Connor Christie Talented Wildcat
Connor Christie, a 22-year-old graduate of West Genesee High School in Camillus and recent graduate of Shenandoah University, a division III school in Winchester Virginia, is quickly making a name for himself on the golf course. Connor has demonstrated talent, composure, and competitive spirit that have made him a player to watch in Central New York Golf.
Earlier this year Connor captured the Cardinal Spring Classic, putting together an impressive two round performance at the Division III level. He opened with a stellar round of 72 and followed it up with a 74, finishing with a 146 to claim the victory. His ability to remain consistent and to perform under tournament pressure was a testament to both his skill and preparation. With his West Genesee roots and continued passion for the game, Connor represents the kind of young Central New York golfer whose accomplishments deserve recognition. We recently sat down for pizza at The Wildcat in Camillus. Hope you enjoy the interview.
DB: Hey Connor, what are some of your earliest memories of this great game?
CC: The earliest time was probably when I was five or six years old with my dad. He showed me the game, he played his whole life. Started out at Pine Grove, just playing every now and then. I got into tournaments around thirteen and started taking it more seriously. I have always been a competitive sports player; played hockey, baseball, soccer very competitively. When I got into golf, I figured out I was kind of good and went further in with that. It got to the point when I was in high school, golf was what I was most talented at, and that’s when I decided that’s what I was going to do in college.
DB: You mentioned your dad, who’s a friend of mine and an accomplished golfer, can you remember the first time you ever beat him?
CC: It was probably late high school, that I started hitting it farther than him pretty consistently. And there’s not a definitive time, but it was in my mid to late high school years that I started shooting in the 70’s. I was starting to beat him pretty consistently, and then by the time I got to college, well, I don’t think he’s beaten me since the time I got there. (smiles)
DB: Tell us where you played most of your pre-college golf at?
CC: For a while, we kind of just bounced around places like Pine Grove, Foxfire and then in late middle school or early high school we became members at Tuscarora. Because once I started taking golf more seriously, I wanted a place I could consistently practice with a range and stuff like that. So, we got a membership at Tuscarora and that’s where we’ve been ever since. That’s where I trained to be a college golfer and practiced over the summers to keep my game going. I like it there, it’s great. Tuscarora is very similar to the home course we had in Virginia where I went to college; it’s a short course, but punishing in the rough with the trees, very firm and fast greens. While it’s not the longest course you’ll ever see by any stretch, it does challenge your short game and your accuracy.
DB: You attended Shenandoah University in Virginia; how did you end up going there?
CC: I decided about junior year of high school that I wanted to do college golf. That summer, before senior year, I started emailing coaches from all around. I wanted to go South, so a lot of the schools were in the Virginia and North Carolina area. I don’t think I even emailed the coach of Shenandoah. I was at a tournament, and he was recruiting who turned out to be my roommate. He was recruiting him at a tournament at Duke and he came up to me, because my name popped up. We started talking and then added Shenandoah to our visit list. From there on, it was my top school, it was the most fun school and one of the better golf programs available to me.
DB: Tell us about your golf experience at Shenandoah and share some of your successes and struggles with our readers
CC: It was a very interesting four years for me. I went there coming off a pretty solid summer. Two weeks before I went down for my freshman year, I came in second place in a big junior tour championship. I was feeling good and it comes time for the first college tournament qualifier and I shoot 85-85; horrible. I managed to make my way onto a ‘B’ team for the first tournament, and I went out and shot 72-69 and won my first tournament ever setting myself a very high standard for the rest of my four years. My freshman year was overall pretty good where I averaged 75. But then sophomore and junior year I really struggled; I had some back injuries, I dislocated my shoulder and it was a lot of struggles averaging in the high 70’s. Then senior year, I really wanted to make a push for another good season. In the Fall, I was playing okay, then come the Spring, I was like this is it, this is my last chance and I started grinding non-stop. The last tournament of my college career, with my parents actually there, and I won in Maryland, at the Cardinal Classic.
DB: You talked about the grind and really pushing yourself during your senior year, tell our readers about your practice regimen.
CC: It was almost like a no day off kind of thing; I would be at the course five or six days a week. We had a simulator on campus, so even the days I wasn’t at the course, I was in a simulator looking at the numbers, practicing the long game, short game and everything in between. I’d be on the putting green for hours and be pounding balls on the range. It was about getting every aspect of my game in position to get the results I was looking for and luckily, it paid off in my last tournament.
DB: We are here eating lunch at The Wildcat and I’m seeing posters of you on some championship hockey teams, tell us about that.
CC: I am a very competitive person, and I have been my whole life, that’s why I wanted to play college golf. I grew up playing hockey since my dad played hockey his whole life. We played a lot of travel and house Camillus team hockey, always trying to be better and help my team win. That followed through hockey, baseball and soccer. Golf was a far different game since it’s all about me, and I’m the only person I can blame. It was a big transition point between those two sports.
DB: Give one tip for our amateur readers out there to improve their games?
CC: Don’t worry about your scores, just worry about the fundamentals of your swing. Getting your grip right, getting the proper backswing, then downswing. The scores will eventually follow. It took me two and a half years to win again. I stopped worrying about the scores and worried abut how my swing was. I was worried about the little things in golf, like don’t three-putt. If you don’t three-putt, eventually a good score will come.
DB: Talk about some of your favorite courses in Central New York?
CC: I have to put Tuscarora in there, my home course. It’s a fun and challenging course. Bellevue is very nice, I really like their practice facility, but the course itself is very nicely conditioned. My other favorites would have to be Onondaga, which is very nice and all the courses at Turning Stone. Specifically, Shenendoah, which coincidentally shares the name of my school; that one is very nice. Kaluhyat can be a little too challenging in some spots, but Shenendoah is a good balance of challenging with high maintenance and conditioning.
DB: You just graduated this past May, what now are your short-term plans and longer-term plans in life and in the game of golf?
CC: I graduated as a criminal justice major. I’m going to be going to Law school next Fall; I’m taking a year off to work a job and just relax. It’s been a long four years of not only school, but college golf. This is the lightest summer of golf I’ve taken in about a decade. I only played in two tournaments, so I’ve enjoyed this time off from the constant grind that I was under in the Spring. As I move forward, I want to continue to enter amateur tournaments, I love to be competitive with a chance to win trophies.
DB: Where are you thinking of going to Law School? What are your future plans in your professional career?
CC: My top school is Miami; I want to get into sports law. Sports have always been a big part of my life and I hope that it continues to be a big part of my life. I want to be down South where it’s warmer, more acclimated for golf. I really want to be in a big city area like Miami, where there’s a lot of people to meet and a lot of opportunities down there. I’d like to get into sports law, so I can stay involved with competitive sports even when I’m not necessarily competing in them.
