Bruce Brown

The more Centre College golf coach Bruce Brown watched Allison Hancock play, the more he liked what he saw from the then-Sayre High School player. “At that time, she was a good player. On the golf course, she was really serious. She didn't goof around,” said Brown, the former head pro at Old Bridge Golf Club. “She had the right mechanics then, but not the maturity to work her way around the course like she has now. That just comes with age. She knows when to punch out and what to do. She is so smart now on the course.

The fair weather Thursday brought the unexpected sight of golfers hitting the links again at the recently closed Old Bridge Golf Club, but the owner said the situation may only be temporary. Bruce Brown, who leads the club’s ownership group in addition to serving as general manager and head golf professional, said the run of good weather after a harsh winter season prompted the course to reopen. The restaurant, however, remained closed. “Right now, we are going to open on some pretty days, and hopefully we can get some people to come out for that,” Brown said.

It is the day after my first golf lesson and I already have a whole new respect for the game and for those who play it. There is a big difference in just going to the backyard to hit a few golf balls and actually learning the proper techniques and procedures that go into the game. For those who don't think that golf is a real sport, I beg to differ. If you don't think so just call Bruce Brown, the drill sergeant, I mean the golf pro, at Old Bridge Golf Club. A few lessons with him will change your mind.

One of the owners of Old Bridge says Boyle County’s only public golf club may be sold. Bruce Brown, head golf pro and general manager at Old Bridge, said membership is at its lowest in recent memory for the semi-private club, which has dues-paying members as well as public play. “The golf business is about as down as it could be,” Brown said. “We are in the process now of possibly selling the course or reorganizing in some way. We are also considering shutting down for the winter, which would be the first time we have closed for the season.

While it was easy to enjoy the intensity and skill displayed during Thursday night's Boyle County-Danville district soccer tournament championship games, it was also impossible not to think about what happened in Louisville earlier this week. Louisville Western goalkeeper Francisco Victorino, 17, died Tuesday morning after he was hit in the throat by a kicked ball during a match Monday night. The parent of any athlete worries about injuries. How can you not? However, even a knee injury like the one Danville freshman Maddie Meckes suffered in the first half of Thursday's 3-1 win over Boyle in the 29th District title win seems like nothing compared to what happened in Louisville.

Christina Hill has finished with softball season. But softball season isn't exactly finished with her. Hill, 16, a junior-to-be at Danville, said she's never had a problem with her golf swing coming in after softball was over. But early on this summer, it's been a problem. "It's never really bothered me before until now. I don't know why, it's just bothered me a lot more this year," said Hill during a weather delay Wednesday at a Musselman-Dunne Junior Golf Tour event at Old Bridge Golf Club.

LOUISVILLE - He wasn't on the driving range where he normally would give lessons if he was back at Old Bridge Golf Club in Danville. But pro Bruce Brown was working the Ryder Cup. No, he wasn't giving lessons to J.B. Holmes, Kenny Perry or any of their U.S. teammates at Valhalla Golf Club Wednesday. Instead, Brown was one of a handful of former Kentucky PGA Teachers of the Year instructing fans who came to the Ryder Cup about how they could improve their play. "Anybody at the Ryder Cup could just come in because the PGA wants fans to have something to do," Brown said during a break in the instructional pavilion sponsored by American Express.

As good as Tiger Woods has been, he's soon going to have to admit he was wrong about one thing. Woods may not want to resume a relationship with former coach Butch Harmon, but he's going to have to at least find another golf coach if he wants to return to his dominant position on the PGA Tour. While Old Bridge Golf Club professional Bruce Brown is not applying for the job, he says any golfer, including one as good as Woods, can need help maintaining the proper swing. "He has to have someone he trusts that can notice subtle swing changes and work with him to correct those flaws when they appear," said Brown.

When Boyle County Sheriff LeeRoy Hardin read the vote totals for the Lexington Road precinct special election Tuesday evening at the courthouse, Bruce Brown asked him to repeat himself. "I guess I just needed to hear it again," said Brown, president of Old Bridge Inc., and PGA professional at Old Bridge Golf Club. "We've worked so hard for this and have so much riding on it. " The "it" he referred to was the proposal on the ballot to allow the golf course to sell liquor by the drink.

Ben Fuqua became the first area player ever to win the state golf championship and was named Mr. Golf in Kentucky for all he did during the 2003 season. Yet Old Bridge Golf Club professional Bruce Brown has found flaws in Fuqua's mechanics and is combining with Ron Barbato and Rob Longwill of McDowell Wellness Center to make changes in Fuqua's swing before he starts playing for the University of Kentucky next season. One might almost have wondered if Fuqua's state title was a fluke after watching Brown, Barbato and Longwill dissect the Danville senior's game recently at the center as part of a program they offer to help area golfers improve their play.

The more Centre College golf coach Bruce Brown watched Allison Hancock play, the more he liked what he saw from the then-Sayre High School player. “At that time, she was a good player. On the golf course, she was really serious. She didn't goof around,” said Brown, the former head pro at Old Bridge Golf Club. “She had the right mechanics then, but not the maturity to work her way around the course like she has now. That just comes with age. She knows when to punch out and what to do. She is so smart now on the course.

Dakota Jarman shot a 40 to earn medalist honors, but Mercer County won the Bruce Brown Cup title Tuesday on a wet and windy day at Danville Country Club. Mercer edged the Rebels 187-190. “This is the first time Mercer County has won, so it was a good win for the Titans,” Mercer coach Jay Anderson said. “The course played very difficult, more difficult than Saturday (at the Danville Invitational). The rough was wet and thick, the wind made it more difficult and it was cool.” Tyler Bennett led the Titans with a 43 and Austin Satterly shot 44. Ben Kendrick shot 43 for Boyle.

Only one player broke 40 for the Danville boys Tuesday, but they still managed to edge Boyle County by two strokes to win the Bruce Brown Cup at Danville Country Club. J.B. Williams shot 39 to lead the Admirals, who won the three-team competition named for local teaching pro Bruce Brown with a four-man score of 164. The match was decided by the No. 5 players, and Nick Serey shot 45 to allow Danville to pull out the win over Boyle (166) and Mercer County (208). Boyle's Dakota Jarman shot even-par 36 for the lowest score of the match.

The fair weather Thursday brought the unexpected sight of golfers hitting the links again at the recently closed Old Bridge Golf Club, but the owner said the situation may only be temporary. Bruce Brown, who leads the club’s ownership group in addition to serving as general manager and head golf professional, said the run of good weather after a harsh winter season prompted the course to reopen. The restaurant, however, remained closed. “Right now, we are going to open on some pretty days, and hopefully we can get some people to come out for that,” Brown said.

One of the owners of Old Bridge says Boyle County’s only public golf club may be sold. Bruce Brown, head golf pro and general manager at Old Bridge, said membership is at its lowest in recent memory for the semi-private club, which has dues-paying members as well as public play. “The golf business is about as down as it could be,” Brown said. “We are in the process now of possibly selling the course or reorganizing in some way. We are also considering shutting down for the winter, which would be the first time we have closed for the season.

HARRODSBURG — There’s no pressure this week, it’s all about fun. The pressure comes Tuesday when area teams will be fighting for a berth in the state golf tournament at the 4th Region Championship in Columbia. But with the Bruce Brown Challenge Cup played Monday and Tuesday and the Kentucky Bluegrass Conference-Central Kentucky Conference Ryder Cup at Danville Country Club Thursday, area golfers will get in one last dose of fun. “All of it is just kind of a fun week heading into region,” said Boyle’s Grant Blevins, who shot a 34-36—70 to take medalist honors and lead Boyle to the Cup title.

Boyle County’s Grant Blevins shot a 34 Monday and held a two-stoke lead over Danville J.B. Williams after the first day of the Bruce Brown Cup at Danville Country Club. The Rebels finished with a team score of 161, and will take a one stroke lead over Danville into today’s final round of the three-team competition at 4:30 p.m. at Bright Leaf in Harrodsburg. Mercer County, led by Mason Shirley and Drew McGill’s 44, is third after a 183. Ben Sparrow of Danville shot a 39 Monday, and Boyle’s Zach Lindberg had a 40. Girls Boyle County 178, Lafayette 189 — At Danville, Alexis Draut shot a 42 and Rachel Pingleton carded 43 to lead the Boyle County girls to a win over Lafayette at Old Bridge in their regular-season finale.

LOUISVILLE - He wasn't on the driving range where he normally would give lessons if he was back at Old Bridge Golf Club in Danville. But pro Bruce Brown was working the Ryder Cup. No, he wasn't giving lessons to J.B. Holmes, Kenny Perry or any of their U.S. teammates at Valhalla Golf Club Wednesday. Instead, Brown was one of a handful of former Kentucky PGA Teachers of the Year instructing fans who came to the Ryder Cup about how they could improve their play. "Anybody at the Ryder Cup could just come in because the PGA wants fans to have something to do," Brown said during a break in the instructional pavilion sponsored by American Express.

It is the day after my first golf lesson and I already have a whole new respect for the game and for those who play it. There is a big difference in just going to the backyard to hit a few golf balls and actually learning the proper techniques and procedures that go into the game. For those who don't think that golf is a real sport, I beg to differ. If you don't think so just call Bruce Brown, the drill sergeant, I mean the golf pro, at Old Bridge Golf Club. A few lessons with him will change your mind.

It's not hard to see why the Kentucky section of the PGA has picked Old Bridge Golf Club pro Bruce Brown as one of its nominees for Kentucky Junior Golf Leader. Brown, the 2004 Teacher of the Year for the Kentucky section, does so many things to promote junior golf that they are almost impossible to list. But here are some: Old Bridge is the home for several high school golf teams as well as the Centre College golf teams. The course also hosts four junior events each year as well as several free clinics.