Marc Heidkamp

Interview With Marc Heidkamp, Director of Golf, Old Orchard Country Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Marc Heidkamp, Director of Golf, at Old Orchard Country Club. He started working in golf at the age of 10 as a caddie and work up the ladder to become a Golf Professional. Has been employed at Old Orchard for the past 31 years.

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 do the game?
I started as a caddie and my grandfather introduced me to golf. I loved the game from the first time. He would take us to a little 9 hole course outside of Green Bay. I will always remember the fresh smell of grass being mowed and playing with him using hickory shafted clubs.

What is your current home course?
Old Orchard Country Club

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment has to be teaching a new student and watching the develop into a great player. I have been blessed with the ability to connect well with people and help them learn the game I most enjoy.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
I would have to say waiting for someone to hit the ball and that person has no chance at reaching the green. After watching that type of golfer 9 out of 10 time after they wait to hit to perfect shot that Tiger Woods can't even hit, they top the ball. This type of player we call, The unrealistic Golfer.

What is your favorite golf destination?
I would have to say Punta Cana, What a beautiful place to play.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Saint Andrew. The cradle of golf

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
I would go to River Bend in Wisconsin. I have to play better there, I know I can do it.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I would change the cup size. It would speed up play and make for better scoring. So many times you hit several great shots and end up missing the hole by a fraction of an inch. Let's say the cup size could be 5 inches.

Dream foursome (living)?
Terry Heidkamp, Bill Miller, Scot Ramm and me.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Tim Heidkamp USMC
Hugh Oconner
Terry Heidkamp
Marc Heidkamp

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

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

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Low Round

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

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Draw

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Cart

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Caddie Special

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

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding

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

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Palmer

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Neither

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Money

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36

Revised: 03/07/2012 - Article Viewed 36,557 Times - View Course Profile

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.