Greg “Bearcat” Rogers wrapped his paws around a golf club for the first time about four decades ago.
“Back around 1974, when I was only 11 years old, my parents took me to a local nine-hole course close to our cottage on Sharbot Lake,” said Rogers. “From the minute I swung my first club I was hooked. I haven't been able to shake that feeling for 39 years.”
He got his start with Executive Golf and the organization’s Slammer Tour in 2009 when after checking out AuctionMart online he came across an offer from EG.
“When I pulled up their website, I saw an intriguing trip they were putting together for a spring getaway to Binghamton, NY,” Rogers said. “After a quick, yet enlightening call to Darcy Jenkins at EG, I decided to give it a go.
“He suggested trying out an indoor event at Golf-O-Max first to see if it was a good fit. I met some pretty cool people that night and decided to go for it. My first outdoor round in Bingo became my true intro to the Slammer Tour.”
That positive first impression has stuck with the lefty ever since and Rogers credits the camaraderie he experienced with tour players four years back for maintaining his desire to compete on the tour.
“I believe it’s the members of the Slammer Tour, who are the best part, for being responsible for its success,” he said.
Roger’s most vivid Slammer Tour memory is of a comedy-of-errors match he played against Jim “Grumpy” Backs.
“I'll never forget my third outdoor round match against Grumpy, who was also brand new to the Slammer Tour. It was an epic battle that we both kept trying to lose to each other with our exhibition that best resembled Dorf on Golf. The competitive spirit became secondary because the match was simply sooo much fun.”
So how did the G4S Cash Solutions staffer get his Slammer Tour Bearcat nickname?
“The origin of the name stems from a chat with Bell Canada. I was being pressured to ID my new e-mail account and my cat named Bear was sitting in front of me. Need I say more? Of course, I now get called anything from Cat, Bear, Kitty, Beercat, etc.
“Jamie Ryan, The Commish of the Slammer Tour, extracted the Bearcat name from my e-mail address and verified that I was good with it as my Slammer nickname. It was all done affectionately – I think. Being a lefty, I'm trained to handle such abuse.”
- Favourite golfer – I think the golfer who most influenced my game was Fred Couples in his prime. I loved his smooth and effortless swing, which generated a lot of power and combined with his amazing short iron game.
- Favourite course – Since first trying it a few years ago, I've become a big fan of Smuggler’s Glen Golf Course.
- Favourite hole – It's there you'll find my favourite hole. Hole No. 4 is a short yet extremely challenging par five that makes you earn your score.
- Favourite food – A tasty rack of ribs.
- Favourite movie – Although I'm not big into war films, Kelly's Heroes is still one of my favourite films ever.
- Favourite TV show – I'm currently hooked on the sharp wit of The Big Bang Theory. Anyone who doesn't see humour there likely doesn't laugh much.
- Favourite actress – Charlize Theron defines beauty meets talent.
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