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Golf pros enjoy Gull Lake Pro Am

For golf pro Randon Regnier, the annual Junior Golf Foundation of Gull Lake’s Pro-Am tourney is somewhat like a homecoming.

For golf pro Randon Regnier, the annual Junior Golf Foundation of Gull Lake’s Pro-Am tourney is somewhat like a homecoming.

“It’s awesome,” said 29-year-old Regnier. “It’s where I started golfing. And I went through the junior golf program.”

The amiable young golf pro said he had aspirations to work at the Gull Lake golf course before he was actually old enough to drive the equipment. In those days, being too young to work, he spent many hours on the golf course, simply learning the game.

“My dad used to drop me off and I just golfed all day, every day. I loved it.”

Regnier started in the work force as a golf professional at the Wolf Creek Golf Resort and the Derrick Golf & Winter Club. In 2011, he made the move to Whitecourt to become the GM/Head Professional at the Whitecourt Golf & Country Club.

Golf pro Sam Randolph from Ft. Worth, Texas has been coming to the Gull Lake Pro Am for eight years.

“I like doing this type of event,” he said. “It’s like coming back to see family. It’s a good program.”

Randolf, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas learned the game of golf from his father, Sam Randolph Sr., who was the head professional at La Cumbre Country Club for 38 years.

In 1981 he won the Junior World Cup and in 1985 he won the U.S. Amateur. He also won the California State Amateur, the Haskins Award and was low amateur at The Masters in 1985. In 1986, he was the low amateur at both The Masters and the U.S. Open. He turned pro and joined the PGA Tour in 1986.

He was inducted into the USC Sports Hall of fame in 2005.

Sandra Palmer, U.S. Women’s Open Champion has been playing golf since she was 13.

This is her third year of coming to the Gull Lake tournament.

“I love Eamon and Carla and the program they run here,” she said.

Palmer, who has had a long and exciting golf career said she loves everything about the game.

“The beauty of it, the competition and the travel. It took me places I would have never gone to,” she said.

Palmer has won 30 professional golf tournaments worldwide, including 21 LPGA tour events. Her most notable wins were the U.S. Women’s Open, the Colgate Dinah Shore and the Title holders Championship.

She was inducted into the Texas state Golf Hall of Fame in 1985 and three years later she was inducted into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame.

She lives at Rancho Mirage, California.

Eighteen-year-old Clare McMahon from Red Deer has been in the junior golf program at Gull Lake for eleven years.

This fall, after receiving golf and academic scholarships, she will be going to Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina where she will take business administration, majoring in sports management.

“I love golf and this program is awesome,” she said.

An up and coming golfer, McMahon has won the Maple Leaf junior golf tournament in Banff and Red Deer.

Friday night, she bought the right to caddy for golf pro Brandon Regnier at Saturday’s pro am game. She said it was money well spent as it all goes back into the golf foundation.

“It goes full circle.”

Sam Randolph, Jr., caddied, worked and learned to play golf at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, California, where his father, Sam Randolph, Sr., was the Head Golf Professional for 38 years. As a child, Sam excelled at football, baseball, basketball and golf but by age 15, golf had become his favourite sport.

Sam enjoyed a very successful Junior Golf career, winning the California State Junior Championship, and the Junior World Championship in 1981. He went on to play college golf at the University of Southern California. He was a 4-year All-American, winning 12 collegiate events. He was College Player of the Year and won the United States Amateur Championship in 1985. He was the Low Amateur in the 1985 and 1986 Masters. Sam qualified for the PGA Tour on his first try in the fall of 1986. He won the Bank of Boston Classic in 1987, his rookie season.

Sam played the PGA Tour from 1987- 1992 and then played the Web.com Tour from 1993- 2002 with several runner-up finishes. He became a Member of the PGA of America in 1991 and has become a real student of the game over the years. Understanding how human bio mechanics and the laws of physics apply to golf is the direction we are going. These Laws prove the truth and help clear up most of the confusion we face in today’s golf world. Sam can help you find and understand your own personal swing so you can practice with a purpose and play with freedom!

Sam has been successful teaching and coaching golfers of all skill levels from beginners to touring professionals. He is theDirector of Instruction at Mira Vista CC in Fort Worth, Texas and for a few months in the Winter he gives golf lessons at thePlantation Golf Club in Indio, California. Sam does a few corporate and private outings as well as hosting a fabulous trip to the Masters every year! Sam enjoys playing golf, fly fishing, watching sports, fitness and reading. He lives in Fort Worth,Texas with his wife Julie.