Jay Don Blake

Interview With Jay Don Blake Former PGA and Current Champions Tour Professional Golfer

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

During the Tuesday Pro Am Day at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, I had the opportunity to golf with and interview Jay Don Blake, the Former PGA and Current Champions Tour Professional Golfer. In between shots and draining his bride putts, he answered some of my favorite questions I love to ask Professional golfers. (Note: If the opportunity affords itself, it is a must to play in one Pro/Am event in your life. It is worth the price of admission. Rumor has it the Champions Tour players are much more enjoyable to play with. Now reflecting on the day, it goes down in my top 10 golf experiences of my life. Treat yourself to next years event! More info at http://www.2015mgrc.com/pro-ams.php)

Brief biography?
Jay Don Blake is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour; he currently plays on the Champions Tour.

Blake was born and raised in St. George, Utah, where he attended Dixie High School, graduating in 1977. Blake learned the game of golf on the public Dixie Red Hills Golf Course. He attended Utah State University in Logan and was a member of the golf team. He won the 1980 NCAA Championship and was named NCAA Player of the Year in 1981. He turned pro in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1987.

Although Blake has but one win on the PGA Tour, he earned a spot in the top-125 for 15 consecutive years after joining the tour in 1987. He has more than 3 dozen top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events, including more than a half-dozen 2nds and 3rds. Blake's career year was 1991 when he had six top-10 finishes including one Tour win, $563,854 in earnings, and finished 21st on the final money list; he also had a win in international competition that year. His best finish in a major championship is T6 at the 1992 U.S. Open.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
I learned to play on a short public golf course in St George, UT - Dixie Red Hills Golf Course.

What is your current home course?
San Hollow Golf Club in Utah

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Slow play.

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
My Sand Wedge.

What is your favorite golf destination?
You got to go where there is amazing golf. I would have to say the Pebble Beach area.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
I am not a bucket list golfer kind-of-guy.

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
I would love to play at Augusta again.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Hmmmm. Too many things to mention at the moment. I will take a pass on that one.

Dream foursome (living)?
Jack and Arnie. I would love to add Tiger to that mix but he is not playing well. I might round out the group with Jessica Alba. I heard she is a good golfer.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
My father, Ben Hogan and Ben Franklin. I would love to hear Ben Franklin talk for 4 hours.

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Draining a long putt!

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
How about a hole in one on a par 5.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
I am more of a twilight golfer nowadays.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power Fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Depends on how cute the girl is driving the cart.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog!

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

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding!

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

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long par 5.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Money

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
36

Revised: 03/24/2015 - Article Viewed 35,260 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.