You have heard the old adage that you only have one chance to make a 'first impression'. Anything beyond that is merely 'damage control'.

Whether or not an individual ultimately becomes passionate about a game like golf may well be determined to a degree by the circumstances of their 'introduction' to the sport.

For a beginner, before they even set foot on the first tee for their inaugural round of golf, they have undoubtedly had to visit the pro shop to pay their green fees, rent clubs, buy a few balls, etc. For most people who have never been to a golf course before, the first people they talk to at the outset of their 'new experience' are the pro shop staff.

As is the case for most people trying something new in life, uncertainty and a sense of feeling like a fish out of water sometimes prevails, and the importance of those first few moments in the pro shop cannot be understated. The beginner is most likely already feeling somewhat intimidated, not knowing exactly 'what to do'. The foundation for his, or her, basic attitude about golf, and specifically golf professionals, may very well be formed within the first few moments in a pro shop.

The first person you normally encounter when you enter a pro shop is a golf professional. The professional may be a Head Professional, an Associate Professional, or an Assistant Professional. Your first impression of a golf professional, the golf facility, and by extension a great deal of your entire first golf 'experience', may very well be dictated by how that professional greets and interacts with you during those few minutes while you are in his, or her, pro shop.

My own 'first impression' of a golf professional came about on a beautiful spring evening in Sherwood Park, Alberta back in 1966. Our family had just moved to the Edmonton area the previous summer from Sarnia, Ontario, where my summers had been spent playing fastball and swimming in Lake Huron. My parents purchased a home along the third hole of the Broadmoor Golf Club.

I was 14 years old and my golfing experience up until that point had consisted of being taken to a driving range once before by my father and uncle, and visiting every Putt-Putt miniature golf facility we drove by while on family vacations in Michigan.

As it so happened, two of my 'new' friends in the neighborhood played golf, and they suggested one evening that we all go for nine holes at the Club. Armed with my father's set of clubs and money for green fees, we walked to the course while my buddies gave me a quick run-through on how to play, what to do, etc.

I was totally 'out of my element' as we entered the pro shop. I didn't know the difference between a ball marker and a ball washer. I was nervous, self-conscience, and afraid of 'doing something wrong'. Little did I know that in the next few minutes a total stranger would have such a positive influence not only on my first real introduction to the world of golf, but also on my 'first impression' of a golf professional.

My friends had told me the golf professional was a really nice guy with the unusual name of 'Tryg', and they were hoping that he'd be there that evening. Sure enough, as we entered the shop, a tall blonde man behind the counter welcomed my friends by name and asked if we were 'going to go out'.

I was introduced to Tryg as being a new guy in the 'Park' and this was going to be my first time on a 'real golf course'.

Tryg Wenn then proceeded to take the next fifteen minutes to show me the basics of holding a club, putting, and a few 'what to do's' and 'what not to do's' on the course. The moment arrived for me to pay my first green fee. I asked Tryg how much it cost to play nine holes? At this point it was around six-thirty in the evening with easily another three hours of daylight. I'll never forget how Tryg looked out the window up the eighteenth fairway, paused a moment, and then turned to us and said, "Don't worry about it. It's a beautiful evening out there. Just go out and enjoy yourselves."

That gesture meant so much to me, as a teenager just getting used to living in a new city, making new friends, and on the verge of taking up a new sport, I walked away from the pro shop that evening feeling like I had been somewhat 'accepted' and was 'welcomed' in this 'new environment.'

Within a few days my parents bought a membership for me at the Broadmoor. I recall it cost $20.00, and the only limitation on juniors was that we couldn't tee off before noon on weekends.

The Broadmoor Golf Club was Tryg's first head professional appointment, after serving his apprenticeship at Shaughnessy and the Edmonton Country Club. Tryg left the Broadmoor Golf Club at the end of the 1967 season and returned to his hometown Vancouver. He was only at the Broadmoor for a few years, but due to his natural 'way with people', generosity, and efforts to assist junior golfers in every possible way, those who were members at the Club during his time there still like to talk about him, refer to him as 'Trigger', and in a way he has always been the 'benchmark' by which subsequent head professionals at the Broadmoor have been measured.

Tryg Wenn is still influencing people in positive ways and helping to make their golfing experience an enjoyable one, at the Gleneagles Golf Club in West Vancouver.

The point I am trying to make is that golf professionals have an opportunity every single day, to have an impact on people's lives and their attitudes toward golf. Obviously this holds true for the entire pro shop staff, whether they are professionals or not.

When the public walks into a shop, if they are met with disinterest or 'negative vibes', opinions are formed which usually have some sort of negative impact on the operation of the golf course. This may take the form of not returning to play the course again or not buying that sleeve of balls, or not staying after the round to eat in the clubhouse, or just generally making a comment to others about the 'so-and-so' in the pro shop.

Fortunately, the vast majority of golf professionals I have encountered in my years around the game are acutely aware of this 'range of influence' within their pro shops. Ironically, this is another aspect of their day-to-day lives which makes the life of a club professional a lot more difficult than it may appear to 'outsiders', and another reason why good club professionals deserve a great deal of respect for the excellent jobs they do.

They know that regardless of the fact they just shot an 82 in a pro-am, or the embroidery on their shirt order was botched up, or their personal set of clubs from the equipment supplier has arrived with the wrong shafts installed, they have to try and be pleasant and courteous to all the customers who come through the door, because they know those few minutes a customer is in their pro shop before teeing off can sometimes 'set the tone' for that customer's day on the links.

We should all be respectful as well of the fact that anyone can be 'having a bad day', and the next time you walk into a particular pro shop, if you aren't greeted in a manner which you consider worthy of your 'status in life', maybe try and cut the 'offending staff member' a little slack. After all, he, or she, may have just surrendered to the 'yips' and made the decision to go to a 'long putter', or worse yet, just been told the ball picker has broken down again and the range has to be cleared at the end of the shift 'by hand'!