Golf is my favorite sport. Golf is also the way I provide for my family. Golf is one of my greatest passions and one of my most severe addictions. I have experienced addiction before and I can tell you that golf dwarfs a number of them in severity and expense ha ha.

That being said, I have a few people to thank for my love of this game…

First I should thank Matt Johnson. Matt was the reason I got involved in highly competitive golf. I had played in High School and had played tournament golf after, but it was Matt that talked me into giving collegiate golf a try. He was the one that dragged me to my first practice and qualifying tournament. He was a catalyst in my love of competitive golf. Thank you Matt.

I should thank Coach Paul Tikker at SCC. I started my collegiate career in the Spokane Junior College program run by Coach Tikker. Coach taught me how to be a better man than a golfer, but his influence was deep and is still seen today. Coach took a chance on a walk on with very little experience and for that I thank him deeply.

Coach Todd Nacke at LCSC must be thanked. My JC career was not legendary. I played one tournament my freshman year posting scores somewhere north of a billion and that was that. I qualified second on the team that first attempt and then fell apart for an entire season. My Sophomore year was better, but not fantastic. I helped my own cause finishing top 10 at regionals that year, but the body of work was not fantastic.

Coach Nacke took me anyway and to Lewiston, Idaho I went. There were successes and failures there, but the program grew and we brought a conference championship to the LCSC campus.

Thank you Coach Nacke!

Gary Lindeblad at Indian Canyon should get a thank you. Gary was the only man I have ever taken formal lessons from. His teachings on the golf swing forged my method of play. Gary has seen tough times in his life and has been showered with praise for his contributions to the game in the great state of Washington. Thank you Gary.

The guys at Boulder Creek in Las Vegas, especially Andy and Troy get a massive thank you. They were kind enough to help provide me with a great golf course to practice at that didn’t cost me an arm and a leg, at a time, when it was easy to charge that in Vegas. Thank you guys.

Tom Ratkovich gets a hug and a thank you! Tom was the guy that introduced me to golf as a way of life. Tom was the manager of the first real golf store I worked at and he shaped my ideas of management of people as well as shaped my development as a man. Tom is a fantastic human being. I can not say thank you enough times to Tom for his support over the years. It says alot about a man when he is not just your superior, but your friend. Tom, THANK YOU!

Last and certainly the most important is my Dad. Before it was socially “cool” to golf, before Tiger made it okay for everyone to play, before all the hype, Dad made golf the coolest thing in the world. Dad made the driving range seem like a party. Dad made teeing off on the first hole at Indian Canyon a cherished prize that still hits me to this day. My Dad is the reason I golf. If not for him I would never know this game.

My most vivid memories of this game have him in the background and, most often, the foreground. From trips to Canada to last place in every tournament we enter. From Anaconda to Vegas and back, Dad has always been there. My favorite moments, even now, are those that are shared when I am in town to visit Mom and Dad and we wake early to hit Indian Canyon.
Thank you Dad……Thank you so very much!

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