David Emerick

Video details

• Instructor: David Emerick
• Category: Profiles
• Topic: Short Game

Transcript

Here's the story about the golf life of a man who has dedicated his life to junior golf. David m Rick. Well, I'm a, I'm a local Oceanside guy, right? So I'm kind of a local guy who's, who's the head pro, host pro at his own course, you know? So, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's unreal. Yeah. I live on the 18th fairway and I wake up and I open the shutters and I look at the course and the, the sunrise and I go to sleep. And I, I'm right there at the course all day long. Even when I go home from work, I'll, I'll come out and play night golf. So, I mean, uh, you know, it's golf 24 7. Nah, Shaha, you are a show off. Look at you. It's a dream come true. It's, you know, one of those things that I've always dreamed about is being a pro at a local course and be a part of the community, and been able to have a house right across the street where I actually take a cart to work every day. It's, it's a dream. And I, I pitch myself daily that this is reality and I hope it never ends. Show me where your bounce is of the club bounce. Yep. Show me the bounce. Oh, bounce. What's the bounce? Well, I've been teaching now for over 30 years. It kinda all started, my junior golf teacher started with, my son was born Evan Emrick, uh, in 1990. So when he was eight years old, when he started playing, when he was younger, when he was eight years old, he wanted to play in some tournaments and they wouldn't let him play the local tournament. So I started North County Junior Golf, and that's really when my junior golf teaching, uh, took off. And I saw the, the value of teaching kids. Uh, I'm kind of like a kid myself. They keep me young. I, I enjoy their positive energy. Well, you know, if a kid comes to me and says, Hey, I wanna play at Stanford, I'm not gonna discourage 'em. I say, you can do that, but this is what you're gonna have to do. You're gonna have to work hard. You're gonna have to put this many hours in. You're gonna have to do, you know, get good grades. I mean, the grades are always important, and I'd never discourage a kid from trying to reach their goal or their dream. And we're here to provide those opportunities for those kids. And the parents can buy into the whole situation too, and, and not get so worried about the results. I mean, a kid will have one bad day and the, the parents are like, you need a new coach. You need more lessons, you need more of this. It's just part of the game. The ups and downs. I started on earth kind of junior golf in 1998, and, uh, I ranch to Carlsbad, just a little chorus. We had about 12 members, 12 kids play our first tournament. It was more for my son and his friends that we just started this. And, and I had been good friends with John for, since 1980. And, uh, I'd met with John and I said, Hey John, you know, I started North County Junior Golf. He goes, no, you didn't. I go, yeah, I did. He goes, no, you didn't. You just start North County Junior Golf. This started in 1965. He says, I used to play North County Junior Golf. So I'm like, oh, okay, great. I guess I didn't start North County Junior Golf, but we're doing it. It was a girl named Alana URL who's currently playing at Arkansas on the number one team. I was catty for her. We went up to LA for the tournament. She's like, I'm really nervous. And I go, I go, Lana. I go, these girls, you're not as good as these girls. These girls are, they're way better than you. I go, you've got no chance. So he put on Miley Cyrus came on, yo, that la song about it. So we're singing and you know, talking to sing. And I take her the course and she just, she's playing along. She shoots like one over on the front, and then she's got into the zone. And she had been a cross country runner, so she had that other, the inner drive to compete. And, um, it was just magic. I mean, things started happening on the back nine. She, she got in a bunker with a short pan, and she's, I'm thinking, oh geez. And she, she knocks it out like this, like a foot and taps it in. And then we get to 17 and she's, oh my gosh. I go, Hey, this is the 75 year old shot we work on every day at the cross. And he just hit the shot. She hits it to a foot, makes it car's the last hole. And she goes, I, I, she goes, how'd I do? I go, you did pretty well. I go, what'd you shoot? She goes, I have no idea. She goes, I think I shot 80. I go, no, you shot 74, you won the tournament. That was probably my, one of my most rewarding stories. It was working with Alana. Yeah. The best way to get your kid involved in golf is to find a PJ Pro, a local pro who has a class, a Saturday junior class, or a Sunday junior class or after school program. Right now we're gonna work with the Boys and Girls Club, uh, in Oceanside here. So Boys and Girls Club will have some, some opportunities, uh, the first Tee or if there's a local pro Kids First Tee in your area. That's another great way to get the kids started.