Russell Budd got the same start in golf that countless other Canadian kids did – his dad gave him a plastic set of clubs at the age of three.
Russell Budd
He quickly took to whacking hollow balls around the yard, and in a couple of years, he graduated to a set of real clubs that his father had cut down for him.
Typical, yes, but the next step in his golf evolution is something barely contemplated by most of his contemporaries, for whom the sport is no more than an opportunity to have some fun on weekends.
Now 18, the graduate of the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Community Hebrew Academy of Toronto has been offered a golf scholarship to DePaul University. He’ll be heading to the Chicago-based school this month to start his first season of NCAA golf while earning a degree in sports management.
It’s a far cry from tooling around Pleasure Park, the defunct golf centre located in the middle of an apple orchard near highways 7 and 400. Budd recalls his dad taking him to the course, the only one that let him play as a youngster. “He carried me in one arm and the clubs in the other,” he said.
The Big East Conference of the NCAA will no doubt be more demanding than the wide-open spaces of Pleasure Park. Budd is naturally looking forward to the experience, not necessarily because he sees a professional career down the road, but because “I love golf. I think it’s a great chance for me to improve.”
DePaul will provide “new scenery,” good competition, high-level coaching and the opportunity to play against golfers from such renowned conference schools as Notre Dame and Georgetown.
Numerous books have been written about the mystical nature of golf. Budd has his own take on the game’s intangible benefits.
“I like the fact it’s a sport that has to do with sheer ability and how much you practise,” he said.
“You’re competing against yourself. Every course is different. No two rounds are the same.”
Something of a gifted athlete – he was centre-fielder on the TanenbaumCHAT baseball team that recently won a TDCAA championship – Budd said he has “a natural swing.”
He’s not expecting the coaches at DePaul to tinker with it, and he’ll continue with his philosophy that “whatever feels good, is comfortable, I’ll do.”
His approach clearly has paid dividends. While only 5-8 and 155 pounds, Budd is able to accurately drive the ball 285 yards off the tee.
But it’s his short game that is his real strength, he said. He averages 30 putts per round and hits an average of 12-1/2 greens in regulation.
Budd’s golf and workout regimen is pretty intense. While still at school, he’d leave TanenbaumCHAT at 4:30 and drive up to Eagles Nest Golf Club, where his coach, Henry Brunton, runs an instructional school, or to Bayview Country Club, where he’s a sponsored member.
He’d practise and play for 2-1/2 hours, generally focusing on putting (1-1/2 hours), chipping (1/2 hour) and hitting balls (1/2 hour).
With school over, he’s now at the course at 8 a.m. for practice, followed by a round of 18 holes, followed by lunch, then chipping, putting and more hitting. On most days, he puts in 10 hours, but that can stretch out to 12 hours prior to tournaments.
So far this season, he’s finished 13th at the CN Future Links Ontario Championship at Cobble Beach Golf Club in Owen Sound; he reached the sweet 16 at the Ontario Men Match Play event at Lake Joseph Golf Club, and he’s scheduled to compete at the Investors Group Ontario Junior Championship at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge.
Last year, he finished sixth at the Ontario Juniors.
Budd won the Ontario Bantams in 2004 and has represented Canada in international tournaments such as U.S. Kids and Optimist. In 2008, he represented Ontario at the Williamson Cup and finished sixth at the American Junior Golf Association’s Lessings Open. He is currently ranked 32nd in the RCGA Canadian Junior Order of Merit.
“Russell will be an excellent addition to our program,” said Betty Kaufmann, coach of DePaul’s men’s golf team. “His golf game continues to grow and get stronger with his experience on the Canadian teams. We are excited to have him.”