Justin Isaacks
PERSONAL – Justin was born and raised in Sacramento and still lives there. He’s the Driving Range Manager at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex, which is a top 100 driving range in the country. Justin played a bit of golf in his younger years but really picked it up again during Covid.
TIE TO THE MONTEMAR – A week after I had reluctantly took the job to come help manage Bartley Cavanaugh Golf Course, I came to the realization that we were way under-staffed. Our company has six golf courses and all job postings are placed by our human resources manager. I asked her to place an add for a cashier and a week later she sent me what she thought were the top 15 applicants who had applied. She said all the rest were “shit.” I thought the ones she had sent me were shit so, just for giggles, I had her send me the resumes of the other 100 or so applicants. Justin had never worked in golf but was the only applicant intelligent enough to write the word on his resume, explaining that he loved the game and felt he would be great for the position. He was the only person I called and I hired him a week later.
He turned out to be so good at the job that six months later when I saw that the owners were looking for somebody with food and beverage experience (Justin previously owned his own bar) to manage our flagship driving range, Justin immediately came to mind. He like the idea, I sent over a good word, and he did the rest to earn the position. He’s elevated the driving range to new heights, adding top tracer technology to over 50 stalls, building bars, bringing in live music, and a number of other things to make one of the best driving ranges in the world even better…. And we got another great addition to the Montemar. Good thing I didn’t hire one of the initial 15 applicants.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MONTEMAR -Justin has been great in adding some great people to this event and I’ve got a feeling he’ll add some more to the future. Anything he can do with the driving range in terms of prizes would be greatly appreciated.
WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN IN 2023– His office is 20 yards from 100 hitting stalls and he has access to unlimited range balls and top tracer technology, the practice putting and chipping area is 30 yards in the other direction, yet Justin works so hard he rarely finds the time to use them. For Justin to compete at the Montemar he’s going to have to schedule time to improve all areas of his game. His tournament handicap is fair and his scramble team is solid but lacks a stud. He owns the record for closest to the pin and he can really help himself if he can continue to fire darts at the par 3s.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN 2023 – Justin came out hot on the par 3’s and won the first one he played. That was the only thing he did well on opening day, as the greens at TPC Scottsdale proved too difficult for a guy used the land of the practice greens at the Haggin Oaks Driving Range. The net version of the scramble went real well for Justin and crew, the gross not so much. Him and Paul Arrington ended the day really strong and Justin shot an 85 for himself, but they drew some tough luck in the draft and were knocked out in the match by Mike Lee and Clancy, a 25 point swing that cost Justin his first top 10 finish.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2024 – His payment points will be better than they were last year and his knowledge of the format has only improved. A proven stick to help carry his scramble team would go a long ways to propelling him forward and keeping him in the hunt come Monday. He’s still got all the resources in the world to help shape himself into the golfer he can be. Whether or not he will use them is anybody’s guess. If he gets his last payment in early and drafts well I think we could see Justin in the hunt come Monday.
ODDS TO WIN – 38-1
FUN FACT – I once saw Justin almost murder another human. Literally, with a golf ball. More on this when we get to Aaron Schurer.
MONTEMARS PLAYED – 2 (2022 – SACRAMENTO, 2023 - SCOTTSDALE)
MONTEMAR ROUNDS PLAYED – 4 (2022 – YOCHE DEHE, 2023 – TPC SCOTSDALE/TS O’ODHAAM/TS PIIPAASH)
LIFETIME POINT TOTAL – 286.5
JACKETS WON – 0
TOP 3 FINISHES – 0
TOP 5 FINISHES – 0
TOP 10 FINISHES – 0
RECORDS – 1 (Closest winning CTP shot – Yoche 16, 2022)
TOURNAMENT HANDICAP - 20
INVITED BY – Oliver Kenyon
PLAYERS INVITED - 4 (Aaron Schurer, Brooks Marino, Sean Isaacks, Phill Kerr)
PRIZES DONATED – I think Justin is donating a range card for the Haggin Oaks Driving Range
