Mike has been the head pro at Harmony Landing since 1990. Justin was born three years later and quickly became a fixture at his father’s office.
“The members have supported him since Day 1,” Mike said. They “pushed me out the door,” Mike said, to caddie for Justin at the 2009 Wyndham. Mike had planned to stay at Harmony Landing because the course’s member-member was the same week.
“Every member and guest who comes into Harmony Landing wants to hear Justin stories.”
Justin’s early success has induced comparisons to Jordan Spieth, with whom Thomas has competed since junior golf. Both made PGA TOUR cuts while in high school and represented the U.S. in the Walker Cup, amateur golf’s version of the Ryder Cup.
Justin was college golf’s player of the year in 2012. He beat out fellow freshman Spieth for the honor; they were 1-2 in Golfweek’s individual rankings. Thomas won a school-record six times in two seasons at Alabama, and led the team to the 2013 NCAA title.
Jay Seawell, the head coach at Alabama, said Thomas’ biggest strength is his ability to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Take the 2013 Web.com Tour Q-School, where he rebounded from a third-round 78 to shoot 69-66-65 over the final three rounds and earn full status. He had just three scores higher than 72 in 20 Web.com Tour starts last year, needing just one season on that circuit to graduate to the PGA TOUR.
“Mike gave him a … love of playing. He didn’t make him a lover of golf swings,” Seawell said. “Mike did a great job of making Justin love Nos. 1-18. He was always on the golf course, playing with his dad. I think the more you play, the more you value the score.”
Father and son competed early and often, and weren’t afraid to exchange friendly banter. Mike was an all-conference player at Morehead (Kentucky) State. He relied on a strong short game that was good enough to challenge his son for many years.
At 2 years old, Justin would say, “Bag of balls,” when he wanted to head to the driving range, Mike said. Justin was there all day during the summer, allowed free reign of the facilities. An assistant pro or Jani would often watch the pro shop in the late afternoon so Mike could play some holes with his son.
When Mike encouraged his son to take days off after weeks competing on the road, he’d usually see Justin at the course by late-morning.
Mike has been his son’s only instructor, but he intentionally took a laissez-faire approach with his son. Setup, plane and path were their focus, Mike said. Seawell credits Mike for “letting this be Justin’s journey.”
“I tell so many of my students that I’ve spent so much more time with you than I have with Justin,” Mike Thomas said. “I teach him very little. I always did teach him very little. I told him when he was 8 or 10 years old, ‘You know where I’m at if you need help, but if I’m teaching I may only have five minutes to give you.”