Around The Commonwealth
“ I always wanted to be around golf as much as possible . I love the game . I love to play . Being in the industry allows me to do that .”
As an assistant professional at Springfield
Golf & Country Club , Larkin Gross has turned his passion into a career .
wealth — visit VSGA . org to find archived episodes , or subscribe using your favorite podcast service . Matt Pochily : How did you get into the game ? Larkin Gross : I grew up in Tappahannock , and I grew up playing Hobbs Hole Golf Course . My dad got me into the game . He was the golf coach for the high school I ended up going to . I kind of got my start going out with him and practicing when they had practice , which was really cool . Big thanks to those guys , because having a 5- or 6-year-old little kid tagging along could be annoying , but they were really good about it . I learned from my dad and Troy Thorne ( Hobbs Hole ’ s PGA professional ), and I started playing in River Tour events before I started playing in VSGA stuff . That ’ s how I found the game and fell in love with it . MP : Tell us a little about your time at Methodist University , where you went through the Professional Golf Management program ? LG : I can ’ t stress enough how important of a decision that was for me . I was looking at going to a couple of schools in Virginia , and I was kind of fighting with the decision of whether I wanted to play Division I golf and focus on playing and just do a business major , or to go do PGM . … I learned so much there . Coach ( Steve ) Conley played a huge part in making me the player I am today , especially with my short game and my putting and things like that . MP : At what point did you start to look at golf as a potential career ? LG : You always dream of playing professionally and being on Tour , but it ’ s hard . There are a lot of great players . I think my decision my senior year of high school to do PGM was important because it allowed me to continue to be around the game and play the game at a high level , even if I didn ’ t go to the Tour . … I always wanted to be around golf as much as possible . I love the game . I love to play . Being in the industry allows me to do that . I get to go to work and be around the game I love . That ’ s what the decision came down to . I can literally make the thing I love to do the most my job , even if I ’ m not playing professionally and making money that way . I can make it my life , and that ’ s what I wanted . MP : How do you go about building a playing schedule while also handling your work responsibilities at Springfield G & CC ? LG : It ’ s all about balancing what you have to do for the club and what you want to do on a personal level . I have a great director of golf in Josh Tremblay who really makes it possible for me to do all of this stuff . We have a great membership at Springfield that really enjoys watching me play . I carry Springfield with me wherever I play . It ’ s cool for them to see my name , especially at the PNC when I played so well on the third day , seeing Springfield Golf & Country Club under my name , they liked that . I couldn ’ t do it without that support . I basically play in every MAPGA section event that I ’ m eligible for , and then I play in some of the national stuff , like the PGA Winter Series in Florida . … As long as my responsibilities at work are taken care of , I can play as much as I want . MP : Take us through the 64 during the third round of the PNC . LG : Being at the even-par mark after two rounds was huge . I was so nervous the first day , I didn ’ t know what I was going to do . I had never been in a situation like that . I played in four national championships ( at Methodist ), and I had never been as nervous as I was standing on the first tee that first day . It ’ s a big deal . … Something clicked that third round . I started birdie-birdie , doubled the third hole because I put one into the houses on the left . After that , I was kind of off to the races . I made nine more birdies in the next 16 holes to finish with 11 for the round , and I was just in the zone . I was making putts , which I typically struggle with . I hit my irons great . I drove the ball pretty well . The putter was hot and I was hitting it close . When you do that , you can shoot some really low numbers . That bumped me up to tied for second going into the next day . I tried not to think about it , but that ’ s when I knew , ‘ OK , this has become a reality .’ I just tried to go out that last day and play solid . I didn ’ t play great . I struggled with my tee shots a bit , I struggled with my nerves . But I did enough to get in . That was the biggest tournament of my life . I ’ m happy with the way I performed and happy with the outcome .
vsga . org J ULY / A UGUST 2021 | V IRGINIA G OLFER 15