2001, I kind of rededicated myself to golf, you know, basically for one tournament, and that was for the Amateur at Oakmont in 2003, and what I realized is that golf is a very important aspect of my life. It's where I kind of, you know, solve the world's problems, I'll say. I leave work at 4:00 to 4:30 basically every day from the mid part of April to October and some people go have a couple beers after work. Some people go work out. I go hit balls for an hour and a half. You know, that's my release, release the stress at work, and kind of get away and get prepared to go home and have dinner at 6:30 with my wife and son.
But what I also realize then is when I'm not going to be able to compete 15 tournaments a year like the college kids are. I mean, they play 15 tournaments a year in college and they play five or six amateur tournaments a year, so they are essentially playing almost a Tour schedule, playing 20 tournaments. So they are tournament tough.
What I just really decided to do is I make the decision not to play golf from October until April. That's my personal choice. I could probably be further ahead and maybe be better prepared to play early in the summer against these guys. But, you know, it's the choice that I decided not to make. I need to work, I need to spend some time with my family. Never in my life have I played golf 365 days a year, even when I was in college.
But what I have found is that if I can go and use my time wisely and I prepare, I can get done in an hour and a half to two hours what most people can get done in 3 1/2 hours, four hours. At the end of the day, college kids are not spending four hours a day playing golf. Their coaches might think they are, they might tell people they are, but I was there at one time, and they are not doing it.
What's important for me is that, hey, I want to make the World Amateur team, Walker Cup teams and give myself opportunities to win the U.S. Amateur and qualify for the U.S. Open. That's what I try to do. That's what I focus on every single year is the U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open qualifying and the U.S. Amateur, are the two things I try to get my game in shape for. You know, I no longer take the game for granted. I know it's a special game. You've got to work hard, you either get better or you get worse, you don't stay the same. I realize that and I realize my limitations and now we just kind of go to for it.
Q. 12 years ago, if things would be different, your life would be different, losing that Amateur final, but you have a successful business, you have an incredible family, looking back, that mate be the best thing that ever happened to you?
TRIP KUEHNE: Oh, there's no doubt about it. It's a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't trade my life for Tiger Woods' life for any amount of money or any amount of money in the world. He's a spectacular player and has done unbelievable things for the game of golf, but you know, he can't go to the movies. He can't go to the mall. He can't be a regular person.
If I would have won that Amateur, there's no doubt I would have turned professional and there's so much pressure on an Amateur Champion to turn professional. There's pressure, it's just too much money is thrown at them, let's be honest. Too much money is thrown at them at a very young age. I would have fallen into the trap just like everybody else.
There's some people that you know, my goal is and one of the reasons I didn't stayed amateur is to one of my goals in life is to try to be a positive influence and change the lives of young people. That's what I want to do. And I see so many guys that have potential, but they should never turn professional. I'd like to show people talk go out and you can have a great job, four or five years into it, you can be making six figures or whatever you want to do and you can go play the greatest golf courses in the world and still play amateur golf playing the best courses in the world.
Just look at the venues and the places we play the U.S. Amateur. We played at Oakmont in 2003, we played Winged Foot, we played Merion, we played here, it's the best golf courses in the world. And you don't have to worry about if you shoot 75, you know you've still got a job and you're going to be able to provide. It's a tough life and I don't think that kids realize it; that the easiest part about being a professional golfer is the golf. It's all the other stuff that makes it difficult.
CRAIG SMITH: Yeah, you know a couple, don't you.
TRIP KUEHNE: There's great players, everybody, it's kind of like today's amateur golfers. When I started in the early 90s, there was a few people that struck the ball better than everybody else. Now everybody can hit the ball well. It's just a matter of, you know, managing, having a little bit better course management, managing yourself a little bit better and maybe being a little bit more prepared and getting a lucky break here, a lucky break there. You see it; look at the scores you've got to shoot to make it to these tournaments. It's incredible.
End of FastScripts.
