{"id":14551,"date":"2016-06-25T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-06-25T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buffalogolfer.com\/wordpress\/?p=14551"},"modified":"2016-06-19T15:57:48","modified_gmt":"2016-06-19T19:57:48","slug":"2016-interview-series-pga-professional-liam-f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buffalogolfer.com\/wordpress\/2016-interview-series-pga-professional-liam-f\/","title":{"rendered":"2016 Interview Series: PGA Professional Liam Friedman"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2012, Liam Friedman<\/a> became something of a (club)household name in western New York, thanks to his presence on The Big Break: Greenbrier<\/a>, a reality show on The Golf Channel. Friedman is a born-and-bred WNYer, golfing young\u00a0in south Buffalo and moving on to big tournaments on the amateur and professional levels. Friedman is the first in a series of interview s with PGA club professionals of Buffalo-Niagara. Interviews will be interspersed with others of national and international acclaim. Follow Liam Friedman on Twitter @ LiamFriedman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Tell us your name and how you got interested\/involved in golf as a youth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Liam Friedman. My uncle is a pretty good golfer, and when he would come visit from DC he would bring his sticks. We would go down to the ball diamonds and just hit balls from his shag bag, me with a little cut down club. But, my attention span for the game was underwhelming, so after about 15 minutes I would grab my baseball glove and catch the balls he was hitting. Great practice for my outfielding, and easy shagging for my uncle. Win-Win!<\/p>\n

2. Tell us a bit about your competitive golf experience in your younger days.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Growing up playing South Park GC, I didn\u2019t know much about junior competition. I would see results in the paper from AJGA events where kids my age were shooting in the 60\u2019s on 7000 yard courses, and I really thought it was made up. It wasn\u2019t until high school that I started to compete locally in BDGA Interclub (for Caz, then Brierwood) and BDGA Junior events. We had exceptional teams at both courses, and it built my confidence, but I was never able to really push to the next level in high school. Subsequently, I received no attention from any college golf coaches. But, I ended up playing for Methodist University, a Division III powerhouse that held open tryouts. I was fortunate enough to make the team every semester, and worked hard on my game while I was down there. I ended up qualifying for the Porter Cup in 2008, and winning medalist honors in the US Amateur qualifier that year as well. I competed alongside guys like Rickie Fowler, Danny Lee, Peter Uihlein, among others that year at Pinehurst. That experience went a long way for my confidence and I was able to make the travelling roster at Methodist my senior year and help to achieve the most prolific record in school history. We won 10 of 12 events we played that year, including the National Championship. It was one of the best experiences of my life.<\/p>\n

Slow-Motion Golf Swing<\/strong><\/p>\n