Central New York’s Gem, Mel Baum
I wanted to share a delightful experience that truly reignited my passion for golf. You see, after over 50 years of playing this wonderful game without ever taking a lesson, I found myself struggling to break 100, a far cry from my usual low to mid-80s scores. The joy of the game was slipping away, and I knew I needed a change.
That’s when I had the incredible fortune of meeting Central New York legend, Mel Baum. Mel’s illustrious career is nothing short of remarkable. He’s won multiple AIM championships, the New York State Open, The Central New York PGA Section Championship, two consecutive Metropolitan PGA Championships, and the Senior Section Championship, among many other accolades. He’s made an incredible twenty hole in ones in his career too.
Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mel over a hearty breakfast of eggs and corned beef hash at the Gem Diner. We had a wonderful conversation, and Mel not only fixed my driver but also brought back the happiness I had always associated with this beloved sport.
DB: Tell us about the early days of Mel Baum and your subsequent career path.
MB: Well I grew up in Westvale and the first pro to help with me with my game was Bucky Hewitt. A little chipping and putting, but he was always great with the kids at Westvale. I didn’t play golf until I was a senior in high school, it was the first time I really got serious about it. I turned pro in 1980, I was Bucky’s assistant at Westvale and then I went to work for Rick Keding at Radisson until 1988 and then did a year at Camillus. I would go to Florida in the winter and play in tournaments. I met a lot of guys from the metropolitan area of New York City and I got offered a job the first year and stupidly didn’t go down there. The second year, he bugged me again and I went. I was down there for six years. In 1987 while I was still working for Rick, I won the New York State Open at Grossinger’s, that gave me a little statewide credibility. I then won the Metropolitan championship the first two years I was there. Not too many people have ever won it back to back. I had a chance for a three-peat, but I finished 3rd up at the Country Club of Fairfield. I also lost another in 3-way playoff at Beth Page Black. I lipped a putt out from five feet for par and the playoff ended on the first hole.
DB: You didn’t pick up the game seriously until you were in High School, when did it click that you knew you had talent?
MB: I broke 70 a couple of rounds in the county junior at Westvale and then the following spring I was the fourth man on my high school team, but I got the MVP spot. Only because the coach was a biology teacher and I was the only kid who could keep him relaxed on the bus on the way to matches. He was so uptight, I was joking around with everybody.
DB: Any stories you can share with PGA tour players from over the years that you’ve played with?
MB: I won the Herald Amateur (currently the AIM Championship) and the champion got to play in the Lung Association exhibition at Drumlins. They brought in Debbie Austin, who was from Oneida, David Graham from Australia and Jerry Pate came right after he won the US Open. Pate was kind of a jerk. I remember being on the 2nd tee and Pete Naton from Tuscarora says “Cmon Mel, hit one”, so I blew it 50 yards beyond those guys. Pate took that to heart and tried to outdrive me all day long, and he couldn’t do it. I won the Herald for the second year in a row and then Arnold Palmer came to town. And he was everything everybody thought he was going to be and more, class act 100%. We also played with Ernie Banks who was getting inducted into the baseball hall of fame.
DB: You are currently teaching at Wanoa Golf Course; tell us about that.
MB: When I left Liverpool, I would have rather stayed there, but then they sold the place. I was teaching at Butternut Creek driving range and John Graves bought Wanoa. He owns Syracuse Fence, a great guy, he was going to try and qualify for the AIM Championship. So he needed to take lessons and asked two buddies of mine who were members there and they both told him to take them from me. I come over there one morning, two days before the qualifier, he gets his first session. He was all messed up, he took it back with the club face facing the ground, trying to re-route it. He was always pretty good with the putter and he shot 100 something during the round. But we kept working once or twice a week for an hour and playing afterwards. It got to be around the 4th of July and he said, “why don’t you be my pro here?” I said look, I don’t want to work in a pro-shop, but he said “you don’t got to work in the pro-shop, make your own schedule, do what you want, just be available for me, bring people here, promote the place.” There was no reason to say no. So I just finished my fourth year at Wanoa. John said the other day, “don’t worry about a thing, you’re here until you die.”
DB: Tell us more about Wanoa golf course, and what kind of layout it is. And what’s the story behind the frog on the logo?
MB: The superintendent calls it ’Little Winged Foot’ (laughs). There’s a lot of frogs out there, it’s in the low country area, so you always hear them chirping while you’re out there. Lot of good holes, par 3’s are all good holes, lot of thinking around the dog legs. You don’t have to hit the driver, you can, but sometimes the driver hits into trouble, when all you really need to do is hit a 3-iron. The greens are pretty sloped and when it’s dry, they can get the greens up to speed, you’d better not get above the pin.
DB: In your opinion, what are the top courses in Central New York?
MB: Well Radisson will always be one of my favorites, it’s just too bad the right management has never taken over the place and gotten it into the shape that it really could be. The place opened in 1979 or 1980, the peripheral, the woods should all be parkland there by now. There should be grass in between the trees, not all the crap and stuff piled up. It gets wet with no drainage areas, but it’s a great golf course. Teugega is another one over in Rome, Donald Ross design. Beaver Meadows is pretty good, but it’s not so memorable where it one of my favorites. Calvary Club is nice, now that they have a decent superintendent, it’s really in great shape too.
DB: When I was a young altar boy, we had a new pastor at St. Charles Catholic Church, Father Jim Matthews. Tell us about your relationship.
MB: I think I first met Jim around 1980, he was friends with Walter Knych and Ron Ajemian. He used to participate in the Thursday game. That was a day when Walt wasn’t plugging teeth, so we’d either play at Liverpool or Radisson. Sometimes we’d have two or three groups, but Matthews was always part of that. When I first met him, he’d look like he could roll right out there and play defensive back for some NFL team. The guy was in great shape, healthy, strong, pulled his own cart, he always walked. His knees are bad now, its tough. He’d be one of the guys we’d always go to Florida with. Matthews, Bobby Nelson the fire chief, Pete Frank, Ron Ajemian and other guys that rotated in and out of that trip. Matthews can still get it done, he doesn’t hit it as far as he used to, but he gets it out there in play and he’s good around the greens, and he can make a putt.
DB: How long have you been married? Where did you meet? Tell us a little bit about your wife.
MB: Got married in ’98, my wife worked at ‘Julie’s Place’ downtown after ‘The Retreat.’ She was well known locally as a bartender in the area. I went in there one day with some friends and we met. You know we kind of hit it off a little bit. I was really nervous on our first date, I mean we talked across the bar all the time, but now all of sudden it was a date. She took a golf lesson from me over at Tommy Spicer’s place, Prestwick Golf on Court Street. And that was really it, it was on after that.
DB: I have to ask about your very talented son, Spencer. What do you think of his progress and where do you see him headed to in this great game?
MB: If it was up to me, I’d tell him to stay out of the golf business. Remain a good amateur, get a decent job and enjoy it all. I found a couple of niches in the golf business where I was able to play, its not always like that. Some places, you’re just another employee, and that’s not good for your golf game. If I played Spencer 10 rounds straight up now, I’d only beat him one out of ten if I have a really good day and he’s a little pre-occupied. It’s nothing for him to come off the course at Wanoa five or six under par and he’ll do it almost every time he plays. His index was +2.9, he has to give so many shots, and he still makes money in the ‘Wolf’ games on league night.
DB: I want to thank you Mel for really helping me out with my driver last season, how long have you been teaching and are there any techniques can you give to our Table Hopping readers?
MB: The first lessons I gave were back in 1980 without really any training at Westvale. Over the years I have played and worked with some of the best teachers in the country; Bobby Hines, Darrel Kestner, Bob Frye. I like to read, I read a lot of stuff. A lot of it is bullshit, but any article in a magazine that I liked, I’ll tear it out and put in my little folder. I have an article that I keep on my phone just to remind myself about putting. It has to do with the speed you do everything, most people do everything too fast. Some people you have to coach into making their putter go faster, but good players don’t want the putter to go faster, they just want the putter to come at a nice even speed, so that they can predict the roll and predict the break every time. If you’re changing your speed on impact regularly, you won’t know where to aim on a breaking putt.
DB: So you’re coming up 69 years old, you still have plenty of game…what’s next for you Mel?
MB: I don’t need much and I have plenty. I’m happy at Wanoa, I like the people, there’s no jerks there. The owner is great to me, the course fits my length now, I’m not looking to go anywhere. My wife’s 20 years in at SU (Syracuse University), but she doesn’t say anything about retiring, she likes her job, so I’m probably going to stay right here. The past couple of years I taught a program for the PGA of America to teach and spend time with veterans called ‘PGA Hope’. It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me in golf. I still have a twenty-plus person text thread that we go back and forth with any kind of news that happens. I’ll bang them for Thanksgiving and Christmas and they’ll all respond. It’s like having twenty brand new really good friends. I was fortunate enough to get approved for the 3rd consecutive year and I am so proud of that because it tells me that I’m doing something good…something really good.
