Community Corner

Duluth Retiree to Spot for Golf Channel

Sugarloaf resident Jim Pinard volunteering as a Golf Channel spotter at the Greater Gwinnett Championship this weekend.

Greater Gwinnett Championship volunteer Jim Pinard of Duluth will be walking the TPC Sugarloaf course alongside professional golfers this weekend and wearing headphones as he relays information about their progress to the Golf Channel. “I’m looking forward to doing it,” Pinard said.

During three days of professional tournament play Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 19-21), he will walk more than 20 miles as a Golf Channel spotter. That’s about seven miles a day, he said.

Pinard was scheduled for training to be a spotter Thursday. The Golf Channel will be broadcasting the GGC, a PGA Champions Tour for 50-plus golfers, from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Friday, and 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

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A longtime golfer who started playing the game when he was 14, Pinard, 69, lives in Sugarloaf and plays frequently at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth so he is familiar with the course. He also knows some of the professional golfers who will be participating in the tournament, including Larry Nelson and James Mason.

Pinard has been a resident of Gwinnett County for 44 years. He retired after 35 years in real estate. His wife Dina manages the Prudential Realty Office at Suwanee Town Center.

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A former golf pro, he was a member of the PGA for 10 years and worked at the Atlanta Athletic Club for eight years. He was working at the AAC when the U.S. Open was played there in 1976, he said.

He volunteered in the past at the BellSouth AT&T Classic at TPC Sugarloaf.

“I knew a large number of volunteers would be needed” for the Greater Gwinnett Championship, Pinard said. “I certainly wanted to be a part of it, and I wanted to help Gwinnett County put its best foot forward.”

The tournament has good beneficiaries such as Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, he added.

Pinard and his wife are minority owners of the Gwinnett Gladiators, and they will be dashing over to Gwinnett Arena after the golf tournament to see the professional hockey team compete in playoff games Friday and Sunday night. It’s going to be a busy weekend.

See also:

Sugarloaf Lady Golfers Volunteering


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