PONCA CITY, Okla. –
His name is Dan McGregor, but to the residents in Ponca City, he is simply known as Coach.
“I coached for 44 years. I coached wrestling, and football, and golf, and tennis and track, and basketball,” said coach turned golfer Dan McGregor.
Now retired and 83 years young. Coach spends his days on the golf course.
“Play six times a week, every day but Sunday. And usually, we’re the first tee time every morning,” said McGregor.
And that’s not just when the weather permits.
“Yeah, we pretty much play year-round. Now, sometimes in late January or early February, there’ll be some days when the greens are frozen, and we can’t play. But we’ll put on our gloves and hand warmers and go play when we can,” said McGregor.
When you spend as much time as Coach does out here on the course, you’re bound to have some success. And while he refers to it as luck, it’s happened far too many times to chalk this up to luck.
“Well, it takes a little skill and a little luck, and I think I have a little more luck than skill,” said McGregor.
Most professional golfers aim for a golf score in the sixties or seventies
“I usually shoot in the middle seventies,” said McGregor.
After watching him, you start to get the sense, he might be downplaying his game a little bit.
“I don’t hit it very long, but I have eagled every hole out here,” said McGregor.
Something you won’t hear him brag about is hitting a hole in one.
“Yeah, I’ve had seventeen of them, which is kind of amazing. Two this year. I had one the first of February and one the first of June,” said McGregor.
Of course, he doesn’t hit every shot just right; there is a method to his success.
“I hit it straight but not very far, and sometimes it gets lucky and goes in the hole,” said McGregor.
