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Collins offers slice of life on PGA Tour
Living a life that’s taken him to some of the most beautiful locations in the United States, Chad Collins remains happy spending his winters in a treestand in West Central Indiana.
The Cloverdale native took a break from hunting season to speak to the Rotary Club of Greencastle Wednesday, giving members and guests a glimpse of life on tour.
Talent and a lifetime of hard work can take you a long way, but Collins said there are other lessons awaiting those able to make it to golf’s highest level.
“You have to use your time really well in your day-to-day routine,” Collins said. “You’re playing the best players in the world so you have to use your time well.”
That was the biggest lesson Collins learned in 2008, his first on the PGA Tour. After three seasons on the Nationwide Tour (now Web.com Tour), Collins debuted at the games highest level and struggled, by his own admission.
“I didn’t have a very good year,” Collins said. “I was kind of a deer in the headlights out there on the PGA Tour.”
Playing on courses he had never seen before, Collins learned that between pro-am events and the four-day tourneys themselves, a golfer has but one day a week to really practice and learn about his surroundings.
Losing his Tour card following the season, Collins had a great year back on the Nationwide, finishing second on the money list and regaining his card.
He has remained on the PGA Tour since 2010, battling through a number of injuries over the years and learning every step of the way.
“I don’t think you can stop learning. I don’t think you ever stop being a sponge,” Collins said. “Even the top players on tour have a coach that’s with them every week.”
Many local sports fans remember the moment in 2006 when Collins, still making his way on the Nationwide Tour, found himself briefly atop the leaderboard at the U.S. Open. Collins finished the weekend in 40th.
Then there was Collins’ other-wordly performance last July when he shot a round of 60 at the Barbasol Championship in Alabama, a close shave away from becoming only the ninth man to shoot a sub-60 round on Tour.
Collins finished that tournament in second, one shot away from what would have been his first PGA Tour victory.
“It definitely has its ups but it definitely has its downs too,” Collins said. “When you have some good weeks, you can pay the bills.”
Even those good weeks come at a different kind of price, though. Collins spoke of living out of suitcases for four to five weeks at a time. While some guys won’t play more than three straight weeks, he finds he’s at his best when he’s playing close to every week.
But that’s the dream he’s living, right?
“Each week is a whole new adventure,” Collins said. “A whole new course, grass, greens, climate — the whole nine yards.
“It’s always been a passion of mine, a dream of mine to play on the PGA Tour since I was seven years old or so,” Collins said.
Asked about the nicest courses he’s played, Collins eventually said some of the answers one might expect — Riviera, Pebble Beach, Memorial, his desire to play Augusta. But he also showed that his heart, and sense of humor, remain near his southern Putnam County home.
“Maybe Clover Meadows,” Collins said to a round of laughter.