Bob Working With Kids At The Autism Golf Camp

Interview With Bob Burns, Owner Bob Burns Golf Company

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Bob Burns president of the Bob Burns Golf Company in Appleton, Wisconsin. Bob Burns is a PGA Master Professional, Top 50 teacher, 2007 WI section teacher of the year. Bob founded Bob Burns Golf, family owned and operated business founded in 1975. The company designs and manufactures its own lines of custom-made golf clubs, training aids, accessories including its line of No Bananas Anti Slice golf equipment.

Bob has worked with the likes of Ben Hogan, Davis Love Sr, Jim Flick, Bob Toski, and Rick Smith.

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?
I started caddying at age 10 at the Gary Country Club where my mother was a chef. From there, I learned the game of golf from the head pro. He taught the ins and out of the business including how to play. I became caddie master while in high school and later went on to play in college at Northwood University.

What is your current home course?
I don't play as much as I used to so when I play it's always somewhere new.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
One of two. My first proudest moment was from my mid twenties when I caddied at the Gary Country Club for Arnold Palmer. My second is starting Bob Burns Golf Company in 1975.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
I am pretty easy going so I don't let those little things bother me.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
At times I still carry a Bob Burns Custom persimmon wood or two and when I do, its always been my favorite.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Hawaii

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Augusta or Pebble Beach

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
I grew up caddying at Gary Country Club which is no longer in existence so if I could go back in time I would play GCC to remind myself of where I started.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I am good with the rules of golf. However, I would try to do as much as possible to grow the game of golf while trying to make the sport more accessible. I think there is a lot more that we as professionals and as an industry to invite and welcome new players including families and children.

Dream foursome (living)?
Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Me.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Ben Hogan, Frank Sinatra, Sam Snead and Me.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Sinking a putt.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of life.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Crack of dawn.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power draw.

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
19th Hole.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand.

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
At my age, a hybrid.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 3 as it can be equally if not more challenging that the long par-5.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants, I love the heat.

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Palmer because I caddied for him when I was just out of college.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run, it's the highest percentage shot in the bag.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Lay up.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18-holes is enough.

Article Tags: Interview With Bob Burns

Revised: 02/29/2012 - Article Viewed 33,242 Times

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.