Osoyoos teenager Ben Petreny recently returned home after spending several weeks in Spain helping Evolve Pro Tour founder Wayne Hachey organize several events. Petreny was the latest recipient of Hachey’s Create a Star program, which sends one local teenager over to Europe every spring to get a taste of what it’s like to be part of a professional golf tour. (Keith Lacey photo)
Ben Petreny is too young to know if he’s going to be able to pursue a career on the golf course as a player.
But after spending six weeks in southern Spain helping organize several professional tournaments, he’s more convinced than ever that he will strongly consider pursuing a career with the game of golf.
Petreny travelled to Spain with Wayne Hachey, the founder of the Desert Golf Academy and the Evolve Pro Tour after being named the winner of the Create A Star program by Hachey last fall.
During his six weeks in Spain, Petreny spent very long days helping organize several tournaments along with Hachey.
It was an eye-opening experience for the Grade 12 Osoyoos Secondary School student.
“I knew heading over there that playing was kind of a secondary thing and that my main goal was to get involved in the organizational aspect of running a pro tournament,” said Petreny. “I ended up playing only half of one tournament before I quickly realized I wasn’t ready for that level of competition, but I gained a lot of experience helping Wayne organize and run the tournaments.
“I did everything from acting as a starter to course set up, cutting holes and putting in flags, fixing up tee boxes, taking scores and entering live scores online. It was extremely busy and I loved it.”
Organizing a pro golf tournament involves an incredible amount of work from many dedicated people, said Petreny.
“My days usually involved getting to the course around 7 a.m. and I wouldn’t stop until after all the players were off the course and we were setting things up for the next round, which meant I often wasn’t done until past 7 p.m.,” he said. “It made for some very long days, but you’re so busy you don’t notice the time fly by. It was good. I really enjoyed it.”
The one tournament where he teed it up to play against pros for the first time in his life was humbling, said Petreny.
“The one tournament I played in did not go well at all,” he said smiling. “I didn’t play well and it was extremely windy and the course was playing very tough, so I really struggled.
“I quickly realized how much I have to improve to even consider getting on the course with those guys again, but it did provide good motivation as I saw how hard these guys work and how difficult it is to become a pro golfer.”
Hachey said his Create a Star program is about much more than having young players from Osoyoos tee it up against European professionals.
“I want to expose them to what it takes to be a pro golfer, but I also want to give them a life experience and exposure to another culture they otherwise wouldn’t be able to enjoy at their young age,” he said. “They get to see just how hard these guys have to work to become professional golfers and they are exposed to what it’s like to run a pro tournament and pro tour.
“Ben was really interested in the organizational part of running a tournament, so I put him to work and he did an amazing job.”
Petreny said travelling to Spain and absorbing Spanish culture was one of the highlights of his first trip outside of Canada.
“Their culture is amazing,” he said. “It’s certainly a lot different than anything I’ve experienced growing up in little old Osoyoos.
“In Spain, when you choose a career like being a waitress, you go to school and study for three years and you become a true professional at that career. In Canada, most people get into that profession to help pay the bills until they’re finished school. I found things like that very fascinating.”
Petreny said he plans on playing a ton of golf this summer to see if he might possibly be able to land a golf scholarship south of the border.
“I plan on playing a lot this summer and seeing how far I can go with my golf game,” he said. “I will see where my game stands at the end of this summer and decide what I’m going to do.”
If he can’t land a scholarship, Petreny said he is strongly considering studying golf course management at the post-secondary school level.
“I’m definitely considering pursuing a career in golf,” he said. “If I can’t do it as a player, then I would definitely consider being involved at the administration level. “I’m only 17 and still have a lot of time to decide exactly what I’m going to do, but I do love the game and it would be great to make a living from golf. We’ll have to wait and see.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
