Alex Town – Emerging Talent
I am proud to run one of the country’s largest amateur golf trips, affectionately known as the Penn Masters Golf Championship, four days of golf competition with family, friends and friends of friends, now counting over 120 players who compete for the Brownie Jug, a trophy dedicated to my late father, Don Brown Sr. As we embark on our 28th year this May, I sat down recently at The Wildcat pub in Camillus with Alex Town, our 2-time and defending champion, to discuss what’s on his mind and ask him a few questions. 
Don Brown: Tell me about your golf background…when did you start playing and how you have become elite?
Alex Town: As far back as I can remember since I was 8 or 9 years old, I always hit golf balls…my Uncle owned a golf ball retrieval business, so he’d give my father bags and bags full of golf balls. I’d go out back with a driver and a bunch of tees and would just hit drivers out into the field. The whole game collectively didn’t come to me until around 6-7 years ago, until I really put an effort into it. I could always hit the ball a long ways, but that’s all I had. I quit racing dirt bikes and golf was always an outlet, so I figured I’d put some extra effort into it and it didn’t take long and it changed for the better. Fast forward 6 years and I qualified for every tournament I played in, made every cut, finished top 40 in the NY State amateur, so things are looking good with the golf game.
DB: You mentioned that last year was a banner year, and you qualified for the NY State Amateur. Talk about that experience.
AT: That was unbelievable…the course was unlike anything that I’d ever seen. It’s really hard to describe the layout and what everything looked like. It was a surreal experience playing Wykagyl Country Club…it’s down in New Rochelle, north of New York City. It’s pretty neat, you’re driving down city blocks and then all of a sudden there’s this golf course. It’s immaculate, just immaculate…so it was really cool to be able to play in a tournament like that on its 100th anniversary. The first two days I played really good and I was a handful over par and keeping it together, then 3rd round a bit of a struggle in the early morning. It takes my body a while to get warmed up with my motocross background. But then I turned it back around in the afternoon with a 73 and had a strong finish.
DB: I know you opened The Penn Masters last year with a 68 at Olde Homestead Golf Club, was that your best round? Take me through your lowest round you’ve ever played.
AT: There’s a couple that kind of mesh together, they were both six under par. I’ve got what I’ve been told is tied for the course record at Millstone in Elbridge which was 64, six under par 70. That was a really solid round. I just went out on a Sunday afternoon with a buddy and his father; his father holed out from 80 yards out on the very first hole and that started the day off right. I have a 66 at Camillus too…random afternoon round with a buddy of mine…slow start on the front nine and then I tuned it up on the back nine and was able to card a 66, so that was pretty cool. Those are the ones that definitely stand-out.
DB: You made a double-eagle recently, an albatross, that is a very rare feat in golf. Where was that?
AT: It was league night at Beaver Meadows; they play it from the white tees and the par 5 was playing like 450 yards or something. I had 125 yards in and I hit a pitching wedge and it was funny because the guy we were playing against had an eight footer for eagle, so then my partner looked at me and said you’d better put it in the hole…laughing. One hop three feet and spun it right back in the hole.
DB: Thrilled to have you play in The Penn Masters for a third straight year, tell about your past experience and how you originally got in the tournament?
AT: So I’ve been a member at Camillus for around five years now, and a lot of the members there have played in this tournament for years and it took them a few years in to coax me into playing. I was always nervous like, that’s a really big tournament with a lot of guys, they told me that I could go win it. It was an experience I certainly won’t forget and each year moving forward I look forward to this tournament every year. It’s one of the most organized events and is just a fantastic time.
DB: Golf is an extraordinarily hard game. I read recently that only around 5% of golfers can ‘break 80.’ What words of advice can you give to someone who struggles with the game? Any tips?
AT: I still struggle with the mental side of things, but the biggest thing I can say is to try not to let the bad shots get to you…do your best to not get worked up, there’s a lot more golf to play and you can turn your round in the other direction in a split second. It only takes one golf shot. As far as the physical side of things, the biggest thing that helped me was videotaping my swing. There’s a certain spot you keep the camera to get the right angle, but ideally I just wanted a perfectly on-plane golf swing. I wanted it perfectly straight going back and perfectly straight going through the golf ball and taking video helped me replicate that on a consistent basis. Once I figured that out it, it clicked quick, for sure.
DB: Give me your perfect foursome.
AT: My son Clifton is definitely on that list…100%, from there I’d have to say Tiger Woods, why wouldn’t you? I know the last would be a stretch for some people, but I’d say Seve Ballesteros. I would love to play a round with prime Seve, the guy was as much an artist as they come when it comes to the game of golf. His background and what led him to the game is pretty awesome.
DB: Alex, you’ve had tremendous success on the golf course. Now you’re buying a new home and you’re a new father. How is fatherhood and being in a committed long term relationship treating you? Talk to me about your life currently.
AT: There are absolutely zero complaints right now. We have a healthy baby, I’ve got a very happy girl at home and work is going good. I am excited to see what the future has in store for our family. I’m just happy to be able to come home every day from work and get to see her smiling face and Clifton’s smiling face…it definitely makes my world go ‘round for sure.
