Talented teenager golfer Ben Petreny was the special guest speaker at the Osoyoos Rotary Club’s weekly meeting last Thursday at the Best Western Inn. Petreny told the members about his recent trip to Europe, where he helped Wayne Hachey, the founder of the Desert Golf Academy in Osoyoos and Evolve Pro Tour in Spain, organize and run several professional tour events in five weeks. Petreny was the latest recipient of Hachey’s Create a Star program where he selects one local youngster to work with him in Europe. Petreny, who hopes to pursue a career in pro golf either as a player or in some other capacity, is shown with new Rotary Club president Judy Miller-Bennett. (Photo supplied)
It took a trip to Spain and five weeks away from his close-knit family for Ben Petreny to realize just how much he loves Osoyoos and Canada.
Petreny spent five weeks in Spain in early 2014 after Wayne Hachey, the founder of the Desert Golf Academy at Osoyoos Golf Club, selected him as his latest protégé in the Create a Star program started three years ago.
Hachey, who is also the founder of the Evolve Pro Tour, has selected one Osoyoos teenager who excels in the game of golf, to join him in running the tour and give the youngsters an opportunity to play against professionals on tour.
Petreny told members of the Osoyoos Rotary Club last week that the trip combined hard work, homesickness, an appreciation for just how difficult it is to become a professional golfer and fascination with Spanish and European culture.
“It just really made me realize what we have here in Canada … and how lucky we are,” he said. “It was a life changing trip, that’s for sure.”
The recent graduate of Osoyoos Secondary School only played in one tournament because he was too busy helping Hachey organize and run five different tournaments in five weeks.
“It was very busy,” he said. “You don’t realize how much it takes to run a pro event until you do it. There’s everything from preparing labels to getting scorecards ready, setting pins, entering everyone electronically into the computer.
“I was so busy I didn’t get to golf as much as I thought I would, but I didn’t mind because I was so busy.”
While he’s still hoping to be able to pursue a golf career as a player, Petreny said the trip to Spain made him realize there are other avenues to make a living in the game he loves and he will keep all his options open moving forward over the next few years.
This was his first extended trip away from his parents and he missed his parents and siblings very much, but Hachey was always there for support and encouragement, he said.
“Wayne could tell that I was down and struggling a little bit from being away from home, but he was always there to make me smile and lift my spirits,” he said.
Before heading to Spain, Petreny and Hachey spent a few days in Germany. Hachey worked and lived in Germany for 17 years before moving back to Osoyoos several years ago.
“I would definitely want to go back to Germany and Spain,” he said. “I loved them both.”
After growing six inches in a matter of months over the past calendar year, Petreny said it took several months to learn to hit the ball properly with a new swing and new clubs.
He hopes to get in a lot of practice this summer and play in a few regional tournaments against top juniors and see how far he can go before deciding his options in the game of golf over the next year or two.
“I think that I have the drive and the willingness to put in the practice and hard work that is needed,” he said. “At the highest levels of golf, it’s all mental and I really have to work on the mental part of my game.”
Petreny said he grew up in a family where golf was a passion as his father and two older brothers are all excellent players. At a recent scramble tournament in the Lower Mainland, Petreny, his dad and two brothers shot 18 under par.
Hachey’s Create a Star program allowed him to enjoy a life experience he won’t soon forget and he’s thankful to have been selected, he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
