Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/165357
iG1308--proof2 8/27/13 2:09 PM Page 1 BY ALFIE LAU Bryn Parry Rediscovers Success In Professional Golf By taking a small step back, Bryn Parry has made huge leaps in his professional golf career. Last autumn, while on a golf trip in Ireland where he was golfing every day for a week, Parry noticed that he was getting sluggish. "We're golfing some great courses, having drinks and dinner and by the end, I was so tired and that's when I knew I had to get my fitness up," said the 41-year-old PGA of BC member from North Vancouver. "I started running and getting into better shape and I think that's been a big part of what's happened so far." Parry has had a year to remember on the golf course. Victories on the TOP: PARRY HOISTS THE PD ROSS TROPHY AFTER WINNING THE PGA OF CANADA CHAMPIONSHIP. MIDDLE: PARRY SHOWS OFF HIS SMOOTH SWING IN CHILLIWACK. BOTTOM: PARRY IS ALSO COMFORTABLE WORKING A ROOM OF GOLF PROFESSIONALS L 2013 PGA OF BC IN REVIEW Vancouver Golf Tour have padded Parry's pocketbook, but his huge comeback win at the PGA of Canada Championships at the Magna Golf Course in Aurora, Ontario not only earned Parry the P.D. Ross Trophy and $15,000 in first-place money, it got him into the field for this year's RBC Canadian Open where he played well but missed the cut. Parry won the PGA of Canada final 2&1 over Ontario's Billy Walsh, mere hours after he dispatched No. 1 seed Brian McCann 4&2 in the semi-finals. But it was in the quarterfinals where the plan Parry plotted last fall really paid dividends. Trailing Quebec's Marc Girouard by four after eight holes, Parry never let himself think the match was lost. "I was concerned, but I knew I had 10 holes left and if I could birdie a few of them, I was going to be back in the match," said Parry. "I thought that if I really started to play well, I could pressure him and he'd give me a hole or two and then I'm right back in it." Parry also noticed that his 52-year-old opponent was visibly tiring and that gave him an extra boost of energy. Parry would win four straight holes to even the match after 12 before winning two-up. "Am I surprised how the year's gone? No," said Parry. "I put a plan in place last autumn and by working at it, the results are coming." A closer look into Parry's mindset all throughout the tournament is all part of the work Parry did with Aussie Neale Smith a decade earlier. Smith, then a Canadian Tour competitor alongside Parry, was a big proponent of the mental side of golf. "Neale would talk to me with his Aussie accent about how I had to practise and how I had to mentally ready myself for success," said Parry. "It's still so vividly clear to me what he was saying to me because I can still hear him saying it to me in his Aussie accent." Parry learned the difference between practising and exercising, going from endlessly hammering balls with the same club to hitting no more than two balls in a row with the same club. Parry ALL IMAGES COURTESY PGA OF BC COVER STORY Bryn has discovered fitness is the secret to continued success on the golf course also realized that the secret to scoring was not necessarily making more birdies, but it was eliminating the mistakes that led to more bogeys. And it all resonated in his mind because he kept on hearing Smith's Aussie accent. The improvement would come quickly, but so would real life, as Parry, along with wife Debbie, started a family and suddenly, golf wasn't the only important thing in Parry's life. Parry, who missed the cut at the 2001 Air Canada Championship at Northview, also played in the 2007 Canadian Open at Angus Glen, but it was forgettable for an entirely different reason. "I was sick as a dog and I didn't even get in a practice round," said Parry. "It was a tough time, but I really wanted to play the Canadian Open." Parry has balanced his playing career with teaching a growing stable of students. Now firmly ensconced at the Seymour Creek Golf Centre in North Vancouver, Parry taught previously at The Redwoods in Langley and Burnaby Mountain. At Seymour Creek, Parry gets advice and help from Vancouver Golf Tour commissioner Fraser Mulholland and PGA of BC members Dave Zibrik and James Legault. The close-knit group is able to bounce ideas off each other and impart advice to their students. Many of Parry's students are fellow competitors on the Vancouver Golf Tour and they'd best listen when Parry doles out advice. During this July's Chilliwack Open, won by Parry in a playoff over Adam Hadwin, Parry had an early morning tee time on the first day. One of his students also finished early and they compared their routines after that first round. "I drove 90 minutes back home to spend time with my family, went for a run and had a great picnic before I drove out the next day to finish the tournament," said Parry, who said his student spent the rest of the first day practicing and trying to get ready for the final round. "That's something I probably would have done before I had kids, but I realize now that you need to have some balance and golf is a five-hour event in my 24-hour day. That's part of the mental growth I've gone through, to put golf in the right perspective for me." And that perspective includes finding the right balance between family, fitness, practice, teaching and fun. On the topic of fun, Parry tells a great story of what happened when he reached a couple of significant milestones. "My dad promised me $1,000 when I broke 70 for the first time," said Parry. "When I did, he took me to the bank and they gave me this crisp, new $1,000 bill. I took it, held it and gave it right back because I had to pay for my car insurance." The tangible benefit Parry received for breaking 60 was even more rewarding. "I was playing Club West in Phoenix with my wife and another couple," said Parry. "First day, I shot 65 from the (men's) tees and on the second day, Debbie and I played off the front tees. I shot 27 on the front nine and 29 on the back nine. I had 12 birdies and two eagles. I shot 56 and I missed a seven-footer on 18 that would've made it a 55. I did get a kiss from my wife afterwards." Parry, who turns 42 in October, knows time is running out if he is to make another stab at playing on a big tour. That's why he's planning to go to Europe this September and go through their rigorous qualifying school to try to win a card there. "I'm really excited to test myself and see if I can earn my card there," said Parry. "My eyes are wide open." What Parry knows is that by setting his mind to a goal, he can achieve it so it wouldn't surprise anybody, least of all Parry, if he's able to taste success on the other side of the pond. "I don't reflect or look back on what I've done, both positive and negative," said Parry. "I have to look ahead, see what the next goal is and execute a plan toward reaching that goal. That's my focus now."