love with this great game.

2. When did you decide to become a Club Professional and why?

I always tell people that I “accidentally” got into the golf business, but really there was some intention involved. Having grown up around music in Southern California, I had established myself as a singer/songwriter playing shows in the greater Los Angeles area. I eventually moved to Olympia, Washington in 1996 where I studied audio recording at The Evergreen State College. Shortly after opening my own recording studio, in June of 2000, I saw an ad for a local golf facility looking to hire starter/rangers and cart staff.  So, I started as a ranger, quickly moved into the shop, and shortly there after decided to pursue a career as a golf professional. Needless to say, I haven’t recorded an album since…

3. How did you find your way to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and why did you choose to work there?

As a rookie PGA Apprentice, I was intrigued by the stories I kept hearing of a new resort that was “just like Scotland” on the Southern Coast of Oregon. I took my first trip to Bandon Dunes in late 2000, before Pacific Dunes had opened. When we checked in for our round we were greeted by none other than Grant Rogers, Director of Instruction and Master Professional, and CJ Kreuscher, Assistant Superintendent at Old Macdonald. At the time, Grant and CJ were both assistant golf professionals in the Bandon Dunes shop and both of them had on the biggest smiles. Looking over there shoulders, out at the course, I could tell why they were wearing such genuinely happy expressions; they had found golf nirvana. This was something or someplace that I had to be a part of. On subsequent trips I actually found myself walking around the resort acting as if I already worked here. It just seemed like a perfect fit. I spent the next few years planting seeds and eventually one of those seeds sprouted and I was hired into the Bandon Dunes shop. Wow, what a day that was!

The Walking Golfer of the Year Award presentation at Bandon Dunes. From L to R: Todd Rohrer, Mike Keiser, Jeff Brinegar, Rob Rigg

4. Do you believe that walking a course is an important part of the golf experience?

Absolutely. Walking is a fundamental part of this great game. The rhythm of your round, the connection with your clubs, feeling the turf under foot, scanning the landscape as you walk to your next shot;  it’s all integral to the experience.  Walking allows for preparation, great conversations with your playing companions and a plethora of sensations that one cannot enjoy while riding in a power cart.  It’s fun to see the expressions on the faces of the players as they walk off the course having played 36 holes for the first time. The battle of it all, the little victories, the mustering of courage and strength as they reach the final stretch, it provides such a sense of “golf as it was meant to be.” Just you, your clubs, and the course.

5. What was your most memorable walk ever?

If I have to pick just one it would be the first time I played real links golf. I was 17 and heading to England with my Dad and a friend from grade school. With only a few days to play with, my Dad found a window in which we could drive to Sandwich, England and play at Royal St. George. Even though I had watched the British Open for years and years with my Dad I really had no idea what to expect. We brought our own golf shoes and rented some clubs. I can’t remember what they looked like but I know there weren’t 14 clubs in the little carry bag they gave me. As we emerged from the dimly lit locker room out in to the bright morning sun, I remember looking out at where I thought the course would be and thinking “where the heck is the 1^st tee?” It all just looked like fields of beach grass. Where were the push-up tee boxes and carts? It was all too pure, and I loved it. That round of golf, with my Dad, at a “British Open Course”, made a huge impression on me. I was hooked. Links golf just made sense; the walking, the freedom, the creativity, the contours of the fairways and greens, the undulating dunes-land, it was perfect. It is perfect.

Bandon Dunes: When I walk up to the 1st tee at Bandon Dunes, it always feels like I’m coming home. There’s a big, welcoming feeling you get on Bandon. It’s such a beautifully routed course and I love that David Kidd compared it to a piece of music. #4 still gets me every time. That reveal when you walk around that last dune on the right, with the spectacular view of the green and Pacific Ocean beyond, it’s breathtaking.

Pacific Dunes: I remember playing Pacific for the first time in 2001, back in the days of the double wide shop/grill. I felt tingly walking to #1. That sense of anticipation still gets me to this day when someone says “let’s go play Pac.” You really have to stay on your toes and think about the shot you’re about to hit. The Oregon coasts’ natural beauty, combined with Tom Doak’s careful yet dramatic imagination, is a collaboration that may only happen once in a lifetime. The land and the layout are just that good.

Bandon Trails: Bandon Trails just might be my favorite course on the resort, and for many reasons. Nowhere on the property do you get such a sense of intimacy and seclusion as you do on Trails. With its impeccable turf conditions and thought provoking sightlines Trails will challenge your game on every shot. It can provide a relentless battle against your courage and determination, or a surreal and gentle walk through coastal pines, meadows and sand dunes. I love the fact that more and more players are falling in love with Bandon Trails. It will let its guard down if you just relax and embrace its unique combination of perfectly placed hazards, robust and undulating fairways and flawless greens. I love putting at Trails. It’s the sibling I’m most proud of. Not because it’s tough but because it’s a fabulous and remarkable golf course.

7. Would you change anything about the current state of golf in the United States? And if so, why?

In the year 2010 everything is instant.

We change channels, surf the internet, move on from relationships and jobs, all with the intent of instant gratification. Golf is not like that. Golf takes time. This ancient game has so much to offer -physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. In many ways, it is at odds with modern society.

Originally, the game was so simple, and so were the courses, sort of.

The transition from the British links of the 19^th century, to the post-1945 “modern era”, has yielded thousands of courses where walking is nearly prohibited due to ridiculous terrain and/or long green to tee transfers. This conflict with the inherent purity of the game, the ability to walk and carry ones own clubs, has diminished the power of the original golfing experience.

These are six changes that I would suggest:

*       If you’re a golfer, find a good local walking course and play it with your buddies at least once a month.

*       Please, play ready golf at all times.

*       Leave your “normal life” in the parking lot. When you’re on the course, no cell phones, no worries, no deep conversations about work. Just play the game.

*       Know the rules and play by them i.e. count every stroke; don’t bump the ball when you’re in the rough and out of sight from your playing partners.

*       Play with honor, respect and etiquette.

*       Walk, every chance you get.

4th Hole at Pacific Dunes. Photo by Rob Rigg.

8. Who is the best links golfer you have ever played with? What makes his or her game a great match for the links?

I’ve got two that are neck and neck, Grant Rogers, Director of Instruction and Master Professional here at Bandon, and Brent Zepp, 1^st Assistant Professional at Chambers Bay.

Grant is a legend here at the resort and has more fables than Aesop. And they’re all true! Although Grant is famous for pulling putter from anywhere, and I mean anywhere, his links game is one of the best ever. He loves the wind and really doesn’t enjoy playing on calm days. Extreme golf is Grant’s cup of tea. He once played the Old Course at St. Andrews, at night, with just a putter, and was even par through 13 holes. He’s amazing.

Brent and I have been friends for 10 years and have played lots and lots of golf together, including a great journey through Scotland where we played matches the entire trip. Brent won all but two of them, and his victories came as the result of stinger-drawing-punch five irons, low, piercing drives, precise chipping on fescue greens, and average putting. He currently teaches droves of Seattle and Tacoma area players in the fine art of links golf. His passion for the game and for links golf is unmatched. Period.

9. Why is BDGR a special place and what have visitors told you compel them to return year after year?

People tend to be attracted to perfection, to places that are pure. The courses here at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort are as pure as it gets in the United States if not the world. No carts, very little signage, genuine helpful and friendly staff members, amazing vistas and arguably the purest links golf experience you can have outside of the British Isles. We are extremely fortunate that so many avid golfers from around the world make the trip to Bandon, year after year, to play the ground game, to play links golf. To play dream golf.

10. If you had to play one course (anywhere in the world) each day for the rest of your life, what course would it be and why?

Two courses that really stand out are Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland, and Tacoma G&CC in Tacoma, Washington. Both are relatively short courses that share a quality that I’m most attracted to in a course; variety of shot selections. You can’t just step up and bomb driver all day. You really need to think your way around both courses. Maybe they both just set up nicely to my eye. Tacoma is always in perfect shape; even the day after a punch the greens are rolling at 9 to 10. Prestwick is just plain cool. With its white seashell paths, history and routing, blind shots and of course the infamous Alps hole, I can’t wait to get back to play it again.

O K. I just changed my mind. One course, the rest of my life, has got to be the Old Course at St. Andrews. What was I thinking…..?

11. How many clubs do you play?

I’ve only carried 6-7 clubs in my little Mackenzie Walker for the last year. One day I just dropped half the set and I feel like I’m a better player because of it.  Part of that decision was based on Charles Blair Macdonald and his choice to play with merely 6 clubs during a time when you could carry up to 22 clubs in your bag. He was disgusted by that notion, and I think he was right.

Right now I’m carrying a driver, 3-metal, 5 iron, 7 iron, 9 iron, a sand wedge and a putter. Anyone who’s still lugging around 14 clubs and a huge bag should try the down-size, at least for one round. I think you’ll be surprised at how much more creative you feel with your shot selection and imagination.

View of the Pacific Ocean from the 7th Green at Old Macdonald. Photo by Rob Rigg.

12. What are your thoughts on Old Macdonald? What was it like observing the creation of the course? How is it similar and/or different versus the other courses at the Resort and other courses that you have played elsewhere in the world of a similar genre?

As most seasoned veterans of Bandon Dunes will agree, we all used to look out at the land east of Pacific Dunes and wonder what a course might look like in that setting. With such a different topography than the other three courses what would its character be like? Could it ever be as exciting to play as the original three? Who would design it? What would it be called?

Thankfully, I’ve been a part of Old Macdonald since the very early stages. I was even lucky enough to get my hands on one of the first routings of the course. The map had no hole numbers, routing lines, or anything to establish which way the holes were to be played. There were merely shapes here and there that made the discovery process even more intriguing. After studying the charts I mapped/speculated 2-3 routings then met with Jim Urbina at the Crows Nest in Bandon where he quizzed me on my research project. And while I couldn’t identify all of the template designs hidden in the map I did find a few.  During the construction of the first ten holes Jim and the construction crew would eat lunch every day at Bandon Trails where I was the Head Pro at the time. It was a great opportunity to find out what they had been working on and find out how the course was taking shape.

Watching Old Macdonald emerge from the dunes land next to Pacific Dunes has been amazing. Giving tours throughout the process has given me an up-close look on a daily basis at the progress the construction/grow-in team has made. To play the course today is an absolute treat. Having walked that ground when it was a field of scrub and gorse, to today, with its already weathered-in look and spectacular views, it’s something I’m so proud to be a part of.  It is so different than the other three courses, and in fact that’s the term Jim Urbina used most during the construction process, “it’s just different.” With its wide fairways and enormous greens Old Mac presents an inviting countenance. Its brilliant design, tempered with the spirit of Charles Blair Macdonald, separates Old Mac from its “contemporary” peers. How different is it?  Come see for yourself.