David Pursell

Interview With David Pursell, Founder and CEO, FarmLinks Golf Club

A Light Hearted Golf Q & A Interview

By Brian Weis

Below is an interview with David Pursell, Founder and CEO, FarmLinks Golf Club, founded in 2003 as the world's first Research and Demonstration golf course. FarmLinks was originally created as a marketing living laboratory to demonstrate the effectiveness of the world's leading golf course maintenance technologies and products. Since inception, almost 10,000 golf course superintendents have visited FarmLinks at Pursell Farms in central Alabama. At time of inception, David was CEO of Pursell Technologies Inc., the market leader of controlled release fertilizers. PTI was sold to Agrium in 2006. FarmLinks is currently ranked #1 public access course in Alabama, and #1 in AL by the state's largest newspaper, The Birmingham News, on an open vote by golfers in the state.

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?
I started playing golf at age 9 in my hometown of Sylacauga AL at a little 9 hole course, Coosa Valley Country Club. I just started playing with friends.

What is your current home course?
Since I live and work here, I'd say FarmLinks Golf Club. I'm also a member of Shoal Creek in Birmingham AL, and Willow Point in Alexander City, AL...both fine courses....

To date, what is your proudest golf accomplishment?
I've carried a single digit handicap for 25 years, shot under par a few times, made a couple of holes-in-ones, won some amateur tournaments....but I'm most proud of creating FarmLinks.

What is your biggest golf pet peeve on or off the course?
Slow play, and people throwing clubs or showing their "rear ends" because of the way the ball bounces. Golf is a very relational game, and we all need to understand that there will be good days and not-so-good days. The latter outnumbers the former. Enjoy the game and outdoors regardless of how you play.

What is your favorite golf destination?
Most ANY well-run golf establishment that has both great conditions and great service. Bandon Dunes is a great golf experience. We try here at FarmLinks to make each visitor to leave as a RAVING FAN. All golf courses should set that as a goal.

What course is on your bucket list that you have not played yet?
Cypress Point. Augusta is there too, but I've actually played it a few times, so NOW my goal is to play it again!

If you woke up tomorrow and could play one course you played before, where would you play?
Augusta. No question.

If you could change one aspect, rule or thing about golf, what would it be and why?
The rule that you can repair a ball mark but not a scuff mark. Not sure why that rule exists but it really doesn't make too much sense to me.

Dream foursome (living)?
I'd say George W. Bush, Obama and Clinton. I'd team up with W and we'd kick their butts!

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

18 Rapid Fire, Off The Cuff Questions

1) Hitting Long Drive OR Sinking Long Putt?
Sinking a long putt for sure. Even better to WIN something!

2) Having Round of Life OR Hole in One?
Round of Life. Like a 62 or something. Actually, a 68 would beat my best score by 1.

3) Golfing at the crack of dawn OR twilight?
Twilight. Not much of a morning person.

4) Hit a power fade OR power draw?
Power fade. My power draws normally end up left of the fairway or rough too.

5) Beverage cart OR halfway house?
Halfway house. Actually, refreshments on my cart is even better.

6) Bathroom OR bushes?
Bushes. There is certainly JOY in the immediate.

7) Hot dog OR wrap?
Hot dog if done right.

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

9) Walking OR riding?
Either. I just enjoy golf.

10) Do you carry traditional 3 iron OR hybrid?
Hybrid. But IF I could hit a long iron, I'd play that. Just was never that good with one.

11) Do you prefer long par 3 OR long par 5?
I like the challenge of a long par 3, but a long par 5 is easier since it's pretty easy to get there in 3 and make par.

12) Pants OR Shorts?
Depends on the time of year, but normally shorts.

13) Palmer OR Nicklaus?
Nicklaus. They are both unmatched.

14) Beatles OR Elvis?
Beatles. But I listen to both.

15) Play for fun OR play for money?
Money. But not a lot.

16) Bump and run OR flop shot?
I play a pretty good bump and run.

17) Lay up OR gamble?
Depends. But I play pretty conservatively most of the time, and rely on a good wedge game.

18) 18 holes OR 36?
18 or 27. But occasionally I play 36 and wake up sore the next day, but sleep very well afterward.

Revised: 10/19/2011 - Article Viewed 36,533 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying 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), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.