If you ever play golf with Keven Slyne, the first thing you’ll probably notice is that his shoes aren’t tied.
He also doesn’t wear a hat, or gloves, and his shoes aren’t even golf shoes — just regular sneakers.
“My dad always used to say, if you need golf shoes, you’re swinging too hard,” Slyne said.
The Granby native works two jobs, so he doesn’t have much time to practice, either. He plays about twice a week, just gripping it and ripping it, and he’s done that all the way to the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, beginning Saturday at Sand Valley Resort in Nekoosa, Wis.
Slyne earned the spot in his typical nonchalant style — chipping in to win on a playoff hole in the Springfield Country Club regional qualifier.
Was he nervous, staring at a chip with the final qualifying spot on the line?
“Not really nerves,” he said.
How did he feel when he had drained the shot to earn a spot in the U.S. Mid-Am, an event that promises the winner a spot in the U.S. Open and the Masters next year?
“Um,” Slyne said, before a long pause. “I don’t know.”
He did expand on that thought:
“It didn’t really set in until I was on the car ride home and I was on the phone with my dad. Yeah, it was … I didn’t really have any words, I was excited. I’m not a man of emotion but I was excited.”
Slyne may not be a man of emotion, but he does boast an effortlessly sweet swing, in part because he grew up on the golf course. As a kid, his mother would drop him off at Southwick Country Club in Massachusetts on summer mornings on her way to work. His dad would pick him up later, but not before playing nine holes together.
He played golf at Granby High, and then started playing in local tournaments after high school. He’s won a lot, capturing local club championships, and on the advice of his father, started competing in tournaments like the Connecticut Amateur.
Keven Slyne, second from right, poses with coworkers from the Granby Public Works Department.
All the while he’s worked at the Granby Public Works Department, and started his own welding business, another one of his passions.
Now 29, Slyne will be one of 264 golfers from across the country teeing it up at the U.S. Mid-Am, which began in 1981 as a tournament for post-college golfers.
The event features 36 holes of stroke play Saturday and Sunday, and then takes the top 64 and puts them in a single elimination match-play bracket that begins on Monday and ends with a 36-hole championship match on Thursday.
When he’s paired with the other talented golfers, there’s a chance they may look at him funny. Slyne said his nonchalant appearance draws some eyes.
“Every time. Every time I play with somebody new they’re like, we’re going to play with you? And I’m like, ‘Yup,’” he said.
But his feel for the game and his ability to flush bad shots are what he says sets him apart. Heading into the playoff hole at Springfield, he reminded himself that he belonged on this stage. Standing over his chip to qualify, he had a feeling something special could happen.
“I had a really, really good lie. And I hadn’t chipped it in a couple of rounds and I usually have about one a round, or close to it,” he said. “I just saw a line and the pin was already out, they said do you want it in, and I said ‘Nope, it’s all set.’ And I stood over it and I just — it fit my eye perfectly, so I knew it was going in.
Slyne, left, hitting a shot in his trademark style– no golf hat, no golf shoes and no gloves.
“I stood over it and I said, do not decelerate and it’s going in. And I didn’t, and it went in.”
Just like that, he was on to a national tournament with the prize including a spot in the two biggest majors in the U.S.
Does Slyne believe he has a chance to win in Wisconsin?
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I think from what I’ve seen and I did a little research on (the course), there’s not many trees. So I’m going to try and use my distance to my advantage. Just try and let it rip as much as I can.
“I’ve found myself in the past couple of months playing really good golf. I just play the course, I don’t play — I’ll shoot 2-, 3-under anywhere. If I have a good day, I’ll shoot 5-, 6-under, if I have a bad day I’ll shoot even.”
Since he doesn’t have a ton of time to practice, you won’t find him on the range a whole lot. He says he never really loses his driver or irons, so he mostly just chips and putts before rounds.
But, if he won this event and got a chance to play at the U.S. Open and the Masters next year, he’d start practicing more, right?
“Probably not,” he said with a chuckle. “I’d just go and when it’s your day, it’s your day, and when it’s not, you gotta just stick with it and try and minimize the damage.”
Would he at least tie his shoes?
“If I tie my shoes, I’m all messed up. All messed up,” he said.