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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Craig Perks
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Home Phone: -- Golf – Making The Turn: Perks deals with business schedule January 26, 2011 Daily Advertiser, Dan McDonald Craig Perks has never had a lot of free time on his hands, and the former Tournament Players Championship winner is pretty much a perfectionist when it comes to anything that involves golf. But now, he’ll likely be the busiest person in the Acadiana golf community for 2011. He has a new job, one at a club and course that’s redefining itself with an improved facility and new personnel. He’s going to be one of the most frequent faces that watchers of the Golf Channel will see during Nationwide Tour and PGA Tour broadcasts this year. And, he’s trying to actually play a little more golf. “I’m going to try to get out and play at least a couple or three times a week,” he said from his new office at Le Triomphe. “I think it’s important to get out there and see how the course is, and also play with our members and see what they think, what they’re looking for to make it a better experience for them.” Getting that feedback is even more important now to the former Ragin’ Cajun standout, in his new position as Director of Golf at Le Triomphe. Perks was named to that post in the club’s recent personnel shakeup that included the departure of friend and long-time golf director David Church. Now, instead of concentrating on teaching, which is what he’s mostly done since he retired from the Tour in 2007, he’s overseeing most of the club’s golf operation along with new LT general manager Donna Waterbury. “What Donna’s brought in is a new look at every detail of the club,” Perks said. “We’ve got new construction, new locker rooms “» we already had some of the best facilities in the state with the course and the teaching facility, and now our overall service is going to live up to that. “With some of the places I’ve been fortunate enough to play, I’ve seen so many things we can do. We’re absolutely going to aspire to a high level of member service.” Visits to Augusta to play in three Masters, a spot in the British Open, frequent trips to the nation’s TPC facilities and many of the world’s other best-known golf layouts came as a benefit of Perks winning the 2002 Players title. He took mental notes at those stops, and his goal is to implement some of those ideas. The toughest part may be finding enough hours to fit that in. Along with his new role at Le Triomphe, Perks will soon take the first of 20 weeks on the road this season as a television commentator for the Golf Channel. He will be the lead analyst — the guy in the tower on the 18th hole — for 13 Nationwide Tour events on the network, and he’ll serve as a hole analyst for seven PGA Tour events. That’ll put him on the road for more than 100 days by the end of the golf season. “When Donna approached me (for the director post), I was pretty adamant about continuing my broadcasting,” he said. “I do enjoy it. I certainly don’t miss the travel that we had to do when I was playing, but I love being in the locker room and talking to the guys. It’s a perfect scenario for me “» I’ve been around the game all my life, and it’s a nice break and I think I’ll come back refreshed. “I think it gives our club great credibility, when I’m seen on the broadcast and someone mentions Le Triomphe, and the members get to see you on TV on Sunday and then see you here at the course on Tuesday. Does it help the bottom line? I hope it does, that and the level of service we’re trying to give.” Along with Waterbury, Perks will lean extensively on staffers Jeff Perry and John Hargrave. For the time being, a search for a head professional is on hold, and Perks said that job titles aren’t important right now. “I’m hoping we can create a lot more hybrid people,” he said. “We want everybody here to be strong teachers, but that can also be in the shop and out on the course. We want all our staff to know everyone out here, and be able to do something when someone else isn’t around. It’s giving a personal touch, and making sure the level of service doesn’t drop off when I leave. “Mike (Le Triomphe owner and general partner Mike Maraist) has given us a great opportunity and we’re going to make the most of it. We’re trying to think a little outside the box.” “Making the Turn” appears each Wednesday. Clubs, courses and individuals with information about local golf events may e-mail Dan McDonald, editorial director at Golfballs.com, at danmcdonald@cox.net , FAX to (337) 857-8763 or call (337) 857-8754. Listen to the “Making the Turn” radio show each Wednesday from 8-9 a.m. on ESPN SportsRadio 1420.) * * * * * * * * * * Perks starts new phase of career Dan McDonald Craig Perks is entering the next phase of his golfing life, one that for once is going to keep him close to his adopted home of the last two decades. The 2002 Players Championship winner and eight-year PGA Tour veteran has been named Director of Instruction at Le Triomphe, virtually his home course since he arrived in Lafayette in 1989. The program he plans, however, is going to encompass much more than tinkering with people’s swings. In fact, he prefers the term “performance institute.” Perks, a former All-American at UL after growing up in New Zealand, was a fanatic about health and fitness throughout his 15 years of touring as a professional golfer. But it was only in the last couple of years that he found a way to match his golf game with his conditioning, and that came through working with the Titleist Performance Institute. That $10 million facility in Oceanside, Calif., was something Perks had been looking for his entire professional life. “I learned the importance of specific performance conditioning as it relates to golf,” he said. “I was very strong in a lot of ways, I had a trainer for years and I was in phenomenal shape, but I was still lacking in a lot of areas and I didn’t realize it until I went through their program.” Perks finished in the PGA Tour’s top 150 on the money list four straight years from 2000-2003, highlighted by a storybook win in the 2002 Players meet where he became the first player to take his inaugural win at the event. Winning there gave him a five-year Tour exemption and allowed him into tournaments he’d only dreamed of playing. But his game struggled over the last three years, and he found himself wanting to cut back on the never-ending travel and spend more home time with wife Maureen and his two children (now 11 and 9). “The last two and a half years were extremely frustrating from a competitive standpoint, but it was immensely rewarding from a learning standpoint,” Perks said. “I met and worked with some of the greatest teachers and minds in golf.” One of those stops was at the Titleist institute, where he was put through a comprehensive 12-step screening program including flexibility, stability, endurance and strength. He saw improvement after only a few weeks – once he realized that, as fit and strong as he was, he was still coming up short on several of the screens. “I wish I’d gone there sooner,” he said. “I learned where my weaknesses were hurting my game. TPI had hooked me.” After he played in this fall’s Disney Classic to wrap up his final competitive season, he took part in an education program at TPI and is now certified as a Level I and Level II golf fitness instructor. He became the first PGA Tour winner to get certification. “It is that experience that he will bring to an under-construction training and teaching facility at Le Triomphe. “My passion has always been on the fitness side,” he said, “and after you go through this program, you can see where strengths and weaknesses are, and those run directly in line with people’s swing faults. It’s not a mass training because everybody’s body is different, and once the weaknesses are detected, I’m now able to show how those weaknesses affect the swing and I can provide muscle activation and body awareness drills to counter those weaknesses and improve the overall golf experience.” Similar programs are beginning to emerge among Tour players, especially since Tiger Woods’ success promoted the idea of golfer as athlete, but the Titleist group is easily the leader in the field. “They’re number one and I’m not aware of anyone else that’s that golf specific,” Perks said. “It’s really built to help golf performance.” Along with having Perks, Le Triomphe is building its own teaching and performance facility next to its current practice area. Construction is aimed at completion in the spring and will include facilities for physical screens and video swing technology. “This certainly takes us to a new level and a new direction in our instruction,” said Le Triomphe club pro David Church. “People have been teaching on the range for years, doing things a certain way, but this gives us a chance to improve players’ physical limitations and gives the best opportunity to make a good golf swing.” “I know this works,” Perks said. “I’ve lived it. I know if I had this earlier my results would have been a lot better.” Perks hopes to begin his instructional programs as soon as the all-weather facility is completed, and he said that the program and instruction will be available to all golfers and not restricted to Le Triomphe members. “We wanted to wait for the building to be there because we want this to be first-class,” he said. “We want people to be blown away by what this will do for their game. We’re not going to cut any corners. “We can provide the exercises and the instruction and I’ll provide the passion, but players will still have to do the work.” Golfers interested in receiving more information may contact Perks by e-mail at cperks@letriomphe.com. Dan McDonald’s local golf column appears each Tuesday. Clubs, courses and individuals wishing to submit items may call 289-6318, fax to 371-3341, e-mail dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com or mail to 1100 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. Please include a return phone number. Originally published in the Daily Advertiser, December 11, 2007 * * * * * * * * * * * * * Heinen-Perks Holiday Golf Classic is Becoming a December Staple When Mike Heinen won the Shell Houston Open in 1994, becoming the first modern-day UL alumnus to win on the PGA Tour, his phone wouldn�t stop ringing. Seemingly, everyone wanted the Welsh native and Lake Charles resident attached to their golf event. �People would ask me to come and do things and I did a bunch of them,� Heinen said. �But I�d show up and nobody knew I was coming, what I was doing there. I really didn�t bring anything to those events because it was like I just showed up that day.� That�s when Tom Cox, the staff at Le Triomphe and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Acadiana began hatching plans for a holiday fundraiser tournament, not too long after Heinen�s landmark victory. �Tom was the first person that asked me about it,� Heinen said, �and I told him I�d be happy to do it, but I wanted to do it right. I wanted to advertise it a lot, make it a really good event, one that people would look forward to and that would be a help to a good organization. �They said they wanted to put my name on it, and I guess that�s what I was kind of looking for.� More than a decade later, Heinen�s still attached to the event, and he and fellow UL alum � and fellow PGA Tour winner � Craig Perks will once again host the Heinen-Perks Holiday Golf Classic on Monday, Dec. 10, at Le Triomphe. The event is one of the biggest fund-raisers of the year for the local Boys and Girls Clubs, and has been that way almost from the start despite some growing pains. The combination of uncertain weather for a December event and the necessity of holding the tournament late in the year to fit in Heinen and Perks� pro schedules left some questions. �Plus, it�s tough for companies with budgets at that time of year,� Heinen said. �It�s holidays and it�s late in the year, and a lot of companies are out of that kind of budgeted money by that time. The first couple of years was a little lean, but now everybody knows it�s coming up, and they plan on it. �A lot of that�s a credit to the Boys and Girls Club being such a good organization and something that people want to support. And the weather�s been great almost every year … it amazes me how good it�s been considering how things change in south Louisiana.� The four-man scramble event is seeking entries, with entry fee $250 for single players and $1,000 for teams. The best deal is a $1,200 �Eagle� sponsorship that includes a team, a hole sponsorship and all mulligans. Entries are due by Friday, Dec. 7, but the tournament normally fills to capacity prior to the entry deadline � or when the long-range weather forecast starts coming into focus about a week ahead. �We�ve been selling out in a last-minute rush the last few years,� Heinen said. �It�s the holiday season so it�s hard for people to commit that far out, but once they start seeing that the weather�s going to be good they start calling to get in.� That�s not a complaint, though. The folks at the Boys and Girls Clubs are glad to have everyone they can possibly involve. �They get a lot of support because of what kind of organization they are, especially around the holidays,� Heinen said. �But they also put a lot of work into it. For me, it�s neat to be a part of it.� Entries are available at any of the Boys and Girls Clubs location, at Le Triomphe or at several of the other area courses, by calling Club headquarters at 268-9555 or by e-mail at ddeal@bgcacadiana.com. Dan McDonald�s local golf column appears each Tuesday. Clubs, courses and individuals wishing to submit items may call 289-6318, fax to 371-3341, e-mail to dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com or mail to 1100 Bertrand Drive, Lafayette, LA 70506. Please include a return phone number. Published in the Daily Advertiser, November 27, 2007 Perks struggles to find his game May 20, 2006 – FORT WORTH, Texas – Four years ago, former University of Louisiana star Craig Perks was on top of the golf world. He executed one of the most exciting finishes in PGA Tour history to capture the 2002 Players Championship – the widely regarded “fifth major.” “Right now I’ve completely lost it. I have no idea what I’m doing,” said Perks, slumped over and emotional after Friday’s second-round 74. He finished 10 over for 36 holes, nine strokes shy of the cut at the Bank of America Colonial. Missing the cut isn’t even the problem anymore. Perks has made a paycheck just once in 14 tries this year. “I’ve been working my ass off for two years and it’s just getting worse and worse,” said Perks, a New Zealand native. “I’m getting ready to just pack it in basically.” With each question Friday, Perks became increasingly despondent. How could this happen? To a guy who won the Players Championship? “I saw progress for a long time. Since that (Players) win I just continue to get worse and worse and worse,” said Perks, 39. “Right now it’s – I don’t know what to say.” Two years ago, at this very same event, was the final time Perks was in contention for a Tour victory. He was working with famed golf guru Butch Harmon – who originally molded Tiger Woods’ swing – at the time and finished fourth. But that momentum never amounted to anything and Perks has made one cut – and $11,880 – in his past 23 starts on Tour. “We all go through that,” said fellow Louisianan David Toms, who was grouped with Perks for the first two rounds here. “I felt like that in 1994. I was struggling, didn’t really have anything I was working on to get better.” This has happened on Tour before. The two most prominent cases are likely Ian Baker-Finch and David Duval – both major champions who “lost it.” Baker-Finch attempted to come back, but had a tough time breaking 90 and has made a living in the broadcast booth. After a stretch of making just eight of 49 cuts over the past three years, Duval has been revived in 2006. He made the cut here this week, his fifth in 11 tries this season. Toms did not offer Perks any advice this week, only because he wasn’t asked to. “If he asks me what I would say is I would like to see him shape his shots. He’s lost not knowing what kind of shot to try and play,” Toms said. “I don’t think he’s committed to hitting the shots. If he was committed on each shot he would do better. His chipping was fantastic, but when you’re putting for pars it’s difficult.”a Toms says Perks’ case proves how mentally challenging this game can be. “Even when you’re not going well you have to have to the discipline to try and pick a shot – even when you don’t know where it’s going,” Toms said. “We all get caught up in those moments where we don’t commit and don’t know where it’s going.” Perks has tried just about everything – except for staying away from the golf course altogether. “I’ve always been a proponent of hard work you know?” Perks said. “Maybe I’ll just take the rest of the year off. I’m not doing any good out here anyway.” There is good news. Perks’ Players victory gave him an exemption on Tour through the 2007 season. There is still time to right the ship. But only if golf hasn’t already pounded Perks, his golf swing and his mind into submission. Originally published May 20, 2006 * * * * * * * * * * * Ex-UL Lafayette star admits mistake, hopes to continue comeback. June 3, 2004 In March of 2002, Craig Perks was on top of the world � or so it would have seemed. The former UL Lafayette golfer pulled off a major breakthrough when he came out of the blue to win the Players Championship. He captured his first Tour victory at golf’s �fifth major” in exciting fashion, chipping in on two of the last three holes. Instead of riding the wave of confidence after the $1 million payday, Perks decided to completely overhaul his golf swing � a decision he would later call a �big mistake.” �When I looked at my statistics at the end of 2002, even though I was 36th on the money list, I was 195th in ball striking,” Perks said. �There were only nine guys that hit it worse than I did. I knew I needed to do something. I think the way I went about it was incorrect. I should have just stuck with a method and made minor changes instead of completely overhauling the whole thing from day one.” Perks did not register a top 5 on Tour for more than two frustrating years and hit rock bottom at the Masters in April when he double bogeyed his 36th hole from the middle of the fairway to miss the cut by a stroke. �It was the lowest of the low,” Perks said. �I was just nearly lifeless. I just had no energy, I had no passion, no nothing.” However, it was at the Masters where Perks may have made the best decision of his career. After playing with Adam Scott and Stewart Cink � tall, lanky players like himself � Perks decided he needed to offer himself up to their instructor, Butch Harmon. Thanks to some help from Tiger Woods’ former teacher and a fourth-place effort at Colonial two weeks ago, the New Zealand native is having fun again and walking the fairways on Tour with his head held high. He looks to continue his good play at the Memorial beginning today in Ohio. �I saw a different Craig Perks on television,” Harmon said as Perks hit balls at his teaching facility in Las Vegas on Friday. �There was a body language and a demeanor we hadn’t seen in Craig Perks since he walked off that 18th green at TPC two years ago.” Perks flew out to Vegas for the first time before playing at the Wachovia Championship. Harmon was familiar with Perks from being on Tour and had watched his suffering from afar. �He just got himself into some positions he couldn’t be consistent with,” Harmon said. �The more he worked on it, the worse he got. It was a perfect time from my standpoint to work with someone because he had hit rock-bottom.” Harmon didn’t see rebuilding Perks as that tough. He just needed to get him back to being himself and spent more than five hours trying to do so. �You never want to take away from someone what they do naturally,” Harmon said. �You want to try and improve on it, but you don’t want to take away natural motion or natural movement. �I wanted Craig Perks to be Craig Perks. I wanted to put him in some positions at the top of his swing and how he started down, where he had a chance to hit good golf shots again.” Perks flew west with an open mind and was happy with how things went. �The way he handled the lesson was great,” Perks said. �He looked at swings right at the start on video, didn’t really say too much, and we made some changes. �What impressed me the most is he would take these pictures and write this stuff on the screen and keep printing. I had no idea what he was doing. At the end of the day he handed me the library of photos, probably 40 or 50, and every one had my bad swing on the left screen with the changes and the good things I was starting to do on the right. �It was such a great visual aid. I could see what was better and what it will help me to do. It was one of the best lessons I’ve ever had just because I had such visual enforcement when I left there. I’ve studied those pictures every single night and I have a good path that I’m on and right now I’ve got to see some better shots and gain some confidence and I’ll be on my way.” It should have been no surprise he began to see immediate results. After missing the cut at Wachovia, Perks made the cut at the Byron Nelson the following week. He then shot a first-round 64 at Colonial to take the lead by two strokes. �I’ve been working harder than I ever have,” Perks said. �I didn’t see (a 64) coming, but it’s certainly not from lack of hard work.” Friday’s session was the duo’s second and, at this point, Harmon doesn’t want Perks to go more than one month without seeing him. �He’ll be better after this session,” Harmon said. �Talent is talent � this young man has talent.” With the help of Harmon, Perks is looking to put his career back together just like his golf swing � piece by piece. �My win at The Players allowed me the opportunity to play out here three more years, and I love being out here, love playing and this is what we play for,” Perks said. �Hopefully now I can gain some confidence from this and continue on the right path.” �The Lafayette Daily Advertiser * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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