The 19th Hole: Mike Annaian

By |  May 1, 2013
Superintendent //  Armed Forces Retirement Home GC, Washington, D.C.

Mike_AnnaianMike, what can I get you to drink?

An ice cold beer. Preferably Busch Light, if they’ve got it.

Tell me about your course?

It’s a 9-hole course, located at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, about two miles north of the U.S. Capitol building in D.C. It’s a really cool property. It’s home to President Lincoln’s cottage, where he spent his summer months during his presidency, and a lot of time during the Civil War. The property itself has been a national landmark since 1974. When President Clinton was in office, he spent a lot of time playing here.

Before I mess it up, give me the phonetic pronunciation of ‘Annaian.’ I bet telemarketers trip all over themselves with it… The proper pronunciation is uh-NYE-en. But throughout my life, I’ve heard all sorts of pronunciations. ‘Uh-nanny-en?’… ‘Anny-anny-en?’ And it’s never spelled properly. It’s Armenian, and it’s actually quite common.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

I’m an avid musician. I’m a drummer, so I spend a lot of time playing music. Right now I’m not playing with a band, but I still like to get out there and play. And I’m an avid outdoorsmen, so I like hiking in the mountains.

I bet you remember the first record you ever bought with your own money. I do remember, it was back in 1981, it was Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Today I’m into everything, I’m a big Grateful Dead fan, Foo Fighters, jazz, blues, funk, reggae…

Mother’s Day is around the corner. Will you be buying flowers?

Every year I do buy flowers for my mother, but it’s in tribute — she passed away almost 14 years ago. She loved her gardening. I do vegetable gardens each year. Every year when I’m doing my vegetable garden I add marigolds. They were her favorite flowers, and they also draw insects away from the veggies.

What one thing, if your maintenance budget allowed for it, would make your life instantly better?

If I had the budget, a full-time mechanic would make my life even that much better. I have a part-time guy now, and he’s great, but if I had the room in the budget to be able to bring a full-time mechanic on? My efficiency would be even better.

Best Saturday Night Live cast member ever?

By far and away Chris Farley. The Chippendales skit with Patrick Swayze? That’s an all time great.

What’s one thing you love to do in D.C.?

If someone’s visiting, there’s so much history… so we go to the monuments. But if I’m on my own, every Sunday there’s a drum circle that takes place in Meridian Hill Park. It’s an open gathering of folks who bring random drums. You sit down, five or six people start a drum circle, within two or three hours later, you literally have hundreds of people drumming or just dancing and having a good time.

As interviewed by Seth Jones, April 26th, 2013.

This is posted in People

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 25-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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