WINNEMUCCA - Winnemucca's new golf pro still finds the game fresh after 38 years as a PGA member.
Rick Longhurst recently retired as pro from Ruby View Golf Course in Elko after 29 years, but he didn't put his clubs in the closet.
He told his wife if the golf pro job in Winnemucca or Spring Creek came open, he'd be interested. Both wanted to stay in northern Nevada. The position became vacant in Winnemucca and he signed a one-year contract with the city in February to take over the municipal 9-hole course.
"It's what I do and it's what I love," he said. "I'm a golf pro and that's what I do."
Longhurst doesn't golf every day. It's not his job to be the best player on the course.
As the local pro, he said his main concern is operating the clubhouse and making sure that the flow of play on the course is correct and golfers have an enjoyable experience. He plays to keep his game sharp, and he enjoys a stroll on the fairways, but he's not seeking bragging rights. "I'm not a professional golfer. I'm a golf professional," he said.
And he's really busy. On a recent morning, the UPS driver dropped off boxes of golf gear at the clubhouse, and the beer guy needed a check for deliveries. Longhurst is remodeling part of the pro shop to display more merchandise, a project that should be done by mid-April. He's upgrading the snack bar to offer new food items for golfers. The driving range is getting a new ball machine that operates on tokens.
Longhurst has been playing at the Winnemucca course for years. He knows local golfers and they know him. The course is always in good shape, and the greens are challenging, he said. The city added two lakes a couple of years ago that have greatly enhanced playability, forcing golfers to think a little deeper about where they want to place the ball. "You've got to hit a lot of different shots on the course," Longhurst said. The par 4s are tough, and the par 3s are well-bunkered. He's quick to give kudos to the grounds crew for their work on the course. "It's one of the best municipals in northern Nevada," he said.
Its central location in Winnemucca is ideal for city residents but not so great for any future expansion. The circa 1950s course is landlocked, hemmed in by residential and commercial development and city parks and pool. If the city ever wants a full 18-hole municipal course, it almost certainly will have to find a new location.
Longhurst is on staff with Callaway and Titleist and has accounts with all the major club and shoe manufacturers. What he doesn't have at the pro shop, he can order at competitive prices. Interested in a set of high-end graphite irons for $1,600? Stop by the pro shop in the clubhouse and he'll order them. Longhurst can hook you up with a top-of-the-line driver which, depending on the shaft and components, can run $350 to $600. He'll dispense advice on equipment for free.
But a local golfer doesn't have to have the bank balance of Phil Mickelson to get into the game and have fun. A good starter set of clubs and bag can be had for $300 to $500. That's not a bad idea for someone who's thinking about picking up the game. "Just starting out you don't know if you're really going to enjoy this or not. You don't want to invest a lot of money," Longhurst said. Golfers can also rent clubs for use on the course.
Golf instruction is a pretty good investment for beginners, and maybe some seasoned players as well. Learn the fundamentals before you develop a chronic slice or hook that you can't shake off. Longhurst offers private instruction by appointment. He's worked with enough golfers during his career to offer this wisdom: "It's a lot easier for me as an instructor to get a golfer to do something than it is for me to get them to stop doing something."
Longhurst was hitting balls at age 3 and owned his first set of clubs at age 4. Raised in Pocatello, Idaho, he played high school golf there and his college golf at the University of Idaho, where he met his wife, Peggy. He didn't have time raising a family to spend much time touring as a pro. He holds the PGA's Class A1 designation as head professional, and he considers himself a golf educator. Obtaining the title required him to pass the player's ability test, a rigorous 36 holes in one day, and do it with a qualifying score. Club pros are required to keep current on education and get recertified periodically. A golf pro needs to know how to take on the role of teacher and run the business end of clubhouse operations. They need to know food and beverage management, merchandising, agronomy and even golf cart fleet maintenance.
All PGA members are fairly good golfers to start with, Longhurst said, and there are a lot of PGA members that are pros at golf clubs now that played on the tour.
Golf is still attracting new players, he said. Maybe the sport is not gaining new fans and players at the pace it did when Tiger Woods was crushing the competition every weekend. Longhurst said Tiger was a phenomenal addition to the game. The word he uses to describe that heady time in fairly recent golf history is "frenzy."
"It's a family sport, and there are more and more women playing, more and more kids playing," Longhurst said. "With the economy it's kind of flatlined a little bit, just like everything. I think on a local level play is up at most places just because of the cost of travel and cost of gasoline." With I-80 nearby, Winnemucca's municipal course pulls in golfers passing through or those out for a golf day trip.
The PGA and USGA have great youth programs and are working to develop future golfers, Longhurst said. There are plenty of college scholarships out there for high school standouts. The junior program at the Winnemucca course, geared for youth ages 8-18, will start when school lets out. Longhurst will give lessons on the first three Wednesdays, stressing fundamentals like safety, etiquette and basic rules of the game. Young golfers can use the practice facility, the driving range and the putting range.
The inclement weather is keeping the crowds pretty thin at the golf course in mid-March, but Longhurst knows that will soon change. On the busiest summer days, typically Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a lone golfer might become part of a twosome or foursome. It's up to Longhurst to keep play moving, and on a crowded 9-hole course, that can require skill. During peak golf season, the course will open for early birds at 6:30 a.m. The city offers various passes for golfers that fit different budgets and frequency of play.
After all these years Longhurst finds new things to like about the game. It's changing, equipment is changing. He gets the opportunity to teach apprentices about the golf business, one of whom may someday take over for him.
Is it still fresh for someone who's been around the links for nearly 40 years as a pro?
"Yes, it is, especially with the development of all the new types of equipment and materials that are being used," he said one recent morning at the clubhouse. "I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it."
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