March 22, 2006

The first time Mike Giggar came to bat as a McNeese State baseball player, he hit a triple that drove in a run that tied the score and then he scored the game's winning run.

The first time he hit a golf club, the ball didn't go much farther than that triple but since then he hasn't seen a golf club he didn't like.

Now semi-retired after a 25 year career as a teacher and a coach, the former McNeese baseball player pursues a hobby of golf. He plays golf, he makes golf clubs, he repairs golf clubs, he buys golf clubs, he sells golf clubs.

There probably aren't many golfers in Southwest Louisiana who haven't played a club that wasn't touched by Giggar.

"The first time I played golf was the day before my first marriage," he said. "My brother took me out and we played at the old Kayouchee Coulee (now Pine Shadows). I didn't play too good - shot somewhere around 100 - but I was hooked."

Giggar had come out of Welsh High as a pretty good all-around athlete. He played all the sports and had earned post season honors in basketball and baseball.

"I was offered a scholarship to play baseball at Southeastern Louisiana but I didn't want to get that far from home and walked on at McNeese," he said.

His first year he played for Reed Stephens and then for Ralph Ward and Ted Chapman.

He played four seasons for the Cowboys as an infielder, mainly at shortstop, and his career batting average was right at .200. He did lead the team in 1962 with a .354 mark but only played in 12 games.

In his last season - 1964 - he led the team in fewest strikeouts, two in 43 appearances at the plate.

After graduating he went into the teaching and coaching ranks, serving stints at Hackberry High, Lake Arthur Elementary, Welsh Elementary, Welsh High and Jennings High and retiring in 1995.

It was at Jennings High in the 1970s that he began his foray into golf.

"I was coaching the golf team then and we didn't have much money so when one of the players would need new grips or would break a shaft, I would do the work. I picked up some of those books on making and repairing clubs and putting on grips and I think that I became pretty good at it," he said.

Among the players he coached at Jennings, Duane LeGros went on to play at Louisiana-Lafayette and Brian LeBlanc and Tessie Simar played golf at McNeese State.

He also became a semi-coach for Mike Heinen who was attending Welsh High.

"They didn't have a golf team at Welsh so we would take Mike with us when we went to tournaments and he would enter as a single player from Welsh," Giggar said.

He also became the director of a free summer tournament for kids at Pine Shadows that ran for numerous years.

"We would get sponsors for everything so that it wouldn't cost the kids anything," he said. "They would get a short lesson from the pro, have a meal and then play. It didn't make any difference if they did or did not have clubs. We would always have some for them."

Many of those clubs Giggar made himself.

His golf club making ability became known by word of mouth.

"It wasn't that hard to put the clubs together and for a decent price you could get a set of good clubs," he said.

One thing he likes to do now is buy old clubs at a garage sale or a pawn shop, reshaft and regrip them and put them back on the market.

Giggar plays golf about twice a week, one of those times a partnership with Bill Jongbloed in a scramble match with Doug Castle and his partner of the week.

Giggar uses Jongbloed for his length since following a neck operation he no longer has the distance he once had.

Jongbloed also uses one of the drivers Giggar built, one that allows him more distance off the tee than any other club he has ever hit.

"Heck, almost every club I have in my bag is something that Giggar either built, bought or traded for," Jongbloed said.