Clint Hutchens and Wife

Interview With Clint Hutchens GM/Head Professional Baraboo Country Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Clint Hutchens, the GM/Head Professional at Baraboo Country Club. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

Can you provide our readers a brief biography?
Attended Campbell University's Professional Golf Management program in North Carolina.

Moved back to WI taking the 1st Assistant position at Wild Rock Golf Club.

Moved across town to Trappers Turn as the Head Professional.

Was able to "come home" to the Baraboo Country Club in 2011.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
I first swung the club while tagging along on Dad's golf trips. I didn't take the game really seriously until a friend encouraged me to try out for the high school team the summer after my freshman year. Luckily we weren't very good and I was able to make the Varsity in my first year on the team.

What is your current home course?
My current home course is the Baraboo Country Club in Baraboo, WI.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
My favorite story of determination was my junior year when I shot a 47 on the front nine suffering 6 penalty strokes during our Regional tournament. I went on to lip out on 18 for eagle and came back with a 33 on the back nine for a smooth 80 and a trip to Sectionals!

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
It really bothers me when golfers that have no reason to be good get frustrated with their ability. If you don't practice and play once a week, why on earth should you expect to break 80?

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
I love my 52 degree gap wedge. I am able to hit a lot of shots with that club. If I am between 20 yards to 120 yards...look out!

What is your favorite golf destination?
After having played Whistling Straits I really can't imagine a better test of golfing ability. Those of us desiring the challenge of zero forgiveness will be drawn to this course for the rest of our lives.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Augusta.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Whistling Straights.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I think we should allow even fewer clubs in the bag. I am always impressed by how well my members play in the events where we restrict the number of clubs they can carry. It really keeps the thought process to a minimum and puts more emphasis on shot making.

Dream foursome (living)?
Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Dave Feherty and myself.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and myself.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

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

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

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

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Fade for control...

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Beverage Cart

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Whatever is available...

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap...

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
I will take my chances in the trap any day.

9) Walking OR riding?
Cart golf = More golf

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
3-iron and 3-hybrid...uh-oh!

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts...but then again I have great legs!

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
The Bear.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
America's own...Mr. Presley.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
You have to have a little something on the line...don't you?

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
27.

Revised: 02/19/2013 - Article Viewed 34,172 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.