Interview With Larry Lavely

Interview With Larry Lavely A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort.

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Larry Lavely, Director of Golf/Managing Partner at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort. Larry fell in love with the game of golf while caddying at a local private golf course. After attending Central Michigan University he began his P.G.A. Apprenticeship at local golf course near the college. Following apprenticeship he started his career as P.G.A. member and became a golf course owner at the age of 27.

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?
At age 12 started caddying and playing golf. The private course I caddied at introduced me to playing golf.

What is your current home course?
The Torch course and Sundance course at A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Becoming a golf course owner.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Discount golfers.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Although I thoroughly enjoy golf getaways to Arizona, Florida and South Carolina, Northern Michigan has the most challenging and most beautiful golf anywhere.

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

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Bay Hill

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. The golf business and the game of golf have been nothing but a blessing to me.

Dream foursome (living)?
Phil Michelson, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Gary Player.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Same as above.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long Putt

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

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight

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

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog

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

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding

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

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Palmer

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18 holes

Revised: 03/23/2012 - Article Viewed 35,952 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.