Rich Bartley At Work - Announcing The Rules At The Club Championship

Interview With Richard N. Bartley, Jr. - Hawks Landing Golf Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Richard N. Bartley, Jr. PGA Head Professional Hawks Landing Golf Club. His golf career began after college at University Ridge. In 1999, he moved to Portland, Oregon and spent three years as an Assistant Professional at Riverside Golf & Country Club. After moving back to Madison, he spent six plus seasons at Nakoma Golf Club. Since 2009, he has been the Head Professional at Hawks Landing Golf Club.

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 golf when I was 11 years old. I still remember playing with my mother's light blue gripped clubs on a small nine hole golf course that many would never remember by the name of Pagoda outside Nekoosa, WI. I shot 70 the first time I played 9 holes and I remember my Dad telling me I was a natural. I didn't really think much of the sport at the time because I shot 73 the next time out and was fairly upset that I didn't improve. It was two years later before I really started to gain the interest and passion. After Pagoda closed, it was an 18 mile round trip bike ride to Homestead GC in order to play, so I knew I began to fall in love.

What is your current home course?
My current home course is my facility, Hawks Landing Golf Club in Verona, WI.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
I would probably say interviewing and gaining my very first job that I applied for and earned by becoming the Head Professional at Hawks Landing. It's pretty tough to prepare yourself mentally for the questions that are asked during this process. The thing I could probably tell all young Pro's is to just stay relaxed and be yourself. If you're a good honest person with high integrity people tend to recognize.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Probably pace of play. Time seems to be most people's most valuable commodity these days.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
I would tend to say my nine iron. It's scoring club, but it's also very versatile, especially at Hawks. We have many tightly mowed collection areas and I tend not to hit as many greens as I did when I was playing more golf. I find myself hitting a lot of bump and run shots.

What is your favorite golf destination?
I haven't traveled too much, but I would say my favorite places I've played where I've traveled are Bandon Dunes and Pinehurst.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
There are too many to name, but Pine Valley Golf Club would be a good start.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
I'd go to Oregon and play Portland Golf Club.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I would need time to think more about this one.

Dream foursome (living)?
My Father
Steve Stricker
Tom Watson

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
My Father
Steve Stricker
Tom Watson

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Depends what your definition of long is.....

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life in competition, otherwise Hole in One

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

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade....I've got the draw down

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Neither, unless I have time off.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
??......nice question. Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Again depends......all beef, then I'd say Hot Dog

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Neither, but I'd probably say sand unless it was plugged

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking before I became strapped for time.....now it's riding or I'd never have time to play.

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

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
This might be the best question yet.......Beatles by a nose

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun. you have to have money in order to play for it.

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

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Depends upon the situation....always gamble when you're playing for fun.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18. don't know if my back, currently shoulder, could make it 36 holes

Revised: 01/03/2012 - Article Viewed 35,242 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.