ENDICOTT – Any golf course that has hosted a professional tournament for four decades does not need a boost in publicity. For us, though, playing En Joie Golf Club was an opportunity to play one of the premier 18-hole facilities in the Southern Tier.
Yes, neighboring public courses such as Conklin Players Club and the Links at Hiawatha Landing have built stellar reputations as marquee venues, but each falls a little short in the luster department.
Rick Ferris and I made our sixth tour of area courses earlier this week, and we were joined by En Joie assistant pro – and 2007 Norwich High School graduate – Ryan Evans.
Evans, who has worked as a PGA Class B professional in an apprentice role the past few years, earned his Class A PGA card on July 1 passing the last of the rigorous tests administered by the PGA.
In his second year with En Joie, Evans, now living in Greene, has no immediate plans to abandon En Joie or the area, although he could now easily step into a head pro position in the South or the West.
"I get a lot of questions about going down South, but I would just be another one of the 10,000 guys already down there," Evans said. "I'm very happy where I am right now. One of my biggest goals is to see golf in this area grow. It would be great if I can be one of the guys to start that."
When we stepped to the first tee, the intention was to assess a well-known golf course, and pick the brain of a guy – Evans – who would know all of the ins and outs. Turns out Evans' path to this point in his career made for an interesting subplot.
The former Purple Tornado linkster didn't pick up the game until he was 14 years old. He was a freshman player under retired NHS golf coach Bob Branham, and honed his fundamentals over four years on the golf team, while also developing into a gentleman golfer with a solid foundation in course etiquette.
By the time Evans finished his career at Norwich, he was one of the top two or three players on the team, and he decided to continue his golfing journey in college at SUNY Delhi where he studied Golf Management.
In his four years at Delhi – two of which he played on the college golf team – Evans decided he wanted to make a career out of the golf business. He won the 2011 Delhi Invitational during his senior, a victory that gave him the confidence that he was a capable enough player to become a teaching professional.
Upon graduation from Delhi, Evans had a job lined up at En Joie as an assistant pro, but the flood of 2011 washed out half of the season. Evans wound up serving as an assistant pro at Seven Oaks in Hamilton for two years before moving on to En Joie in 2014.
En Joie is home for him now, and he served as an enjoyable host through some occasionally spotty weather. His first words on the opening tee – ones I heard repeatedly from Rick – "don't go left here."
