Door County Golfer Profile: Bob Larsen

Age: 50

Occupation: Master Plumber for the last 21 years, Englebert and Larsen Plumbing and Pump Service LLC with his good friend and partner Dave Englebert.

Home Course: Idlewild Golf Club

Handicap: 6, but the way I’ve been playing it is subject to go up very shortly.

Best 18-hole Score: 71, last year while playing my good friend Jack Lemkuhl in the Match Play Tournament at Idlewild. Jack shot 72, it was a heck of a match and a lot of fun.

Years Playing: Well I have played since I was a kid but then fishing got in the way. I stopped playing for a few years except for now and then. I started playing full time again about eight years ago.

Hole-in-one: Never had one. Thank the Lord for that, the guys I play with love the nineteenth hole.

Nicest Golf Course Ever Played: Spirit Hollow in Burlington, Iowa and Iron Horse Country Club in Champaign, Ill.

Favorite Golf Memory: The honest truth is new ones are made every week.

Golf Accomplishment Most Proud Of: Two years ago I took second place in the A Division of the Wisconsin State Golf Association Net Amateur Championship. That was a two-day tournament at Lawsonia. I love tournament golf and the fierce competition played by the strict rules of golf.

Favorite Golfer: Tom Watson, why Tom Watson? Years back during an interview, he was asked if he was intimidated playing against Jack Nickalaus in the major tournaments, and his answer was this: “To be the best you have to beat the best. Golf is a great game, but the guys I play with want to win and I want to beat them as well, otherwise what’s the point of keeping score, but having fun and enjoying yourself has to be the priority.”

Fantasy Foursome: Myself, Tom Watson, my good buddy and playing partner Tim Ullman and Holly Sonders from the Golf Channel. Ullman would never let me forget not inviting him to play along if Holly were playing.

What’s In The Bag? RBZ Driver and 3 Wood, Cobra Rail H #3, #4, #5 Hybrids, Taylormade 6, 7, 8, 9, PW, AW, Ping 58 Degree Flop Wedge, Taylormade Burner Sand Wedge, and my putter is the belly length Heavy Putter from Boccieri Golf. I play a Titliest Pro V1X marked Bob L. I have lost many, so if anyone finds them I would appreciate them returned. I also play most any ball I find in the woods while I’m looking for the balls marked Bob L.

Strengths: Like most people who play on a regular basis, all parts of the game.

Weaknesses: Like most people who play on a regular basis, all parts of the game. This is a most mysterious game. There is no perfection. No one has ever played the perfect round.

Golf Tip To Share: My tip is, keep it fun. I won’t play with people that are not enjoying the game and making it miserable for the playing partners. Yes, it does get heated at times, but at the end of every round we take our hats off and shake hands and we mean it. This sounds funny but learn how to be a good loser, if not good, gracious.

The other tip I have is this: If you are a regular player, get in some tournaments played with strict rules of golf. It is a whole different experience and environment than your regular weekend rounds. Try it, most of these tournaments are handicapped.

When Not Playing Golf, You Can Be Found: Working at our business, gardening, yard work, working out at the YMCA, on my deck with my wife Anna having a cocktail and smoking a cigar, at the park listening to music, riding my bike, salmon fishing, riding my motorcycle, and visiting our kids in Milwaukee and Eau Claire. I am a very fortunate man and I am grateful.