Wrestler-turned-golfer a hit among Moses Pointe's circles

Carlos Adamy passes PGA test,

shooting two-round total of 153

By Neil Pierson

Herald sports reporter

MOSES LAKE — Carlos Adamy puts in a lot of elbow grease to get jobs done.

That's obvious when you learn that Adamy, a lifelong Moses Lake resident and 2000 graduate of Moses Lake High School, recently passed his player's ability test (PAT) for the Professional Golf Association, an achievement he earned roughly 18 months after taking up the sport seriously.

Adamy was one of 12 golfers from around the region to take the PAT at The Links at Moses Pointe this month, and was one of three who passed. Adamy needed to shoot a 36-hole total of 153, and he did it by the skin of his teeth, parring each of the last five holes to earn a second-round total of 78 and hit the qualifying mark right on the nose.

Does Adamy see it as an unusual feat that he was able do in 18 months what many people couldn't do in a lifetime? His answer is an unequivocal no.

"I don't see it that way," he said while tending to customers at Moses Pointe's pro shop last Thursday. "I put in my time. I golfed every day. Hard work is always going to pay off — it doesn't matter if it's short-term or long-term."

Adamy estimated he spent four to six hours a day on the course to lower his score. The biggest hurdle he had to clear in his testing was mental, not physical.

"Thirty-six holes, believe it or not, it sets up to be a long day," he said. "If you can't break it down mentally and physically, it makes it that much more draining. The thing to do is just to break it up into six holes or four holes, whatever you can handle."

Adamy excelled at a completely different sport during his high school career, having been a championship-caliber wrestler for the Chiefs as a junior and senior.

In 1999, Adamy made it all the way to the championship match of Mat Classic XI in Tacoma before losing the 129-pound 3A title to Brandon Howard of Fife. But the following winter, with the Chiefs making the jump to the 4A classification, he went undefeated at state, taking the title with a 5-0 win against Capital's Steve McGettrick.

Adamy then went on to successful career at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash., placing third in the National Junior College Championships. He still spends time around the mat as an assistant coach for Moses Lake.

Just two years ago, Adamy was strictly a leisurely golfer, something he says he did "every once in a while just to get away, to go do something different." But when he was out of work for a short time and announced his plans to hit the links every day to fill time, his wife gave him another idea.

"My wife was like, 'Why don't you just go work at a golf course?'" he said. "All that money can go toward your golf."

Adamy began working at Moses Pointe. Within six months, he was hooked.

"I just got addicted to the sport about a half a year into working here," he said. "I was like, 'Well, this might be something I want to do.'"

So Adamy started chasing after his PGA qualification with the same fervor he chased down his Mat Classic championship, training with Moses Pointe pros Bill Porter and Joel Moberly. Both are PGA members and Porter was recently named the top instructor in the state.

"It kind of helps to have the No. 1 teacher of golf in Washington in your corner," Adamy said with a smile. "Having those two guys there whenever I wanted was really, really helpful."

Now that he's passed the PAT, Adamy will begin classes for the PGA of America training program. He'll be teaching his own lessons as part of that process, as well as playing in several tournaments over the next year.

Will he be intimidated teaching golf to others? Not likely, since he's been coaching Chiefs wrestling.

"I've always been really intrigued about teaching," Adamy said. "It might be a little bit intimidating when you get that older gentleman who says 'I've been golfing for 20 years.'

Hopefully people are really lenient with me that, hey, I'm still pretty new to this sport."