Finding fun on the golf course

Now that he has three children under the age of 8, a few thousand dollars in earnings and quite a bit of time as a professional golfer under his belt, Todd Eastin is taking it easy on the golf course.

And he's loving it.

Eastin, a 39-year-old Jackson resident, began playing golf as a child with his father, the co-owner of a golf course in Illinois. Eastin played in several junior tournaments before competing on his high school team in Flora, Ill. After graduation, he spent two years on Lincoln Trail Junior College's golf team and shortly thereafter began working at the Rend Lake (Ill.) Public Golf Course, where he became a professional golfer. Eastin then moved to St. Louis, teaching various golf clinics for all ages.

"When I was in St. Louis, I was employed solely as a teaching pro," he said. "All I did was clinics, junior programs, golf schools and private lessons. It was very enjoyable just getting to teach other people about the game."

He had his most successful professional year in 1995, when he earned $4,000 worth of prize money from various golf tournaments. He shot a personal-record 8-under-par 64 to earn first place at the Pepsi Pro-Am when he was 28.

In 1997, Eastin moved to Jackson and began work at Kimbeland Country Club. Two years later, he went back to college to earn a degree in computer science in 1999, at which point his golf game came to a halt and he retrieved his amateur status.

"When you're trying to get a computer science degree and you have kids, it's tough to find time to play a lot," he said. "My time goes to my three children."

Not that he would have it any other way.

"My happiness comes from my faith in Jesus Christ," he said, "and that Jesus gave me my family to take care of."

Eastin now works as the operations managers at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau. He still finds time to hit the ball around once every couple weeks, competing about once a month in Dalhousie's club events and playing tournaments a couple times a year. Eastin also plays on Dalhousie's Cup Team, a 12-man squad that competes against the best of the best golfers from other clubs around Southeast Missouri.

"I'm just a recreational player now," he said. "Last year I played in a tournament, and I placed and won some merchandise. It's nothing to jump up and down about. I did qualify for the state amateur tournament and missed match play by only a shot. I had a great time, though."

Along with his success throughout his lifelong golf adventure, Eastin has had memorable experiences. During his golf instruction stint in St. Louis, he enjoyed teaching former St. Louis Cardinals' pitchers Bob Forsch and Rick Honeycutt.

"Professional athletes are really fun to work with," Eastin said. "You'll tell them to do something or how to fix their swing and they listen and fix it right away; kids are a little different."

Eastin also competed against this year's British Open champion Todd Hamilton during his senior year in 1982 at the Illinois High Schools Association Golf Championships. Hamilton finished first, while Eastin took 20th.

"I remember talking to him, but he'd never remember me," Eastin said. "It's interesting to look back on now."

Eastin would like to see Dalhousie become the best private country club in the country someday. In the meantime, he said he's glad that his highly competitive days are over and he can enjoy a relaxing golf outing every now and then without the pressure that he's had in the past.

"I will say that when I do play, I have more fun playing than I've ever had in my life," he said. "There's no pressure; it's all for the love of the game. When I was playing as a professional, it was a job. It's not a job anymore; it's just fun."

Mark Unterreiner is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian. His Spotlight feature appears every Thursday.