When did you begin golfing, and whow were the most influential people in your life?

I first picked up a club when I was seven. Both my grandfather and my uncle were scratch players. My grandfather was shooting his age into his late sixties before he passed away from a heart attack.

Both my parents were athletes, they loved golf. On Sundays, my parents, myself and my younger brother would go to church together, then lunch, then golf. So it quickly supplemented baseball and other sports because it meant being with my family; plus I enjoyed getting better at it.

Then of course when you start winning tournaments and beating older kids, all of a sudden it catches on and becomes as addictive as anything else you can imagine at a young age.

Did you always assume you would get better at it?

I had certainly hoped so because I so loved the game. I would walk as much as 54 holes a day, from sun up to sun down. It got to a point where I would be skipping days from high school to go play golf; the principal would call my mom at work saying your son's not in school. My mom would put him on hold, call the pro shop and ask if they've seen me. And they would say, 'Oh yeah, we've seen Alan a while ago.'

So I knew it was a passion and, being a decent young athlete, I hoped the game would take to me as much as I took to it.

Which golfers did you admire growing up?

This might sound obscure, but I admired Wayne Levi and Fred Couples. People forget that Wayne was the 1990 PGA Tour Player of the Year.

He grew up in my hometown and my uncle actually played college golf with him. So here I had a PGA Tour professional from my home town. So you can imagine all throughout my childhood in the 1980s, growing up in central New York where they hosted the B.C. Open, this was like having exposure to a homegrown hero at the top of his game.

Most people don't know who he is, but he had success.

Editor's note: Wayne Levi won the B.C. Open in 1984; Fred Couples in 1991.

So naturally his success meant a lot to you

It certainly did. On weeks when he wasn't traveling the tour, you would find him at the local golf courses (private and public). Being from central New York he truly was a middle class guy and he never changed, even after winning PGA Tour events. I always thought that was very admirable.

What's the strongest part of your golf game and how did it get that way?

My strength has always been driving and ball striking in general. I'd like to point out a quote that sums up my approach - "the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."

That was something that meant a lot to me growing up. I was only going to get what I was going to put in. I was also brought up to believe that practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. It's ironic that the ideas that became popular later with people like Lynn Marriot and Vision54 was part of my routine.

During my range sessions I would play 18 holes in my mind and concentrate on hitting shots I would need on the golf course. So when it came to the driver, I imagined hitting shots in what amounted to golf course conditions as opposed to sending shots into this big, wide open field where it didn't matter where it landed.

What essential piece of golf equipment can you not live without?

That is such a great question!

I will not play a round without my custom Maryland Tinbox Scorecard Holder in my back pocket. It means a lot to me as a middle-class kid from Syracuse. If I didn't get on a golf scholarship, God only knows what my choices would've been. Having had the opportunity to play for a nationally-ranked program like Maryland's - I owe a lot back to that place.

Do you have a favorite golf course or course architect?

I belong to a C.B. Macdonald course and National Golf Links of America is my favorite golf course I've played. I would certainly list him as my favorite architect among old school classic designers. In terms of present day courses, I have yet to play a Jack Nicklaus design that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed and felt challenged by.

Drive, chip or putt? Which skill is the most essential to shooting lower scores?

Drive. You can't shoot lower scores from the trees.

We've all been in situations where we've hit a wavered drive, chipped it out sideways, stuffed a 7-iron and made a 10- footer for par. But you can't make a living doing that.