Blog written by Joel German
So here’s a question: What does the average golfer want to experience when he/she heads out for a round of golf?
There are undoubtedly many good answers to this question. For example, your humble blogger wants to see fairways that will expand when they sense a slice coming. Also greens that will self-undulate and lead every wayward putt into the hole.
Needless to say, I’m still searching. But, in lieu of these two features, I imagine most golfers want the experience of playing on well-maintained fairways and greens. They also want their pre-round registration to be seamless and friendly, maybe with a neighborly greeting thrown in for good measure. Oh, and let us not discount the opportunity to get better at this confounding, wonderful game.
In other words, they want what the Northport Golf Club offers every day.
There are two primary people responsible for making sure that folks who golf at NGC are going to have a pleasant experience. These are John Hickson, P.G.A. Head Professional, and Mario Linardo, GCSAA Superintendent.
Most folks don’t think of Hampden, Maine first when asked where the typical P.G.A. professional was raised. However, John Hickson does share at least one trait shared by many teaching pros: He fell in love with golf at an early age playing with his dad. His mom joined in later and John’s love for the game, both the playing of it and the teaching of it, grew accordingly. Even as a kid in middle school John would find himself helping out his buds, having just digested a new lesson or technique from one of the numerous golf magazines he devoured. After all, his mom was a teacher so those instructional genes were already there.
After graduating the University of Maine Orono with a business management degree, John began his professional career as an assistant working in the pro shop. It’s safe to say that for every successful golf teacher, and John was recognized in 2024 as Maine’s top golf instructor by Golf Digest, there are several mentors and advisors who helped along the way. John is quick to give them credit. “I had the opportunity to work with or learn from many wonderful teachers,” he says. “And I continue to explore the new ideas that come along to explain how to play the game of golf.”
We asked John what is the most common error he confronts when teaching. He answered that trying to get people to hit the ball then the ground in that order instead of ground then ball is very common. He says that many golfers try to get under the ball to make it rise and that just results in fat shots that churn up a lot of turf and not much else.
Been there, John!
Some golf professionals avoid competition, not wanting their reputations to take a hit after a bad result. John welcomes it and competes regularly. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. Competition helps me stay involved in the game. I just enjoy when those good shots show up under some pressure.”
John’s attraction to NGC goes back to those childhood days with his parents visiting the area and even then being captivated by the setting. We can all understand that. The other detail that stood out to young John was the club’s deck which reminded him of a similar feature on his grandmother’s house. Perhaps those strong childhood memories explain why John is such a supporter of Junior Golf. The club offers free clinics on Saturdays from May 31-July 5 for golfers aged 6-17.
So given these strong childhood images, was John Hickson actually destined to become the Head Pro at Northport Golf Club? Sorry but that’s too big a question for even your humble blogger to try to answer.
But the members and guests of the venerable Northport Golf Club are all quite happy it worked out that way.
The next blog entry will focus on NGC’s new GCSAA Certified Superintendent, Mario Linardo.
-Joel German