Paul Schock and His Dog

Interview With Paul Schock, Founder and Chairman, The Prairie Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Paul Schock, Founder and Chairman, of The Prairie Club. Paul has had a long background in golf, both as a player and an investor. In golf he has been an USGA Committee person and Grounds Chair at one of South Dakota's finest private clubs. His business background includes 20 years as a private equity specialist. He started and built Bluestream Capital Company, SD's largest and most successful private equity firms.

The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

When did you start golfing and who introduced you do the game?
At about age 12, by my older brother. If I shagged balls for him for an hour, he'd let me hit a few. Those were the days, no nearby driving range and everyone had their own shag bag.

What is your current home course?
Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
In 2002, I won both of South Dakota's Men's Amateur Championships, the stroke play and match play, with my son on the bag. It is a close second to qualifying for and playing in 11 USGA National Championships.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Slow play and courses where the average player loses a lot of balls.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Well, The Prairie Club of course! Second favorite is Sand Hills Golf Club.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Augusta and Pebble Beach

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Pine Valley

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
The out of bounds rule. It should be played same as a lateral hazard or reduce penalty by one stroke.

Dream foursome (living)?
Bob Rotella, Tom Lehman and my two sons.

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Dwight Eisenhower

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Long putt

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of life

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Dawn

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Draw

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bushes

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog

8) Around the green, being in sand OR thick rough?
Rough

9) Walking OR riding?
Walking

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
3 iron

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
Long Par 3

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Shorts

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
For Money

16) Bump or run OR flop shot?
Bump and hrun

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Gamble

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Revised: 08/05/2011 - Article Viewed 35,484 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA) and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.