Kenny Hughes (4th from the right) Playing in MS Gulf Resort Classic Pro Am With Jay Don Blake (Middle) and Friends

Interview With Kenny Hughes, Jr. CEO Shell Landing

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Kenny Hughes, Jr., the CEO at Shell Landing . 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?
Starting playing at age 10 became good enough to be number 1 on my high school team. Went to junior college and played two years for Mississippi Gulf Coast where I won many events and the state championship. Went to two junior college national championships. I then played for the University of Nebraska in 1983 then transferred to Southern Mississippi where I played my final year of eligibility.

I then became an assistant professional in 1986 at Hickory Hill CC where I worked for five years. Became a PGA member in 1992 and took my first head professional job at the Broardwater Sun Course in Biloxi, Ms. In 200 I came to Shell Landing and opened the course as the general manger. I purchased Shell Landing and Hickory Hill in September 2012 and became the CEO.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
I started playing when I was 10 years old at a par 3 & 4 in Biloxi. My father taught me how to hold the club and line up and ball position. On the fifth hole that during my first round I had 115 yard shot over water. The green was tucked in a corner with a fence just left and behind the green. I placed the ball on the rubber tee and hit a 3 wood in the top of the pine trees over the green. I was hooked for life.

What is your current home course?
Shell Landing GC and Hickory Hill CC which I am a part owner and CEO of both courses.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Being able to put together a small group of businessmen and purchase two courses I worked at Hickory Hill as an apprentice for five years and at Shell Landing for thirteen years. I also worked for eight years as the director of golf at the Broadwater Sun course between Hickory and Shell. All of my career I have been able to work in my home town where my family and friends live.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Slow play

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
My putter. The putter is what allows me to save pars and make birdies.

What is your favorite golf destination?
The Mississippi Gulf Coast :-)

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

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Newport CC. Site of the 1st US Open and 1st US Amateur. Tiger won his second US Amateur and Annika won her last US Open.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Everyone that played on a course would have to pass a test on etiquette. I see to many people who don't fix ball marks on greens, repair divots in fairways or rake bunkers. I see to many people that drive carts off the path around tees and greens that damages the playing surface. I also see players that don't play ready golf which leads to slow play.

Dream foursome (living)?
Tiger, Jack and Arnie.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Bobby Jones
Byron Nelson
Ben Hogan

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

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

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life. If you are playing for money you will rack up.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight, no dew on the ground, no maintenance workers, peaceful time of day.

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

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Beverage Cart

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom when close, bushes when need arises.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap at this point in my life.

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand is an art, thick rough you just hack and hope.

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking if I have the time and a caddy.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid, so much easier to hit. If you are still carrying a 3 iron you are a tour pro or you play on a tight course where you have to punch it out of the trees.

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis. Come on I'm from Mississippi. I still remember where I was when I heard he died. Playing golf on hole number two at a par 3 course I grew up playing.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Money. It gets the juices flowing and you have to focus.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop shot

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18 holes at this stage of my life.

Revised: 04/22/2015 - Article Viewed 36,297 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.