THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510200178
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 28 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
WHEN TERRY Burnley was 13, a short conversation with his father changed his life.
Burnley was an all-star baseball player in Pennsylvania who had just taken up golf.
``My dad got me started in golf and he saw something in me,'' said Burnley, a 37-year-old Navy golfer stationed at the Norfolk Naval Air Station. ``He told me I needed to pick one to concentrate on.
``I never played baseball again.''
Burnley - currently a Virginia Beach resident - has turned his specialty into considerable recognition over the 24 years since that memorable father/son talk.
He was the county champ his junior and senior years of high school, playing on a team that ran up an impressive 57-2 record. It didn't take long for such notoriety to take hold as he started a career in the Navy.
In 1991, he won the All-Navy tournament and backed up that performance the following year with a victory in the All-Service championships in Georgia. The same year, he won the prestigious Military Southeast Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla. - an event featuring more than 200 of the military's best golfers.
And just recently, he won the All-Navy championship for the second time, adding on a fifth-place finish in the All-Service tournament won by his Navy team.
``After 2,000 strokes, we beat the Air Force by three strokes,'' Burnley said.
With that team victory, Burnley became part of a team hosted by the Canadian All-Military team for a tournament played under rules similar to the Ryder Cup. The U.S. delegation captured every honor in the event.
But if he had made a different choice in 1992, he would not have played in the latest military outings.
``I was stationed in Orlando at the time,'' said Burnley, a petty officer second class. He's a journalist who works as a combat camera videographer. ``And I had played in a couple of mini-tour tournaments and was doing pretty well. I was really thinking about going to the PGA (tour qualifying school).''
A nine-year veteran with one year remaining on his current enlistment, Burnley again faces the same decision.
A scratch player with long ball abilities who describes consistency as his best golf attribute, Burnley is contemplating whether to re-enlist at the end of next year.
``If I enlist again, I might as well stay in for 20,'' he said. ``And I think I'm swaying toward that. But I have entertained thoughts of trying to get into the PGA.
``I guess I'll decide when it happens.''
If Burnley were to ``life it'' in the Navy, he would be 48 when he gets out. He would have two years to go until he could attend the PGA Senior Tour qualifying school.
Part of the decision might lay in past experiences in military golfing.
``It's been a lot of fun, but I wouldn't say I'd re-enlist just because of next year's tournaments,'' he said. ``But military golf has taken me to some fantastic places and I've been very successful.
``So I guess I'm leaning toward staying in.''
As Burnley reaches this fork in the road, he has already made one clear choice that won't be affected by either decision.
He is following in his father's footsteps and passing the game along to his three sons - Tyler, 13; Teddy, 10; and Tucker, 7.
``Next summer is going to be busy (for Tyler),'' Burnley said of the Princess Anne Middle School eighth-grader. ``He's really looking forward to high school golf. He'll be going to Ocean Lakes.
``He can play. . . . They all can.''
And whether they know it or not, they have a grandfather/ father talk many years ago to thank for it. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
A scratch player with long ball abilities, Terry Burnley, 37, says
consistency is his best golf attribute.
by CNB