Interview With Jumpei (JP) Okuda Golf Course Manager Rising Star Casino and Resort By Brian Weis

Interview With Jumpei (JP) Okuda Golf Course Manager Rising Star Casino and Resort

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with Jumpei (JP) Okuda, the Golf Course Manager at Rising Star Casino and Resort. The following are a few traditional and non traditional golf centric questions that I love to ask influential people in the golf industry.

Can you provide our readers a brief biography?
Assistant Golf Professional at Newman Golf Course, Cincinnati, OH 2004 - 2010.
Head Golf Professional at Newman Golf Course, Cincinnati, OH 2010 - 2012 Elected Class A PGA Membership August 2012 Golf Manager at LINKS Golf Course, Rising Star Casino, Rising Sun, IN 2012 - current

When did you start golfing and who introduced you to the game?
Started the game of golf at age 7 and was introduced by my father.

What is your current home course?
LINKS Golf Course, Rising Star Casino and Resort, Rising Sun, IN

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
Elected into the Class A PGA Membership 2012 Hole in One 2014 - 137 yards

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Golfers not fixing the divot on the green and fairway!

Golfers who are NOT modest of their game!

What is your favorite club in your bag and why?
Putter.
It is the only club that can you money and rich!

What is your favorite golf destination?
The Masters at Augusta National

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Augusta National St. Andrews Pebble Beach

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Hazeltine National Golf Club, Minnesota

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
Change the belly putter rules - bring it back.

Dream foursome (living)?
Tiger Woods
Rory McElroy
Isao Aoki
Jumpei Okuda

Dream foursome (living or dead)?
Ben Hogan
Payne Stewart
Tiger Woods
Jumpei Okuda

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

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

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

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

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power Fade

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway House

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bathroom

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Wrap

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

9) Walking OR riding?
Riding

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

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

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Pants

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Elvis

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

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
Flop Shot

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Lay up

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18

Revised: 03/05/2015 - Article Viewed 33,299 Times - View Course Profile

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.