Interview With David Winget Director of Golf Geneva National Golf Club By Brian Weis

Interview With David Winget Director of Golf Geneva National Golf Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with David Winget, the Director of Golf at Geneva National Golf Club. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

Can you provide our readers a brief biography?
- Been Playing Golf for 28 Years
- Started working at a golf course when I was 15
- Started working at Geneva National in 2001
- Worked my way from Assistant to Head Professional to Director of Golf

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
- Started Golfing at age 10
- My parents got me into golfing...(I started with an old set of theirs that was in the basement)
- Best golf memory...Recently played in a Tournament at Pebble Beach...My wife walked with me, and we stood/took pictures on the 7th hole...sunshine, seals, and incredible golf & company

What is your current home course? Geneva National Golf Club
-54 Holes
-Arnold Palmer Course
-Gary Player Course
-Lee Trevino Course

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Working my way from to Director of Golf at a High-End, Semi-Private Club -Winning the 2011 Public Merchandiser of the Year in the Wisconsin PGA Section

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Pace of Play
All players can play quickly, no matter their skill level. Just be ready to play when it's your turn.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
Driver....who doesn't like hitting a long drive?!?

What is your favorite golf destination?
Toss up between Hilton Head Island and Pebble Beach.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey....When you're number 1 or 2 in the country and most people don't know who you are, you've got to be good!

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Pebble Beach....the views are incredible.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
The Out of Bounds penalty. Change it to the same penalty as a water hazard (stroke penalty instead of stroke AND distance). This would help speed up the game - especially for tournaments.

Dream foursome (living)?
Any combination of the people I currently play golf with - parents, members, staff, friends, etc...I have fun playing with all of these people, and I am truly lucky to spend time with them while playing the game I love.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Albert Einstein, JP Morgan, and Ben Franklin....who cares about the golf, what an incredible conversation that would be!

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long Putt...you can save more shots with a long putt than a long drive.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life only because I've had a Hole-in-One...if I hadn't, it would be the reverse.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Dawn...sun rising, no one in front of you, and the smoothest greens all day...nothing better!

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Draw

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway House...not a fan of people driving towards me on the golf course.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
No comment

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Either...give me a chance at either and we're good.

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking ideally, but time dictates riding most days.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid...technology is a good thing.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Either...both require good shots.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants...haven't worn shorts to golf in 15 years.

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Palmer

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun...doesn't mean you don't try your hardest.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Either...depends on the situation....it's like asking phillips head or flat head screwdriver...it all depends on what the situation requires.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Depends on what's on the line, where the match is at, and what the reward is.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
Why stop at 36? Play all day if you can!

Revised: 01/29/2016 - Article Viewed 38,074 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.