Sand Trap Staff

The staff of The Sand Trap .com come from all over the globe and have the games to match. Let's have a look, shall we?

Erik J. Barzeski Editor-in-Chief, Owner

Email: erik [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Erie, PA (USA)
Handicap: Professional
Personal Story: Erik began playing golf after his freshman year in high school. He joined a high school team that won three straight Erie County League championships (and two after he left), winning EDGA stroke-play honors the summer before his senior year. After taking most of six years off for college, Erik created The Sand Trap in late 2004 and has reaffirmed his love for the game ever since. He turned professional (for instruction) in 2010.

Danny Ottmann Hittin' the Links

Email: danny [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Albuquerque, NM (USA)
Handicap: 0
Personal Story: Danny had to find something to pass the time after finishing his college baseball career. His father suggested golf and he's been hooked ever since. In fact he's so hooked he had to get a part-time job at a golf course to support his habit. After winning the club championship and finally attaining the goal of scratch late in 2007 he looked for even more golf and ended up at The Sand Trap. His wife loves him and hopes to pencil in a little together time sometime in late 2008.

Justin L. Pucheu Bag Drop

Email: justin [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Slidell, LA (USA)
Handicap: 16
Personal Story: Justin is a relative newcomer to the world of golf compared to the rest of the staff here at TST, but has quickly absorbed himself in every facet of the game. Justin was primarily a baseball and basketball player throughout high school and only occaisonally played golf during his high school and college years. Though he has become serious about it a little later than most, he's making up for lost time now by spending an unhealthy amount of time at the golf course, and when that's not possible, he's either on the forum here at TST, reading about new equipment, or finding new ways to further improve his swing. As a self-proclaimed "un-traditionalist," he has a great respect for the history and tradition behind the game, but is fascinated by the technology and engineering that goes into new equipment.

Ron Varrial Thrash Talk

Email: ron [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Jersey City, NJ (USA)
Handicap: 6.2
Personal Story: Golf has been Ron's life for a long, long time. He started out following his golf pro uncle to the course as a kid, began playing seriously in high school and was soon nagging the guys in the pro shop until they gave him a job in the cart barn (a summer job he wouldn't relinquish for eight years, even once he started a "real" career). During college, Ron found a new passion - journalism - and he's combined the two since. As a sports writer and editor, he's covered everything from high school golf to USGA events, including a U.S. Senior Open and one of Arnold Palmer's final Champions Tour events. These days Ron's using every minute away from the newsroom pursuing his latest goals - getting into the low single digits and writing about as many golf courses around the world as possible.

Jamieson Weiss Trap Five/ProFiles

Email: jamieson [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Hopkinton, MA (USA)
Handicap: 1.5
Personal Story: A life long golfer, Jamieson really got into the game after failing to make various high school sports teams. To fill the deficit, he turned to golf and has since been caught up in the endless pursuit of the low score. While in high school, Jamieson played with an all-american teammate, on a team that has won several recent state championships. A self-professed swing tinkerer, he hopes the USGA will soon do away with putting, finally allowing him to become a scratch golfer.

Steve Wharton Marketing and Advertising Ninja

Email: steve [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: San Francisco, CA (USA)
Handicap: 16
Personal Story: Steve loves golf and plays golf. He knows he's not the best player in the world, but he's been on the tour for the past 45 years, yet he's only 30. He taught Tiger Woods' coach how to coach. The film "Tin Cup" was loosely based on Steve's life. Steve's grandfather is Bobby Jones, and Steve founded Scotland… the home of golf.

Alan Olson Contributor

Email: alan [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Zimmerman, MN (USA)
Handicap: 17
Personal Story: Alan's entry into the golf world was following his dad around the course when he was just a youngster. His first set of clubs was a junior set of Northwesterns and the obsession to golf was started. Twenty-plus years later that love for this great game continues. With a child on the way this fall, he is making plans to play as much golf as possible as well as trying to get Jack, Arnold or Bobby on the official "names list."

George Promenschenkel Contributor

Email: george [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Columbus, OH (USA)
Handicap: 8
Personal Story: As an eight-year-old, George started playing "golf" in a side yard of his parents' house. Having no golf equipment, he used a baseball bat to knock tennis balls into coffee cans he had buried in the yard. George's first set of clubs consisted of only the odd numbered irons and a set of persimmons with frayed windings that his Uncle gave him. Over the next 20 years, he played off and on, but never very seriously. In 1998, George joined a group of friends on a golf trip to Myrtle Beach and that helped spark a new love for the game (his wife would call it an obsession).

Dave Koster Contributor

Email: dave [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: Clemmons, NC (USA)
Handicap: Scratch
Personal Story: Dave started playing the game early on, learning from his father. He played competitively through high school and into college where he was named the scholar athlete of the year in 1997. After finally getting his handicap to a scratch in 2005, he won the club championship at Tanglewood - the site of the 1974 PGA Championship. His first child has taken some edge off his game, but "male bonding" will soon become Dave's latest excuse to hit the links.

Donald MacKenzie Contributor

Email: don [at] thesandtrap.com
Location: The Practice Range
Handicap: 12
Personal Story: After being exposed to the game as a youngster, Donald took up the game seriously during his college years. He has been part of the golf industry for more than 15 years, mainly as a golf writer for newspapers, magazines and websites, and he has also worked for various golf companies in a creative capacity. He has firsthand knowledge of what goes into creating golf equipment, and has a keen eye for critiquing the latest and greatest gear on the market. And, sometimes, he even plays golf for fun.