Amy McCormack

Interview With Amy McCormack PGA Head Professional Hood River Golf & Country Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Amy McCormack, Head Professional at Hood River Golf & Country Club. She began playing at the age of 11, her dad thought it would keep her out of trouble. (chuckle) She later played competitively in High School and College then went on to earn a degree in Turfgrass Management. Amy is in love with this crazy game and everything that has to do with it!

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
Started at 11 years old. My Dad and Uncle introduced me to the game earlier than 11, I remember driving the golf car thinking how fun golf is!

What is your current home course?
Hood River Golf and Country Club, in the Amazing, Beautiful Columbia River Gorge.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
That's a tough question.... Either the brand new golfers that have returned to the game after lessons with me, the first successful greens aerification I supervised or being in the top 2.7% of PGA Professionals for completing all 6 certifications in the Certified Professional Program. There are so many rewards that come often when you get to do what you love and get paid for it, even if payments are in peanuts....or chickens

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
As a female I am allowed 3 pet peeves...1. Un-repaired ball marks on greens, 2. divots not filled in, 3. Groups that show up for their 11:10 tee time on a sunny saturday at 11:09.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
PUTTER!!! She's my favorite for different reasons each round. From hitting everything inside 10 feet to just looking good!

What is your favorite golf destination?
Bandon Dunes on the beautiful Oregon Coast, but I haven't been to Scotland yet so get back to me on that one...

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
All of the tiny little "honor box" links courses up and down Scotland's coast.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Again I will play the female card, we get to change our minds more often.... It would be difficult to choose between Crosswater in Sunriver, Oregon and Aldarra in Fall City, Washington.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I would make it more affordable. It would create more opportunities for people who normally wouldn't be able to play but want to. Maybe FedEx could supplement some community golf programs to help grow the game rather than paying the tour players for something they've already won millions of dollars doing... just a thought

Dream foursome (living)?
My Dad, My Uncle, My Sister, Nancy Lopez

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Alister Mackenzie, Old Tom Morris, Marion Hollins, Seamus McDuff!! (fiction character falls under dead right?)

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Sinking long putt, it's probably for bogey anyway

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
I've had one of each.... I'd choose round of my life if my Dad was with me

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Crack of dawn.... more daylight for beer

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Depends on which side has OB....

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Absolutely Halfway House!! The beverage cart girl doesn't like it when you crawl under her cart to hide from the rain

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bushes.... come on, it's just more natural!

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot Dog. Pairs better with beer

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Neither please

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking!!!!

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Short par 4

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Skort of course!

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Arnie all the way!

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
BEATLES!!!

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
It's always fun to win money :)

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run, I like to watch it roll into the hole rather than bounce... actually it doesn't matter as long as it goes in!

17) Lay up OR gamble?
"No balls... No babies" a quote from a wise Dad

18) 18 holes OR 36?
Did we tee off at the crack of dawn? How much beer do we have?

Revised: 04/26/2012 - Article Viewed 32,960 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.