Interview With Brandon Theophilus, President/CEO of Dancin' Dogg Golf, By Brian Weis

Interview With Brandon Theophilus, President/CEO of Dancin' Dogg Golf,

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Brandon Theophilus, President/CEO of Dancin' Dogg Golf, maker of the OptiShot Infrared Golf Simulator. Dancin' Dogg was recently named to the 2011 Inc. 500 as one of America's fast-growing entrepreneurial companies.

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?
My father introduced me to the game and I first started at 7 years old. Played my first round with my dad at my home club at Norfolk Country Club in Nebraska.

What is your current home course?
Norfolk Country Club in Norfolk, Nebraska. However, the majority of my golf these days is business golf, and while on the road.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
While an undergraduate at Baker University (Baldwin City, KS), I served as team captain. We won three conference championships as that was very satisfying. Off the course, our recent appointment to the Inc. 500 list meets a career goal I set.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
I've got several of them... when a naive golfer moves his shadows over my ball or line or when a person stands right behind me while I play my shot. I definitely enjoy a drink on the course but those who overdo it are plain rude. That's what the 19th hole is for. Maybe the worst is when there are spit-out sunflower seed shells lying on the putting green.

What is your favorite golf destination?
One that I have not yet played: Scotland. The Old Course, Carnoustie, Muirfield - the list goes on and on. But I love playing desert golf in Scottsdale area, it has some fantastic courses. Superstition Mountain and Golf Club of Scottsdale are two of my favorites there.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
There are two for me - Augusta National and Cypress Point

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Sand Hills in Mullen, Nebraska. It's one of the greatest courses in the world on the coolest grounds. You would never know you're in the middle of the United States.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
The ball. The distance that all players are able to hit today is largely due to ball technology. I'm afraid that 7,000-plus yard courses are too commonplace and fear that some of the greatest courses in the world will become relics because of distance.

Dream foursome (living)?
Palmer, Nicklaus, My father and me.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Same as above. It would be a fun and special day that I'd love to share with my dad.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long putt. Drive for show, putt for score.

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Hole in One. Would hate to know that I just played the round of my life and it won't get better than that.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Crack of dawn. I'm a morning guy.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Draw, it's harder for me to hit but love it when I can do it.

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Beverage Cart... Keep play moving.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Whichever is closer (and appropriate) at the time of need.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap, it's better for me.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Okay with both. But rather be in a bunker.

9) Walking OR riding?
When able, always prefer to walk. The problem with many courses now is that it's not an option.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid, they're too easy to hit.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 5

12) Pants OR Shorts?
As long as I'm on the course, either is fine.

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
I want them both. But if forced to choose, Arnie. He's one of most engaging men I've ever had the privilege to meet.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop shots are more fun to pull off

17) Lay up OR gamble?
I'm more conservative, so lay up.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36, if I have opportunity to play all day, I'm in.

Article Tags: Interview With Brandon Theophilus

Revised: 10/06/2011 - Article Viewed 31,685 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.