A lifetime spent on the links

Moving to a new town in the eighth grade can be a difficult proposition.
For Alex Hunt, golf helped forge friendships that built their strength through high school and have lasted well beyond. So he loves hearing stories about others’ love of the game as well as having the chance to pass on the joy the sport has given him.
The Jay County High School graduate has that opportunity every day working as the PGA Professional at Dead Horse Lake Golf Course in Knoxville, Tenn.
“I know I started playing the game because of my dad being a golf pro,” said Hunt, whose father Randy worked as a pro at several courses and then owned and operated Ki-Ann Golf Course in Hartford City. “But most of the time that’s not the case. I like to hear other people’s stories about it and help them improve.”
After playing for the most accomplished boys golf team in the history of JCHS, Hunt went on to Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C. Knowing he wasn’t on the track to playing golf professionally, he instead decided to take part in a program that allowed him to get a bachelor’s degree in business administration and his PGA certification in four-and-a-half years.
As he approached graduation and his wedding to fellow 2005 Jay County High School graduate Jessica DeRome, who was then attending Knoxville’s Johnson Bible College, Hunt began looking for work.
“We knew we had to end up in Knoxville so I just started looking for assistant jobs, knowing I wasn’t quite eligible yet,” he said. “I didn’t expect to get a head pro job right away.”
But after passing out resumes all over the city, he got a call from the owner of Dead Horse Lake. (The course draws its name from a local legend dating back to the 1700s about an explorer whose horse was swallowed by a sinkhole that over the years formed Dead Horse Lake.)
“They didn’t have a pro here at the time,” Hunt said. “I’ve been here ever since.”
He spends his days mostly behind the counter at Dead Horse Lake, checking in players and making tee times. He’s in charge of the inventory in the pro shop and organizes the staff for the course’s driving range.
In the last two years he’s also worked as a golf instructor. His students range from those just picking up the game to some who are just not happy with the way they are striking the ball.
“Most of them have an idea of what they’re doing, but want to play a little bit better,” Hunt said, noting that he also gets young players hope to make or earn more playing time on their school teams. “Most of mine are fairly new to the game, but not necessarily have never swung a club before.”
He has also taken part in a Guinness World Record, helping organize the attempt at Dead Horse Lake.
A local player, Carl Papa Jr., had the idea of trying to set the mark of hitting the most golf balls during a 24-hour period. Papa and 11 friends took part in the effort, each taking turns trying to hit balls into a target area. Hunt was there for 21 of those hours, counting balls that hit the target, making sure the players had enough golf balls and generally keeping the process moving along.
Guinness has set the mark to beat at 20,000 golf balls. The group shattered it with 33,469.
Although there are no more record-breaking plans in the near future, Hunt and the staff at Dead Horse Lake are working on a renovation that could include switching the course to Bermuda grass. That process could close the course for a while during the summer next year, but that is not as big of an issue as it would be in Indiana.
“A lot of it is the seasons,” said Hunt in noting how golf is different 370 miles south of Portland. “We’re tentatively open year round. Obviously there are going to be days where it’s cold or snowy … but it’s a little bit warmer.”
Hunt and his wife, who are expecting their first child, a boy, in the spring, hope to return to east central Indiana sometime in the future. And, he said, he’d love to follow in his father’s footsteps by owning a golf course. But for now he appreciates the opportunity he is enjoying as one of the youngest golf pros in the Knoxville area.
He competes occasionally as part of a Pro-Am Circuit in the Knoxville area, and fondly remembers his days as a high school golfer for the Patriots.
He and classmates Tyler Johnston, Adam Foster, Ben Freeman and Nathan McClung, along with 2004 graduate Jesse Shawver, were nearly inseparable during their four years at JCHS. They were constantly on the golf course, and frequently headed to dinner together after their matches.
Hunt, who got together with Foster to play 18 holes when he was home for his sister’s wedding this summer, had his fair share of success individually, advancing to the regional tournament as an individual qualifier in 2004.
He was also fourth in the Olympic Athletic Conference during his senior season.
But his most fond memories of the group accomplishments, as the team became the first in the history of the Patriot boys golf program to advance to the regional during his sophomore season in 2003. It also set the school record for a nine-hole round with a 148 a year later, and posted a 26-1 record in dual matches during his final two seasons.
“That was a fun four years,” said Hunt, who through his job is trying to open up the enjoyment of the game to new golfers every day. “We like to relive those days …
“We grew up together. We had five years all together. We were kind of stuck at the hip and committed to golf as our full-time sport.
“It was fun that we all kind of clicked together and enjoyed our time together. … Golf is an individual sport, but we really enjoyed the team atmosphere of it.”

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