Some might be surprised to find out that Cullan Brown rarely, if ever, played an 18-hole round of golf on the course that now bears his name.
“Most of our time was spent on No. 10 and No. 17,” noted Cullan’s uncle Jay Brown, one of several family members who could be found routinely following Cullan around golf courses near and far.
“We would be out here for about two and a half hours every night, if the weather was good. And just basically working on those two holes.”
The Mineral Mound State Park Golf Course was officially designated “The Cullan” last week in a ceremony whose attendees included Gov. Andy Beshear and the University of Kentucky golf team.
Cullan, a state champion at Lyon County and All-SEC Freshman at the University of Kentucky, died just over a year ago after a battle with a rare bone disease.
That brought a much-too-early end to what was not only a promising golf career — Cullan didn’t just play in the PGA’s Barbasol Championship after getting an exemption into that event, he actually made the cut — but left an irreplaceable loss in Lyon County, western Kentucky, most of the commonwealth and anyone who ever had the good fortune to meet Cullan Brown.
As for Cullan the golfer, his game was built in practice sessions at Mineral Mound.
“We had a shag bag of about 50 balls and Cullan would hit those balls over and over,” said Jay. “He’d hit them and we’d gather them up, and he would say, ‘Scatter them again, uncle.’”
Hole No. 10 today at “The Cullan” was originally No. 1 when the Mineral Mound Golf Course opened in 2003. At some point, the two nines were swapped so golfers wanting to play just nine holes could enjoy the more-scenic lakeside holes as Nos. 1-9. No. 17 was originally No. 8. The 17 tee box is near the No. 10 green.
No. 10 is a shorter par-5 for accomplished golfers while No. 17 plays as a lengthy par-4.
“Cullan would actually start with some wedges to get him loose,” said Jay. “Then he would hit some mid-irons. Then we take balls and drop them in different spots around 100-120 yards out and he’d hit two shots from each different distance.
“Then we’d go over to No. 17 and we’d hit drives off of that tee box. Then we’d go to the 200-yard marker and hit long irons and he’d hit 40 or 50 balls there.”
The green around 17 is surrounded by a large mound, offering a perfect chance to work on chips and pitches from difficult lies and locations.
“We’d scatter those balls and he would hit bumps, flop shots, everything. He’d hit 50 balls and he’d say, ‘Uncle, scatter them again.’ He really enjoyed that.”
The Browns utilized a practice drill they learned from current LPGA Tour pro Emma Talley’s father.
“Dr. (Dan) Talley showed us this up-and-down game where you scatter the balls and see how many of them you can get up and down. And that would sometimes last a while. He’d hit 40-50 balls then he’d say, ‘Spread them out and let’s do it again.’ And he would try to get more up and down than he did the time before.”
In a playoff in the regional tournament in 2017, Cullan, then a senior at Lyon County, needed to summon up a difficult pitch shot to get up and down and win his third 1st Region championship. He stuck it tight and made the putt to claim medalist honors.
“I hadn’t really thought about it before, but all those hours of practicing those shots probably did help him hit that shot in the regional tournament,” said Jay.
The player’s uncle said they would occasionally go out and play a few holes at Mineral Mound when Cullan was younger.
“The one hole that comes to mind is No. 4. When he was just a little dude, he always wanted to try to hit the ball over the water.”
But the tee shot on that hole from the back tees requires a solid shot to clear Lake Barkley.
“When he was little, he couldn’t do it,” said Jay. “It became sort of a milestone. When he finally did it, that was a really neat moment.”
It didn’t take a young Cullan Brown long to get noticed for his golf game.
“Around about the seventh grade, some of the people who kinda knew about golf would say things,” said Jay. “I remember some things Dr. Talley would say, because he had seen it all with Emma. So that’s when we kinda knew.
“Once he started playing the higher-level events, we started practicing a lot more here at Mineral Mound. I would say we practiced 75-80 percent of the time and played in tournaments 20-25 percent of the time.
“People would come up to me and ask me what Cullan had been shooting, but I’d have to explain that the only time Cullan really played 18 holes was when he was in a tournament,” Jay laughed. “Some people really need to know what their score is each time they play. But Cullan just loved working on his game and working on each shot.”
Things really took off quickly for Cullan, who was a six-time state qualifier.
“He called me really excited one day after having a lesson and said, ‘We found something in my swing,’” said Jay. “He sent me a video to show what he was talking about.
“The next day at Paxton Park in Paducah he tied for third in the regional tournament and qualified for state. I think he shot a 73. From that point on, just the way he struck the ball, he just had a look and sound you just don’t get from everybody.”
Cullan Brown won Lyon County’s only state championship (in any sport) in 2016 and was state runner-up in 2015 and 2017.
His golfing accomplishments would fill an entire article of their own and then some.
But it all goes back to those humble beginnings that saw Cullan hit shot after shot after shot in the evenings at Mineral Mound Golf Course.
His golfing legacy will be remembered every time someone tees it up at “The Cullan.”
Jay Brown recently joined Todd Griffin on The Sideline Report on WPKY Radio.
