Sep062007
Meet: Mike Barnett
After seven years teaching golf at Eagle Bend Golf Course in Bigfork, Mike Barnett has returned to Missoula to teach at The Ranch Club.
TOM BAUER/Missoulian |
Barnett returns to teach in hometown
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
© 2007 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises.
Mike Barnett's family is synonymous with Missoula golf. So after seven years in Bigfork, it seems wholly appropriate that he's back in the Garden City as head of the teaching academy at The Ranch Club, formerly known as Phantom Hills.
Barnett, 55, was a golfing Wunderkind, winning three state high-school championships for Missoula Sentinel. He was the Montana State Amateur runner-up in 1967, at the tender age of 15, and captured back-to-back State Ams in 1974 and 1975 while playing for Arizona State. Barnett blazed a back-nine 29 en route to an opening-round 67 at Butte Country Club in 1974 and wound up winning the tournament by nine strokes in one of the most dominant performances in State Am history.
Barnett went on to play the Asian Tour after college against competitors such as Greg Norman before back problems ended his days as a touring professional. In addition to his teaching experience in Montana, he worked for more than a decade with the John Jacobs golf schools in Michigan, Alabama and Scottsdale, Ariz.
Barnett's love of the game came naturally.
Don Barnett, Mike's grandfather, was a lifelong supporter of golf in Montana, helping to design and build the state's first grass green at Missoula Country Club in 1931. MCC's annual Memorial Day tournament, which dates back the early 1930s, has been known as the Don Barnett Memorial since 1978.
John Barnett, Mike's father, is a retired Missoula optometrist who won the MCC club championship a remarkable 17 times across a span of five decades.
Q: So you were born with a 5-iron in your hand, right?
A: Well, (laughing) not quite. But by the age of 6 I was out on the course, with either my dad, my grandad or my great-aunt Gracie, who was one of the best senior women golfers in the state. I was 7 when I played my first junior tournament. I'll never forget it - I shot 109 for nine holes. Fifteen years later I shot that 29 at Butte. So yeah, I improved just a little bit.
Q: How young were you when you played your first State Am?
A: I was 11, and I played in the 11th flight. In those days the State Am was a match-play event. My toughest match came against another junior player, and then I beat an adult to win the flight. My dad tells the story that the poor guy was practically in tears, losing to an 11-year-old kid.
Q: Why has golf meant so much to you?
A: I think it's a personal challenge that never ends. There's always that hope, that goal, to play better. It's a great form of self expression. I played team sports all through school, but golf was different. It all depended on you. When you hit in the rough, you had to wade in there, find your ball and figure out what to do next.
Q: I know you've had back and knee problems. How are you doing?
A: I haven't actually played an 18-hole round of golf since last summer, when my brothers and I took dad on a trip to St. Andrews for his 75th birthday. I've had knee problems for a long time, just the continuous wear and tear. I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee, and I'm still recovering. I might need to have a knee replacement, to get back to where I want to be.
Q: OK, you played St. Andrews, the cradle of golf. How did you do on No. 17, the Road Hole?
A: Well, the wind was only blowing about 35-40 mph, but I parred the son of a gun. I really wanted to par that damn hole. I thought I drove it too far to the right - it's a blind tee shot - but it wound up in the middle of the fairway. I had to play a 2-iron back in my stance, and hit it as hard as I could. But I made the green, and two-putted from about 35 feet. So, yeah, I parred it - and that was on one leg.
Q: What makes a good golf teacher?
A: You have to have the knowledge, of course, but it starts with patience and understanding. Golf can be an intimidating game, and you have to make sure your students receive all the encouragement and support they deserve.
Q: How does it feel to be back in Missoula?
A: I absolutely love it. It's going to be so fun to share my knowledge here in my hometown.
Lightning round
Steel or graphite shafts?
Steel for my irons, graphite for my woods.
Favorite course you've played?
That's a tough one. Pebble Beach or Cypress Point.
Tiger or the field?
Tiger is tough, but I'll always go with the field. If Tiger has a fault, it's that he swings too hard.
Best hole at The Ranch Club?
No. 11, a par-3 on the back nine. But I'm a little biased, because I envisioned it looking a certain way, and that's how they built it.
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