Golfer Profile: Gregg Edwards

From the Bradenton Herald, 9/28/06:

Behind the Greens

Who: Gregg Edwards.

Age: 35.

Job title: Mini-tour professional, instructor at The River Club.

Family: Fiancee, Sandra Wimmer; son Carter Lane, 13 months.

Favorite sports team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I've had season tickets for six years.

Noteworthy accomplishment: Winning last weekend's Sarasota County Open at the Golf Club at Capri Isles in Venice in a five-hole playoff against Mike Cummings (both shot rounds of 72-70 for a 142 total).

Most rewarding aspect of job: I always feel I'm playing to better myself. I've played every sport, and golf is the best - it doesn't matter how big you are, what color you are, where you came from. All that matters is, what did you shoot?

Most challenging aspect: Making a 3-footer for the win. Any time you make a swing, you're one nanosecond from disaster, so you have to grind it. It's a lot of fun, but it's exhausting.

Management skills: They call Capri Isles "Capri Alley," and I had to accept hitting 4-iron instead of 3-wood and allowing 150-160 yards as opposed to getting greedy. I hit 16 greens the first day, which is pretty solid.

Moving on up: I'm playing this week in The Florida Open Golf Championship at Eagle Creek in Orlando. Mike Pascuzzi, the owner here, has given me a great opportunity by allowing me to practice and teach, and I'm going to represent the club as best as I can. I won a Moonlight Tour event in Lakeland and tied the course record here with a 65, so I'm on a roll.

Staying focused: My brother Charles sent me a book, Zen in the Art of Archery, and it was so basic it brought everything back.

Climbing the ladder: I had a 14 handicap when I moved here in 1994. When I worked in the cart barn at Tara Golf and Country Club, I was hitting 1,000 balls a day, then I got lessons from David Leadbetter in Naples. Later on, I worked in the cart barn at Longboat Key - whatever I had to do to keep my dream alive.

Favorite quote: It's from Bobby Jones: 'Intense concentration upon results, to the absolute exclusion of all thoughts as to method, is the secret of a good shot.'

Dream foursome: Bobby Jones, because he was a pioneer of the game. Freddy Couples, just because he's cool. And Tiger Woods - he's probably the greatest of all time.


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Mike Henry, Herald Staff