New Game, New Thinking: Tommy Gainey profile

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As part of the New Game, New Thinking series (click here to learn more), PGATOUR.COM freelance writer Rudy Klancnik profiles Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey.

For the most part, interviewing rookie golfers takes a pretty similar path. I ask insightful questions and receive insightful and well-crafted tidbits about the player's life and times. To be fair, these guys certainly aren't cookie cutters, but most of them do have a lot in common when it comes to their backgrounds.

• Started golf early at a country club: Check
• College pedigree: Check
• Nationwide Tour success: Check
• Big PGA TOUR aspirations: Check
• One golf glove: Check.

Then, there's 32-year-old rookie Tommy Gainey.

Since Mr. Gainey's story is a bit different, I've decided to make the format for this particular story a bit different as well. I posed the following question:

So, Tommy, what was your path to the big leagues of the PGA TOUR?

His answer is below ...

"Well, that's a pretty interesting story. I'm a pretty interesting guy. My route to the TOUR, um, let me see ... I graduated in 1993 from Central Carolina Technical College (Sumtner, S.C.) and studied industrial maintenance. There were a lot of good jobs doing mechanical work, so it seemed to make sense. I got a job at A.O. Smith as a temp for eight months. Then I moved to the assembly line for eight months. We made water heaters.

"A buddy of mine thought I had enough game to play in the American Airlines East Coast Open at Woodcreek Farms, S.C., so he gave me $500 of the $750 entry fee (I paid the rest) and I entered. It was a Teardrop Tour event. And I somehow won the thing. I just wanted to see how I stacked up against some good players. After all, I was working six days a week at the plant so it wasn't like I had much time to practice. But I won $15,000.

"I went back to work Monday. That Friday, I decided to put my two weeks in and pursue a career in golf. But at 21, I didn't understand how much it was going to cost. I was paying more than I can bring in. My dad helped me with a $20,000 check from his savings account. But when both of my parents had some health issues, I went back to work moving furniture. I did that for two years. I then went back to A.O. Smith but got laid off.

"David Lucas rallied some friends to put together enough money for me to give it another go. I played in the Grey Goose Gateway Tour, the Tar Heel Tour, some Hooters Tournaments and then made it to the Big Break II on GOLF CHANNEL. I was eliminated after the seventh show at St. Andrews. If you're going to get the boot, not a bad place to go out. The viewers picked the players for Big Break VII. They picked their favorite stories, and I guess they liked mine. I ended up winning Big Break VII and got some exemptions on the Nationwide [Tour}.

"I then tried q-school and finished 19th and earned my card on the first crack. Not bad. I went from working my tail off to the best job ever in a matter of a few years. I still can't believe I'm out here. It wouldn't have been possible without my friends and family. I never thought I had the game for this level, but they always were pumping me up and pushing me in this direction. I've played like crap this year, and I make no excuses for that. But I'm hitting the ball really well and I've got some putts in me to make a move down the stretch."

OK, that's quite an answer to one question, but I just didn't want to get in the way. One more quick question for Tommy Gainey:

Why in the world do you wear golf gloves on both hands even when you're putting?

"It started when my dad taught me to play baseball, and I just never stopped. It's my trademark for sure."