Las Sendas' Head Pro Paul Preston
Has Found His Calling in Golf, Fly Fishing, and Hockey

April 26, 1999
MESA, Az -- Can you even count on two hands the number of things that your grandmother has taught you over the years? How to cook, how to treat a lady, how to sew, or how to two step? Paul Preston, the Head Pro at Las Sendas Golf Course in Mesa learned one of the most valuable lessons of his life from his grandmother - and that lesson was the game of golf.

"I started playing golf when I was really young," says Preston. "My grandma was a great golfer and she taught me how to play the game."

Preston's grandmother also must have taught him a little bit about work ethic and business savvy, as he was quick to figure out the most cost effective way of improving his game.

"I started working at Alta Mesa Country Club when I was 14 years old so that I could play free golf when I wasn't working," says Preston. "I worked there (Alta Mesa) for about five years and worked on my game."

Preston took up both the game and the "job" of golf early on in life, and by the time college rolled around, he was ready for a change. Citing severe burnout, Preston sought a change in lifestyle and went on to major in education at Arizona State University with every intention of one day becoming a teacher. While he did play for Scottsdale Community College for two years before becoming a Sun Devil, Preston was ready to get away from the game for a while. But for those who truly love the golf, running away from the game is like running away from Cindy Crawford on your wedding day - you could only get so far away before you'd have to turn around a come back.

At the urging of his mentor, Mark Gurnow, Preston decided to get back into the game by accepting a position at Gold Canyon running the outside services. Then in 1995, Las Sendas came calling and Preston didn't need his educational background to know that getting a foot in the door at the the newly opened Mesa course was the right thing to do.

"I was hired on at Las Sendas in 1995 to run the outside service," adds Preston". I was in charge of the bags and carts."

Preston has been at Las Sendas for just over a year, and has been a member of the PGA for just eight months. So you must be thinking: how does a guy that is just old enough to rent a car without getting hit for the extra insurance charges become the Head Pro at a prominent Mesa course?

"I think the new Golf Professional Training Program is putting a lot of young and qualified people out there," says Preston. "A lot of guys go to college and major is business and come out strong with the GDPD training."

As it turns out, Preston's position at Las Sendas is the perfect marriage between the golf profession and the educational field. It is the teaching aspect of his career that has always appealed to Preston. "I taught for two and half years at the Bill Skelley school of golf out at Golf Canyon (Golf Course)," says Preston. "I teach a lot of the things that I believe in. I am a feel oriented teacher, and I focus more of my efforts on setup and grip than with the swing Distilled to its essence, Preston's teaching philosophy is to relax and have fun. "Too many people get out there are so worried about where the ball is going go," says Preston. "Too many people want to make people's swing to be like someone else's".

As far as tour players, Preston follows suit with so many other Head Pro's when asked to put a face to his favorite swing on tour.

"Fred Couples has always been my favorite," says Preston. "He is so laid back, but I also like Nick Price and Greg Norman. Some of the new guys like Ted Purdy are really easy to get behind. I don't root for one guy, I just like to see good golf."

If Preston is not watching, playing, or teaching "good" golf, then you'll probably find him where a river runs through it.

"I really enjoy fly fishing," says Preston. "I just got back from Lee's Ferry. I do a lot of archery hunting and bird hunting. I take at least one or two trips a month to go backpacking and fishing." Paul Preston is the rare Arizona native, so one might expect him to be a fan of just about any sport, except hockey.

"I get into other sports, but hockey is my game," says Preston. "I am a big Coyotes fan. I have some friends from up north who used to take me to Roadrunners games and them we just adopted the Coyotes. I respect hockey players more than I do baseball or football players. They are just good rural guys - country bumpkins from Canada - with good family values."

What does the future hold for this 25 year old Head Pro? Preston says Las Sendas is the ideal job for him right now. But Preston admits to having a passion for writing - and not just the non-fiction, instructional writing he occasionally pens for Arizona Golf Quarterly.

"I would like to get into writing in general, even fictional writing," says Preston. "I don't know if that is a hobby or a pipe dream, though."