Blog by: Margarita Azaria
Junior Ryan McManus is the second golfer in Oak Park history to achieve a hole in one. He earned this honor in Hole 7 at Hodge Park.
“It feels great. It’s something that people who play all their lives don’t get to experience, and I’m glad to leave that kind of mark at Oak Park,” McManus said.
McManus’s father taught him how to play. Not even McManus’s own father has achieved a hole in one, even after playing for forty years, and McManus has only been playing for four years.
“We kind of joke around about it,” McManus said.
In golf you aim to have the lowest score and knowing that, McManus practices in season around two to three hours a day. While he’s off season, he practices for about three to four times a day.
“I have a passion for golf and that drives me,” he said.
Athletes tend to have a place in their mind that sends motivation and inspires them to work and perform better. McManus’s inspirations are his father and many professional golfers on tour like Rory Mcllroy and Jason Dufner.
“They just set the standard for our generation for golfers and that’s something I admire,” McManus said. “They bring a sense of athleticism to the game and style. They are very unique in the way they play.”
McManus likes to believe he has a unique style as well.
McManus said, “I like to think I don’t show a lot of emotion and try to play with a sense of class.”
McManus would like to play at the next level, but, as he said, “It really depends on how the rest of the season goes and next year’s season.”
Having golf be a part of McManus’s life from a young age and from playing for 4 years now, McManus’s said, “Golf has taught me how to be a gentleman, how to be patient with myself and others, and how to be mentally sharp.”