Club Management - January/February 2008 - (Page 54) make something so realistic,” Pinch said. “I left there daydreaming and went back to get lessons.” By 2003, he left SCGA to paint full time. By then, he already had a portrait of the late Payne Stewart hanging at the USGA Museum, one of only 35 paintings in the stories building. He also had painted dozens of portraits of golf course architects and Club board members. “I turned the pro shop into a gallery,” he said. His studio is now fi lled with books on painting, and his vacation time is spent attending conferences and painting workshops. “Creating something that is hopefully three-dimensional on a two-dimensional medium is fascinating to me,” Pinch said. In August 2007, Pinch made a phone call to Rand Jerris, director of the USGA Museum. He assumed there was a portrait of Woods, the USGA’s all-time leading tournament winner, somewhere on one of the walls. When he was told there was not, he asked if the museum would be interested in one. “One of the questions we get here is, ‘Where’s Tiger?’” Jerris said. “I knew Tom’s work well, and first and foremost we thought it would be a great addition to our collection.” So the next question was, what to paint? The fi st pump? The toothy grin? “In my mind, it’s the fi nish of his swing that is really unique,” Pinch said. He already had a relationship with Rob McNamara, who works with Woods in Orlando. During a phone call, it was agreed that Pinch would send four or five photos of Woods and let Tiger pick out the one he liked best. Pinch called the USGA and asked for several shots of the great golfer’s finish. There were two requirements, however. The photo needed be from a Sunday when Woods wears his trademark red shirts, and McNamara suggested it be from the U.S. Open in 2000 when Woods blew away the field by 15 shots. “Rob said that of all his major wins, the Open at Pebble Beach was one of Tiger’s most treasured,” Pinch said. “The funny thing is that he told me it could take months, but Tiger happened to be walking through the office one day. He picked out the one that I liked best on the 18th hole on Sunday.” The photo can be viewed on Pinch’s web site (www.tompinch.com). He is hoping to show Woods the painting during the conference in Orlando, which is seven miles from Tiger’s home. “I’ll walk it over to him,” Pinch said. “I’ve been told they will try to arrange it, but it’s doubtful. He has a crazy schedule.” ❚❘ About the author Pat Dooley, an award-winning columnist for The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Florida, has covered nine Masters and more than a dozen Players Championships as well as other major tournaments around the country during his 30 years as a sportswriter. He also has done extensive radio and television work and recently had his first book published — “Game of My Life: Memorable Stories of Florida Football.” Working together. CMAA Named One of Washingtonian Magazine’s Great Places to Work Thanks in part to its penchant for providing a solid work/life balance and employee schedule flexibility, CMAA was named one of Washingtonian magazine’s 60 Great Places to Work. The Washingtonian reported, “In the end, our Great Places to Work all scored very well on flexible schedules, good pay and benefits, employee development, interesting work, employee recognition, supportive managers, open communication, and collegial staffs.” The magazine advertised a questionnaire that more than 225 companies completed, then a sample of employees were asked to respond to a different online survey. The surveys were developed by a Berkeley, California, research company. ❚❘ To read the article, go to www.washingtonian. com/articles/businesscareers/5532.html. WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM 800-328-4493 54 • CLUB MANAGEMENT 338588_Service.indd 1 9/27/07 11:36:05 PM http://www.tompinch.com http://WWW.SERVICEIDEAS.COM
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