Birch Hills’ LaBarge is Happy With Direction of His Career

Growing up in Orange County, Steve LaBarge was one of those kids who rarely strayed far from the golf course.

Soon after he picked up the game at 14, LaBarge got a job as a range and cart attendant at Los Coyotes County Club in Buena Park. “During the summer,” LaBarge said, “I would be there from sunup to sundown.”

Soon he was a better than average player, and an all-league player for Kennedy High and an all-conference player for Cypress College. He was good but realistic. “I knew I didn’t have the ability to play the tour,” he said, “so I decided to become a club professional.”

It’s a career LaBarge has thrived in. He started as an assistant pro at the Navy Golf Course in Cypress and in 1983 finished second in the Southern California PGA assistants championship. He has been head pro at Birch Hills for 12 years. He’s a salesman--like many head professionals, he owns the pro shop.

LaBarge is helping prepare Birch Hills, a 3,250-yard executive course, to open a mostly rebuilt back nine. Cal Olson, the architect of Coyote Hills, designed six new holes and remodeled another hole at Birch Hills. The new back nine is expected to open mid-September.

LaBarge’s schedule is jammed, but he’s exactly where he wants to be--on a golf course. “Although I don’t get to play as much as I want to,” he said, “I can’t think of anything better to be.”

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Profiel

* Name: Steve LaBarge

* Age: 37

* Course: Birch Hills Golf Course

* Education: Cypress College

* Tip: “90% of a successful golf swing falls to your pre-shot routine. If that’s off you’ve got to make other mistakes in your swing to hit the shot correctly.”