The Golf Doctor returns to Mohawk

SPOTLIGHT

By Meaghan Drury ‘12

When Brian Knott ‘71 looks back at the almost 50 years since graduating from Mohawk‘s Insurance Administration program, he reflects on a career that has taken him from working in the insurance field to operating his own golf club repair shop and, now in retirement, to designing and manufacturing a new putter.

Upon graduation, Brian had his pick of jobs in the insurance industry. He worked his way up through multiple firms in Toronto over a decade in the 1970s and 1980s before starting his own brokerage. He then grew his firm to two locations before selling it in 1986.

Throughout his life, Brian always had a fond interest in and passion for the game of golf. He decided to take a huge leap to follow his passion by using some of the capital from the sale of his insurance business to start his own golf shop. In the same year Brian sold his business, he started a new one—The Golf Doctor Workshop—officially opened in 1986. The name of the business came from a friend who had always admired Brian‘s ability to repair practically any broken club he came across.

The early days of the business were in a double garage Brian built in his backyard. Turning his hobby into a career was questioned by his family and friends, but that would not deter Brian. After being open for a few years, The Golf Doctor Workshop started to get some notice when Canadian golfing legend Moe Norman stopped by the shop.

By Brian‘s telling, the first time Moe stopped in, he could have passed for a mirage. Moe walked in, looked around and left without a word. He would later return many more times, seeking to hire Brian for repair work and to talk golf. The two would form a friendship that lasted decades up until Moe‘s death in 2004.

Brian eventually moved the business to a driving range between Brantford and Paris, Ontario. The shop enjoyed many years of success until the increasing popularity of big box stores began cutting into his business, prompting him to sell in 2000.

Brian was ready to move on to a new challenge that was once again fueled by his passion for golf—designing his own club. Moe had always told Brian, if he was going to design a club, to create a putter instead of a driver. He took Moe‘s advice and did just that. After coming up with a rough design at his kitchen table, Brian was led back to Mohawk. Working with Mohawk‘s IDEAWORKS team, he was able to create prototypes of a new putter using the 3D printing machines housed in the Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Fennell Campus.

Brian really enjoyed connecting with and learning from Mohawk students. “I‘m still in awe of the whole process with Mohawk IDEAWORKS team,“ says Brian. “They accepted my idea and used their tools to help me make the best product I could.“

Next up for Brian is learning to market his product and he‘s looking forward to the challenge.