PERSONALITY PROFILE

If the hats fit, wear them:
Burt Baine juggles GM duties with playing
aspirations, ESPN

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Feb. 23, 2004) -- As the saying goes, you can take Burt Baine out of Texas but you can't take the Texas out of Burt Baine. The 56-year-old general manager of Pine Lake Country Club has lived in North Carolina for five years. But he still waxes nostalgic about his days back in the Lone Star state.

"Texas is a hotbed of golf with a ton of great players, but it is a tight-knit fraternity," Baine says. "I am not as much a part of the North Carolina fraternity, but that's because I am newer here and in a different phase of my career."

As Pine Lake's new GM, he soon may find out how tight the fraternity can be. Baine was the GM at the TPC of Piper Glen in south Charlotte from 1998 to 2001. A busy schedule, including assisting with a popular Champions Tour event and playing in two Senior U.S. Opens, kept him from filling up his rolodex.

"I am sure the fraternity here is just as tight," Baine says. "Texas and North Carolina are a lot a like in that they are both great states for the game of golf."

But no matter how ensconced in the Tar Heel state golf scene Baine becomes, he always will hold his Texas days near and dear to his heart. He moved to Ft. Worth from Colorado in 1976 to take the head professional job at Ridglea CC. One of the first people he was introduced to upon his arrival was Ben Hogan.

"I never got to play with him because he was basically beyond his playing days," Baine says. "But I had lunch with Mr. Hogan a number of times, just he and I."

Baine remembers a much different Hogan than the steely-eyed, ice-in-his-veins competitor who was typically on display to the public.

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"The tough guy, iceman image was a façade," Baine says. "He was a shy, tender-hearted individual. He put that up because he knew he needed it to compete against the guys he needed to compete against. It was his 15th club."

Baine also counts Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Mark Brooks among his Texas friends. He and Brooks struck a partnership in 1992 in hopes of breaking into golf course architecture. Once they figured out the design business in Texas was a little too competitive for their tastes, they shifted to course management.

"Mark envisioned himself as a designer, and he's very talented, but that business is tough to break into," Baine says.

Baine eventually broke off his partnership with Brooks to take a shot at the Senior Tour. In 1997 he made to the final round of qualifying at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Fla., but he didn't finish in the top 16. Rather than grind it out on a mini-tour, he took a job with the PGA Tour.

Being around golf from sunup to sundown, Baine was not able to shake his love of competitive golf. He kept his game in tact while working for the Tour and during his tenure at the TPC Piper Glen. He qualified and made the cut in two Senior U.S. Opens (2000 and 2001). A plus-two handicap who can shoot in the high 60s on any given day, Baine feels he has one or two more competitive years left in him.

"I am going to give the (now Champions Tour) Open one more shot this year," he says.

Eventually, Baine concedes, his golf game will have to take a back seat to his new full-time gig at Pine Lake and his part-time consulting job for ESPN's National Golf Challenge. Baine actually started the popular amateur two-ball circuit last year as a full timer at the sports programming behemoth. In 2002, the charitable event (proceeds benefit the Jimmy V-Foundation and The First Tee) was played on 121 courses in 40 states. This year it will take place in 50 states on more than 1,000 courses.

Pine Lake is a private, non-equity club, but traveling golfers take note: if you're thinking of relocating to the Charlotte area (one of the best mid-size cities in the U.S. for golf) you'll find one of the best deals in town at Pine Lake. Full family memberships are available for a $7,500 initiation fee and $245 a month. Junior memberships (35 and under) are available for a $3,500 initiation fee with the remainder of the balance due upon the 36th birthday. For more information, call (704) 545-4513, or log on to pinelakecountryclub.com.

"The growth of the event has been exponential," Baine says. "The public reception has been incredible. It was a tough thing to leave but forntunately I am still heavily involved."

Baine says he couldn't resist responding to Pine Lake's need for a general manager. The venerable club on Charlotte's east side sports a revamped George Cobb designed course that few golfers outside of its 467 members know about. Built before golf was all about selling real estate, the traditional parkland style layout's only homes are situated around the perimeter of the course.

"I couldn't think of a better place to wind up," Baine says. "It is the friendliest little club in Charlotte and it has everything you need. And it is also a player's club. We have 50 guys with handicaps of four or less."

And one plus-two tucked away in a clubhouse office who wears as many hats as he can handle.

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.