Golf is an everyman sport. Every man wants to be good, but not every man can hack it on the course.
Taylor Irvin is an exception.
Turning pro last week, Irvin is ready to hit the links with the best of them and maybe teach a few tips along the way.
Since he started golfing at age 12, Irvin had always wanted to pick up a club, every waking moment, eventually bugging his parents to pick him up a membership at the Cochrane Golf Club in Riverview.
“I started here in Cochrane at 12, going with a couple friends and when I was 14 I got my dad to get me a membership there and I’ve been playing competitive golf ever since,” said the 21-year-old who played 36 holes a day back in the day.
You could maybe even say he was a little crazy for the sport, but crazy isn’t always a bad thing.
As a former member of the Bow Valley High School golf team, Irvin has been a highly-skilled golfer since his days playing with Team Alberta as a junior, travelling to Montana and Phoenix to play against some of the top players in the States.
“It was a good experience to go down there and play against some great golfers,” said Irvin.
“I learned a lot and it helped me get to where I am today.”
But when it comes to gaining real experience leading into the Canadian Professional Golf Association PAT (Play Ability Test), nothing could have prepared him better than winning the provincial championship with Lethbridge College this past season in his graduating year of the professional golf course management three-year program.
On the first day of the PAT at Alberta Springs in Red Deer, Irvin did everything he could to come away with a solid score. And he did, knocking out even-par on first day (72). And, needing a score lower than 155 overall, he needed to have an equally-exceptional day on Day 2.
He did just that, scoring 77 on Day 2 for an overall score of 149, earning his pro card on the first try.
While the option is there for Irvin to travel and enter tournaments as a pro, he said he’s just looking forward to getting back to Valley Ridge Golf Course where he’s now teaching six days a week.
“This is the start of my career and it feels really good to know that I can now teach and give back to the game,” Irvin said.
“Getting to where I am, I didn’t have much taught to me, I had to learn by myself.
“So to get to show others how to play the game I love is really nice.”
