Tides grad celebrates birthday by attending golf college

Gifford Olson’s dream is to play golf on the professional circuit

MARQUES HUNTER

of the Gateway

Gifford Olson is getting the best birthday present he’s ever received. The Gig Harbor High School graduate, who played three years of golf with the Tides, leaves today for Southern California — on his 19th birthday — to attend the Professional Golfers Career College.

“I certainly can’t wait to get out and go to California,” Olson said.

PGCC is a two-year technical college that specializes in educating students in professional golf management.

Whether or not Olson plays professionally, one thing is certain: Golf will play a role in his life.

“Golf is what I do,” Olson said. “It’s the only passion in my life.”

Olson said he can’t wait to get out of the Northwest and to Southern California, where the weather is mostly sunny.

Since he was 4, Olson said he remembers watching his father Gifford play in local club tournaments on Saturday mornings.

“If it wasn’t for my dad, I probably wouldn’t be playing,” Olson said.

The father-son relationship has since grown. As a young boy, Olson used to hit golf balls for five hours straight.

Nearly every day, he practices at the Gig Harbor Golf Club, either at a putting station or by walking a nine-hole round by himself or with his dad.

“We always play together,” Olson said.

Olson’s high school career didn’t size up the way he would have liked, though. He was the only Tides player to qualify for state last year, but he shot an 82 on the first day of competition and missed the cut by four strokes.

Olson placed 19th at state during his freshman year.

While his high school successes weren’t extraordinary, Olson has continued to work on his form and technique. He said he’s seen the most improvement in his driving ability, but he needs to sharpen his short game.

“It just falls back on how I putt that day,” Olson said.

As an 8-year-old, Olson said he was about an eight handicap. On a good day, he’ll shoot the upper 60s to low 70s.

But he understands his game needs constant repetition.

Recently, the Gig Harbor Golf Club held a men’s championship, during which he placed third. Olson said he tries to play 18 holes every day.

“When I was 12, I won (junior) state and I wanted to keep getting better and better,” he said.

Winning the Washington Junior Golf Association tournament was a hint to Olson that simply playing wasn’t the answer. At that time, he quit playing baseball and soccer when he was 13 to focus on golf.

“I’m trying to get better so after school I can get a good coach and try and make it nationwide,” he said.

After earning his two-year degree from PGCC, Olson has plans of transferring to San Diego State University.

That is, if he doesn’t go nationwide.

“The fall-back is a degree in golf management,” he said.

The unique school provides in-depth education in a variety of fields, such as golf instruction, golf sales, golf marketing and golf administration, according to www.golfcollege.edu.

Along with gaining a deeper understanding of the golfing industry, PGCC also offers math, English and business. Olson said the class sizes are small, so he can receive good one-on-one help from the instructors.

“I’m just going to be golfing a lot more,” he said.

Olson’s lecture classes are from 8 a.m. to noon, and he plans to golf until dusk. The players will compete in tournaments within the college, as well as other league tournaments.

“It’s going to be beginning another journey in my life,” he said. “I’m more excited just to go somewhere else and do something different.”

Olson considered attending a college in-state, but he said he wouldn’t get to play as much, primarily because of the rainy seasons.

To him, this option seemed like a better opportunity.

Todd Christensen, an assistant golf pro at Gig Harbor Golf Club, graduated from PGCC last December and said Olson should benefit from going there.

“It opens up your eyes to so many aspects of the game,” Christensen said.

An employee of the golf club for five months, Christensen said PGCC provides students different ways of growing into the golfing industry.

Whether it’s making the clubs, cutting greens or even running a golf shop, Christensen said he left with more than just an improved golf game.