Peter Orrell, CEO of Junior Sports Corporation

Interview With Peter Orrell, CEO of Junior Sports Corporation

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Peter Orrell, President and CEO of Junior Sports Corporation, owner/operator of the Hank Haney International Junior Golf Academy, the International Junior Golf Tour, the Ivan Lendl International Junior Tennis Academy and the Heritage Academy.

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
I started late at around 30. I was introduced to corporate golf as part of my job at the time and quickly developed a passion for the game. Of course, starting that late in life, there was no real chance to become a low handicapper. Currently, I play to a 16....unfortunately.

What is your current home course?
My home course is located close to my lake house in Mckellar, Ontario, Canada. It is a great course, the Ridge at Manitou.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
As I say, I'm not great golfer, so my proudest moment was breaking 80.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
On the course, it has to be slow play. A close second are the guys who insist on playing from the tips even though their handicaps are very high. Off the course, I just enjoy everything that is golf so there really is no pet peeve.

What is your favorite golf destination?
It's a tie between Loch Lomond, Scotland and Mid-Ocean in Bermuda.

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

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Wow, that's a tough one. I'd go with Mid-Ocean.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I'd let the pros wear shorts. Sounds crazy, but it just seems inhuman to have to play in long pants when it's in the 90's.

Dream foursome (living)?
Rickie Fowler, Steve Stricker, Jack Nicklaus and me.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Byron Nelson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and me.

Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

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

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Dawn

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Cart

6) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot Dog

7) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand

8) Walking OR riding?
Walking

9) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

10) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Par 5

11) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts

12) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

13) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles

14) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun

15) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run

16) Lay up OR gamble?
Lay up

17) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Article Tags: Interview With Peter Orrell

Revised: 11/07/2011 - Article Viewed 32,461 Times

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.