He tried to ice skate on the first tee. He failed.
He tried to play golf while wearing skis. He failed.
But Brian Hecker succeeded in turning Scotland Run Golf Club into a social media sensation. The club’s head golf professional starred in a pair of Instagram reels that generated 24.4K and 11.4K views, respectively.
“I’m kind of like the office class clown, so the how of it really was like, ‘There’s nothing going on. Let’s come up with funny ideas and do content while we have down time.’ We’re just being goofy,” Hecker, 52, of Williamstown, N.J., said. “I’m not a big social media guy, so I didn’t know it racked up a lot of views. That’s funny.”
Clip No. 1, posted on Feb. 2, shows Hecker ice skating on the golf course. Ten inches of snow, reinforced by subzero temperatures thereafter, provided a seemingly perfect surface. Plus, Hecker played ice hockey during his Washington Township High School days, so why not use the first tee as a makeshift rink?
He glides gingerly at first. Assistant Professional Aidan Caspar and member Josh Jones, spectators in Scotland Run’s pro shop, record. Just as Hecker gets a burst of speed, he stumbles. The cameramen chuckle; “Kids of the Last Days” by The Strike plays as Scotland Run’s kid at heart lies in the snow.
Hecker is at first unaware of the video evidence. Once he watches it, he laughs. Post the footage. You can’t heckle Hecker; his skin is as thick as the snow.
The ice-skating fiasco is accidental; what Scotland Run posts the next day is purposeful. Hecker, an avid skier, decided to take a one-club ski challenge. Par No. 1 using a 6-iron, wearing skis.
If you never met Hecker, then you may watch and wonder how an Australia native ends up in South Jersey. False alarm. An Australian accent is among the dialects and impressions (Philadelphia Eagles broadcaster Merrill Reese at the ready) in Hecker’s portfolio.
“I do this so often that it’s sort of subliminal,” he said. “Everything you see in that video was in real time. I hit a flush 6-iron. I thought it was going to be at the 250-yard mark, but it rolled all the way down the hill because it was only 130 yards from the tee box.”
Hecker’s approach is far from flush.
“That was a shank chunk, and I gave up. I quit. There’s no way I’m making par now,” he said.
Hecker, in closing, teasers another winter golf challenge. It never materialized, but fear not, golf and comedy fans. Hecker will regularly appear on Scotland Run’s feed.
The skate-and-ski stats demand so.
“It’s almost flattering that you’re calling to ask about this, but it came from a place of me being a stupid child. At age 52, I still act like a little kid,” Hecker said.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 345 Member Clubs and 140,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
