CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/4208
12 | Food & Wine • 2009 Publisher's Note W e have a lot going on this issue. This is our Food and Wine issue as well as a story about the Greek community plus local golfer David Chung doing great things with his golf game. Golf is an interesting game. Sometimes the people with the most talent don't perform as well as the people that prepare better. But other times the people with the most talent do out perform the ones that prepare more. It is hard to figure out. I started playing when I was 8 or 9 years old. I played religiously for years but I have lost interest the past four or five years. At one time I thought I wanted to be a pro, and then started raising a family and that ended that. I would have never made it as a pro because I liked to play, not practice. I had a little talent but not enough to overcome lack of preparation. Our feature sports story this issue is on David Chung, who is the antithesis of me. I have been watching him play and practice at the golf course we both play since he was the age when I started. He and his Dad have worked so hard on his game it is hard to describe. They hit balls and balls and watch film and then watch some more film and then go play and then play some more. I have seen many great players come through Fayetteville like Raymond Floyd, David Canipe and Chip Beck. Yes they all practiced but not with the same intensity as Chung. If David Canipe had practiced more he could have been really great. Canipe was one of only ten people to win both the North Carolina Amateur and the Carolina's Amateur. Chip Beck played a lot of golf and he practiced but not like David Chung. Beck won the Carolina's Amateur and had a very successful career on the pro tour. Of course everyone knows Raymond Floyd who won a Masters, PGA and US Open. He had raw talent. His Dad (teaching pro LB Floyd) used to comment that if Raymond had practiced more he would have had more records than Jack Nicklaus. I was always worried that David was not going to grow much and therefore be at a disadvantage on today's long courses. But his God-given talent also gave him more height and strength as he matured. He can hit the ball a long way now. When David was thirteen he was playing in a Carolina's Junior Championship in Raleigh. I happened to be an official for the Carolina's Golf Association at that time and was working that tournament and followed his group most of the day. David had not grown much at that time so he could not get to most par 4 holes in the regulation of two strokes, but his putting and chipping was so good he made mostly pars and on the shorter holes made a few birdies. He missed the cut by a couple of stokes but I knew this kid was going places with his game. He just proved that this summer by winning the renowned North and South Championship in Pinehurst. Keep a close eye on this young man. Anyone that has dedicated this much to his future you can expect to see great things accomplished. Also, he is a fine young man with a great personality. I look forward to reading more about him in the years to come. Enjoy reading about this native son in this issue. CV Marshall Waren, Publisher THE HOME TOWN IS NOW ROOTING FOR NATIVE SON DAVID