Josh Lesnik

Interview With Josh Lesnik President, KemperSports and KemperLesnik KemperSports

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Josh Lesnik, the President, KemperSports and KemperLesnik at KemperSports. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
Age 13. My dad introduced me.

What is your current home course?
The Glen Club

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Being part of the team that opened Bandon Dunes.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Slow play

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
5-iron. It reminds me of when I was learning the game

What is your favorite golf destination?
Bandon Dunes!

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Fisher's Island (New York)

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Cypress Point

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
When industry leaders publicize what they think is wrong with the game as opposed to all the positives.

Dream foursome (living)?
My dad, my father in law, Mike Keiser...Pat Foley would be calling the match while driving the bev cart.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Jerry Garcia, Bob Marley, Seth Raynor

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long drive

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of my life

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight? Twilight

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Both

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bushes

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par-3

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Crenshaw

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
The Dead and The Stones

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Both

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and run

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Depends on who my partner is

18) 18 holes OR 36?
85 (The # of holes at Bandon Dunes)

Revised: 08/14/2013 - Article Viewed 34,351 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.