Kenny Cashwell

Interview With Kenny Cashwell

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Kenny Cashwell, the former General Manager at Sequoyah National Golf Club. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

Can you provide our readers a brief biography?
I am 22 year member of the PGA of America and have advanced Certifications in Golf Operations and General Management. I played golf until I went to college at the University of North Carolina and did not resume until my middle 20's. Once I began playing I fell in love with the game all over again and decided to make it my career. Along the way I met my wife Becky who is a 25+ year member of the PGA

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
I began playing when I was 3 years old. My grandparents took me out to the course which I believe was named Paradise Golf Course in Concord. Other than the basic memory of playing I recall have a good time and my grandparents gushing over my ability. Which I later learned they did about everything I did.(It didn't hurt that I was the first grandchild)

What is your current home course?
I am currently at Sequoyah National Golf Club in Cherokee, NC.

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
I am proud of several things: I have had students of mine go to college for free which made me very happy for them. I am proud of my marriage which has been solid through all of the long hours, nights and weekends at work. I am also proud of my Certifications which did not come easily for me. The first time I actually did not pass a portion of the exam and that really steeled my desire to obtain the status.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
The thing that bothers me the most is rudeness. Fortunately we don't see it every day but it is unnecessary.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
I like the 7 iron because it long enough that I need to make a good swing and short enough to be forgiving. I also prefer to have my students spend a lot of time with the 7 for the same reason.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Sequoyah National Golf Club and Harrah's Cherokee Casino because of the beauty and that is how I get to eat and have a roof over my head.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
I haven't played Pinehurst #2 which is one I should have knocked off the list.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Olde Mill Golf Club near the Blue Ridge Parkway. User friendly golf with a nice challenge in a special area.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
I would let player put with whatever they want in any way desired. The object I how many not how you did it.

Dream foursome (living)?
Faldo, Woods, Larry Bird and Nicklaus. I could just watch and enjoy a cold beverage if fivesomes aren't allowed

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Snead, Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods. I can only imagine the awesome shots and talent in the group. Again I could watch and enjoy if required.

Favorite 19th hole drink?
Cold beer that my friend buys me because I beat him at golf.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Putt

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of a lifetime!

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight with the cold beverage!

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Bev cart

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom usually

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot Dog

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Sand

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding at this point in life. Especially at Sequoyah!

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Par 5, I get to miss at least one a maybe still get a par.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles but I like both a lot

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Fun

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Bump and Run

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Lay up

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Revised: 08/02/2017 - Article Viewed 64,215 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.