(above) Sykes’ 1981-82 team won more team championships than any other. Tis photo was taken aſter capturing the Iron Duke Classic in Durham. (right) Sykes discusses strategy with early 2000’s letterman Rodney Tomas.
• Sykes is a dead ringer for famous golf
instructor Butch Harmon. So Sykes and Pettersson decided to play a joke on fans at a recent Wyndham Championship. The PGA Tour pro started calling his former college coach Butch in front of fans and word immediately spread through the crowd that Harmon was in attendance. “I signed ‘Butch’ all the way to the car. We both couldn’t stop laughing about it,” Sykes said. Fixing a player’s angle or alignment
wasn’t necessarily the strong suit of Sykes. His approach to college coaching was more mental than physical, more practical than posture. “I ain’t much of a yeller,” Sykes said of his
coaching style. “They can hit all the shots but sometimes they don’t hit them at the right time. They can all play, but how many work on their faults, work on their minds, learn patience? No kid has patience, right? All those things come into it. It’s as much psychology as anything.” “I was always impressed by how com- fortable his players are around him and
8 TRIANGLE GOLF TODAY • SPRING 2017
how much they feel at ease,” said son David Sykes, the longtime director of golf at The Heritage Club in Wake Forest. “They are not intimidated by him; not nervous around him; they don’t get uptight with him watching. I think he impresses upon all of his players that it’s just a game, and there are certainly more important things in your life than a round of golf or a score, but to have fun and to compete for the oth- er guys on your team. He always told them that if you’re not enjoying it then there is no use doing it.” When the final shot is hit for the
Wolfpack this spring, Sykes will say good- bye to a job he loves. However, he won’t say good riddance to the game or the school that molded his life. “Let’s put it this way, I expect to see him
around,” Penley said. “I don’t expect to see him riding off into the sunset and sitting in the living room with a blanket around his legs and doing nothing. I expect him to come see us. He loves college golf so much I expect him to turn into a big fan of college golf.”
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