HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2009-08-26, Page 10Page 10 The Huron Expositor August 26, 2009
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Henderson fulfills dream
Dan Schwab
Spending countless hours on the
Seaforth Golf Course over the past
decade has paid off for Egmond-
ville's Brad Henderson.
Literally.
By willing to accept a cash prize
on the Great Lakes Tour in May,
Henderson had his status as an
amateur golfer upgraded to that of
a professional.
"I'vealways thought about doing
it," says Henderson, 22. I had two
more years eligibility left for school,
so I kind of decided that if I was go-
ing to give it a shot, this was the
year. Looking back, I have no re-
grets."
But being a pro golfer is different
than playing in the big leagues of
other sports when it comes to mak-
ing a living, he says.
"Golf can be a pretty tough road,"
he says. "If you turn pro and go
to the NHL, you get your contract
up front and you're getting paid x
amount of dollars each year. In golf,
you've got to earn it. If you play bad,
you don't get paid. If you play well,
you might get paid."
While he still works full-time at
Smith Packaging Ltd., he's hoping
that one day he'll be able make a
living off his performance on the
course.
"I'm working there basically to pay
my expenses and live the dream,"
he says, adding that his employers
are flexible with his work schedule,
sometimes allowing him a day off to
hit the greens.
"In the winter hopefully I can
make some money to play a little
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of becoming pro golfer
Brad Henderson
more full-time next summer," he
says. "As a pro, there are a ton of
expenses. I need to look for a spon-
sorship if I want to do it next year.
• Unless you're one of the top three
or four golfers in Ontario, you can't
physically go out and quit your job
and make a living on these mini -
tours."
A golfer can burn through a lot
of money simply driving to tourna-
. ments and paying for entry fees,
food and accommodations while
away from home, Henderson says.
"When you're just starting out
and don't have that many funds to
back you, you kind of have to go out
and look for sponsorships," he says.
"Hopefully, the right person reads
something about you and just de-
cides, 'Hey, I want to take a chance
on this kid and help him out.'"
Come see
Tyler Van Drunen,
josh Nurse & Jade Maxwell
as the
Mitchell Hawks
vs. New Hamburg
at Seaforth Arena, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 29
`Exhibition Junior C hockey ,
Two weeks
ago, Henderson
sent out letters
around Seaforth
looking for spon-
sors to help him
pay the entry fee
for the Seaforth
Country Classic,
which is happen-
ing this week.
Henderson
will be going up
against pros from
around the world
during the tour-
nament.
"I get to play
the course every-
day out here and
I know what does
work and what
doesn't work on
certain tees, oth-
er players might
not," he says. "I'm
pretty much just
going to come out
here and play my
own game and just
go from there."
Henderson,
who's been play-
ing on the course
since he was nine, says he averages
around par, but recently shot four
under with a score of 67.
He's got a consistent 300 -yard
drive, but like most golfers, Hender-
son says any chance he has of doing
well in the ,tournament will come
down to his short game.
"Any golfer at the professional
level, if they're putting well, they're
going to be on the leader board," he
says. "It's such a crucial part of the
game."
After the local tournament and a
few more stops on the Great Lakes
Tour, Henderson is heading to Flor-
ida in November for six months to
continue working on his game.
Having year-round warm weath-
er will give Henderson much more
time to spend on the golf course dur-
ing the winter.
"It's like your second summer down
there," he says. "Growing up, by the
end of the summer, my game would
get to its peak and I'd be starting
to play my best golf and two weeks
later, you're packing it in and pull-
ing out the hockey equipment."
While he's still here, Henderson
has been getting his share of atten-
tion since news has spread to friends
and family that he's turned pro.
"It's funny, I get some phone calls
now saying `congratulations' and
I'm sure there'll be some people out
here to support me for it," he says.
Susan Hurdertmark photo
Sabrina Meidinger of Seaforth winds up to pitch for the Mitchell Peewee girls
who won the A championship In a year-end tournament In Sebringville over
the weekend.