Document text
It's a Wise move for young pro Commentary By RANDY HAMMERICKSEN He grew up on the fairways and in the pro shop at Rogue Valley Country Club. With his father -- longtime RVCC head professional Jim Wise -- devoting a major chunk of his life to golf, Scott Wise was similarly drawn to the game. Wise, 23, has followed his father into professional golf. He's on his third job as a PGA assistant professional at Shieldcrest Golf Course in Klamath Falls. He worked as an assistant at Bayshore Golf Course in Shelton, Wash., for two years and at Gold Hills Golf Club in Redding, Calif., for two years. Wise has been reacquainted with former Quail Point Golf Course head professional Mike Byrd at Shieldcrest. Wise admits he's found happiness and the ideal learning situation working under Byrd. "It's great to be working with Mike," says Wise. "He's teaching me a lot, and he's easy to get along with. We work well together." Byrd has similar sentiments about Wise: "Scott is easy to work with, and he wants to learn. He's been around the golf business a long time, but he doesn't think he knows everything ... He's learning and learning, and he's just an all-star assistant, as far as I'm concerned." Those have to be heartwarming words to Jim Wise, who says he never pushed either of his sons, Scott and Justin, toward the golf business, or even to excel at the game. They did anyway. Justin Wise, 17, a senior at North Medford High, is the Black Tornado's No. 2 player and is challenging No. 1 man Kyle Freeman for the top spot. Meanwhile, Scott Wise, who finished 11th in the Class 4A state high school tournament for North Medford in 1993, temporarily pushed himself away from the game after high school. "I went to college for part of a year, but I missed golf," he says. "I suddenly felt I wanted to get back toward golf. "It's the only thing I've known my whole life, and I really love it. I feel like I'm one of the fortunate ones because I love my job and I love to come to work every day." Like father, like son. Scott has a flair for dealing with students, club members and the public. He's positive and upbeat and greets golfers with the same friendliness and professionalism his father has for nearly 25 years at Rogue Valley Country Club. "I've been around my dad for a lot of years, and I've seen his friendly personality and his attentiveness to the needs of his golfers," says Scott. Scott Wise says he's immensely improved his golf game since high school. He recently finished second in the low-pro competition in Redding at the Gold Hills Golf Course Pro-Am. He earned $600 in cash for that finish and another $150 for helping his team place high in the pro-am competition. "I've improved almost every area of my game," says Wise. "Since I took my first job at Bayshore, I started improving my game to the point that I'm about a 1 handicap. I was about a 5 in high school." Jim Wise recently played a round of golf with his sons. They gave him all the competition he could ask for. "I actually enjoyed that," says Jim. "It's nice to see both boys improving so much. "I didn't push either of them to be good at golf, but it's very satisfying to see both of them doing it. I'm a very proud father." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.