Family first for Heintzelman

By Gary Larrabee

What’s it take to shoot 66 in competition? Tiger knows – when he’s not bungee jumping or racing cars in New Zealand. Phil knows – when he’s not hugging his adorable children after winning another major.

But for 99.9 percent of us golfers, it’s only in our dreams. As for Thomson Country Club Head Professional Webb Heintzelman, it’s the exact score he shot in the New England PGA Pro-Am tournament April 26 at Granite Links in Quincy – his fourth round of the young season.

Heintzelman, 43, has been down this gratifying road before, most recently when he shot the same marvelous number en route to victory in the 1997 NEPGA Championship in Portland, Maine. But that’s nine long years ago.

“That’s the last time I shot 66,” Heintzelman said with an infectious smile that has made him one of the most popular members among his NEPGA brethren. “You wonder if you’ll ever shoot that low again when it matters, but it’s hardly something you think about.”

Heintzelman has had far more important things to think about since forsaking his quest to make it on the PGA Tour, a quest that spanned four years on the Nike Tour and two on the main event circuit.

It’s called serving your members, your wife and your three boys, ages 9, 7 and 5.

The former National Assistant Pro Champion fell in love with Marblehead native Patti Keiver, married her and moved from the Baltimore area to the North Shore, where he has worked as a club pro for the last decade, including two years at Sagamore Spring Golf Club and the last eight at Thomson CC.

“Sure, your priorities change,” Heintzelman, as likable a chap as you will find, conceded. “Your approach to competitive golf changes. I’ve actually enjoyed the game more the last few years because I haven’t forced myself to grind away like when I was playing full time, before I was married and a father. Now I work in the game full time but have more balance in my life – a great wife, three wonderful kids, a fine membership and staff. When I get to play golf at the club or elsewhere in competition, fine. But I’ll be the first to admit I’m in another stage of my playing life.”

When he first moved into the area, he immediately was ranked among the best players in the NEPGA section. His 1997 NEPGA victory confirmed it. But for the last eight years he has been among the middle-of-the-pack competitors on the circuit – a surprise to his peers and a disappointment, at least privately, to himself. But he’s had his priorities in order – job and family, like most of us working stiffs.

But this tidy 66 at Granite Links, featuring an 80-yard lob wedge hole-out for eagle and a 30-yard pitch-in for birdie– on his first-ever visit to the Quincy layout – figures to make his friendly rivals on the NEPGA circuit sit up and take notice.

“A round like that makes me believe I’m going to play better golf this year when it really counts,” Heintzelman said. “I still love the competition. The idea now is to put myself in position to do what I did in ’97 in Maine; give myself a chance to win a Massachusetts Open or a second NEPGA. I’m a smarter player now than I was 10 years ago. I understand my swing better. [It’s] a swing based on tempo and balance.”

Moreover, a swing in tune thanks to a reminder tip he received from acclaimed swing guru Jim McLean at a special NEPGA clinic conducted prior to his Granite Links masterpiece.

“Jim reinforced my belief that a simple swing on a good swing plane can make a big difference in where your ball goes,” Heintzelman explained.

A big difference - all the difference in the world when you shoot 66.