Dave Harner

Interview With Dave Harner, PGA Director of Golf Operations, French Lick

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Dave Harner, PGA Director of Golf Operations at French Lick Resort. The man on the ground in French Lick is long-time PGA Member and Director of Golf Dave Harner. Dave jokes that he just a "balls-n-sticks" kind of guy. If you knew Dave at all, you would know what an understatement this is! You cannot talk about the world-class golf available at French Lick, including the new Pete Dye Course, without crediting Dave Harner. A fixture at the resort for more than three decades, Dave is much more than golf professional; he is an incredible spirit whose legacy in French Lick is undeniable-From French Licks PR Firm.

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?
Started being interested in golf as a 10 year old, caddying for my Grandfather.

What is your current home course?
French Lick Resort

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
My proudest accomplishment in golf is the rebirth of golf in French Lick, seeing the project through start to finish and seeing the lives the project has impacted.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
People who aren't what they say they are and people who cheat at golf.

What is your favorite golf destination?
2nd behind French Lick Resort (of course it is number 1) would have to be the Orlando area, so many great courses there

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
St. Andrews

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
I really enjoy any classic design, something pre 1940 or so, it could be any as long as it was fairly original.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Get rid of out of bounds, play all boundaries as laterals to speed play!

Dream foursome (living)?
Tiger
Phil
Sergio
Rory McIlroy

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Sam Snead
Jack Nicklaus
Arnold Palmer
Tiger Woods
All in their prime!

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
PUTT

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
HOLE IN ONE

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

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
DRAW

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
BEV CART

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
WHICH EVER IS CLOSEST!!

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
DOG

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?
HYBRID

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
NEITHER!!!

12) Pants OR Shorts?
PANTS

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
PALMER

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
ELVIS

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
BOTH

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
BUMP AND RUN

17) Lay up OR gamble?
LAY UP

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36

Article Tags: Interview With Dave Harner

Revised: 10/04/2011 - Article Viewed 35,002 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.