By Renee Kayser, Briarwood Country Club
Arizona native Brian Turczyn now leads Briarwood Country Club, 20800 N. 135th Ave., Sun City West, into the New Year.
Raised in Peoria and a graduate of Centennial High School, Turczyn has an appreciation and an understanding of the West Valley communities. His parents, sisters, grandparents and in-laws all live nearby. He and his wife, Kylie, who grew up in Gilbert, have two young daughters — 3-year-old Blakelyn and 1-year-old Brenley. Turczyn is well grounded in the Sun City communities.
“I live so close to Briarwood that I could ride my bike to and from work every day,” he said.
Turczyn began developing an interest in golf between the ages of 6 and 12 when his grandparents took him golfing and enrolled him in a First Tee type of golf program for children. However, golf did not become Turczyn’s sport of choice until later in life. He fell in love with baseball and played college ball for both Phoenix College and then Scottsdale Community College.
In order to work his way through school, Turczyn had numerous outside service jobs in the golf industry. He did not play golf because, according to Turczyn, he was still playing baseball.
“I found that a baseball swing and a golf swing are different enough that one will mess up the other,” he explained.
Turczyn took an outside service job at Legend of Arrowhead golf course in 2016 and quickly worked his way up to service manager, then tournament director/first assistant to head pro, and finally became the assistant general manager, which is the same as the title of director of golf.
Turczyn left the golf profession for a short time, but wanted to get back into the golf business. He heard the director of golf position was opening at Briarwood, but when he called to apply, it had already been filled, so he asked club officials to keep him in mind. Soon afterwards, Turczyn was offered the position of first assistant to the head pro. He accepted the position and was excited to offer his talents and experience to Briarwood as, now, he could continue towards his goal of someday becoming director of golf.
In November Turczyn was promoted to head golf professional at Briarwood.
“I guess I was in the right place at the right time,” Turczyn said, “I have been in customer service for about 10 years. I know to be patient and your time will come. The staff, employees and members have all been very supportive. I feel like I can ask any question, and they will trust me to do the best job I can for what I was hired to do.”
Turczyn is currently working towards his PGA Program Certification for golf professionals. The PGA program comprises three levels of schooling and takes 2-3 years before completing the certification process.
As for what the future holds for Briarwood, Turczyn strongly believes that the club is headed in the right direction.
“The staff and I want to continue to encourage a positive, fun and friendly culture here at Briarwood,” he said. “This time next year, this place will be rockin’!”
Turczyn believes the head golf professional should be highly visible and accessible to the members.
“I like walking the range and putting green when people are warming up, talking to people, listening, hearing their thoughts,” he explained. “And when you play with members, you can get suggestions and a better understanding of any concerns they have because you can see for yourself what’s going on and what all the course conditions are like. I have a good relationship with our greenskeeper, Ron Proch, who is doing a fantastic job here at Briarwood.”
Turczyn said he is in it for the long run.
“I have a general philosophy that if you respect others, they will respect you,” he said. “I tend to treat people the way I would want to be treated.” Knowing that Briarwood has many members who are seasonal, Turczyn believes the club should be their home away from home.
“Retirees, as well as everyone else, should come to Briarwood to relax and have fun,” he said.
For membership information, contact Robert Bubon, membership director, at 623-556-8807, or email [email protected].
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