The 19th hole: Mike Brunelle

Mike Brunelle
CGCS // Upper Montclair CC, Clifton, N.J.

Mike, what can I get you? Do they have a local IPA?

So you’ve got two little ones? Yes, my wife, Jenni, and I have two; Gracie turns 3 in September. My little guy is going to be 1 in September. His name is Tedy, after (former New England Patriot) Tedy Bruschi.

So I guess I don’t need to ask you what teams you root for… All Boston — New England Patriots, Red Sox,
Celtics, Bruins.

You must be from around there, because there’s no other good reason to root for those teams. Yeah, I’d say the same thing about your Kansas teams! I’m from western Massachusetts, a little town called Southampton.

Do the Red Sox have a chance this year? They’re doing well — they’re the best offense in baseball. But they need another good starting pitcher, and they don’t have that.

Where did you go to school? Where didn’t I go to school? I graduated from UMass-Amherst, but I also went to St. Michael’s College in Vermont, where I played baseball and majored in social activities… and I also took classes at junior college to take care of some courses.

Tell me something unique about Upper Montclair CC? We’re big on tournaments here. We’re proud to have hosted the PGA Tour, the LPGA and the Champions Tour.

What’s your claim to fame? My two gigs in college, when I fronted a Pearl Jam cover band.

Fill in the blank: The best type of golfer is the golfer who _________
Appreciates the effort that goes into making their experience great. That’s your typical superintendent answer, right there.

What’s your dream vacation? I don’t know. It’s probably coming up when we go to Orlando and see the looks on the kids’ faces when we take them to Disney World for the first time. Other than that? Maybe a trip to Scotland and Ireland to see all the classic golf courses.

You’re on a tear right now with golf tournaments. What all have you done these past couple weeks? Last week I worked with Todd Raisch at Ridgewood CC helping for the U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship. This week I’m helping Mark (Kuhns) in the mornings for the PGA Championship at Baltustrol. And then at my course, in the afternoons, we’ve had the New Jersey Women’s State Amateur. Then in two weeks I have our Member/Guest. Oh, and we also recently hosted the U.S. Senior Open qualifier.

So on a scale of one to 10, how tired are you right now? Can your scale go to 75 or 80?

main photo by: Pete seltzer