Jordan Spieth and Dan Boever (in black shirt) entertained the crowd at the Byron Nelson’s free youth clinic.
By Kim Constantinesco
The opening act of the AT&T Byron Nelson pitted hometown hero Jordan Spieth against long drive champ and trick shot master Dan Boever on Tuesday at the tournament’s free youth clinic.
Hundreds gathered in anticipation. One guy, everyone knew. Winner of the 2016 Master’s and U.S. Open; a star as big and recognizable as the Texas flag.
The other, a teddy bear full of one-liners, who can crush a golf ball over 370 yards.
At stake? A whole lot of laughs and a pinch of pride.
As Spieth and Boever drilled balls through a small hole carved out 30 yards away with a six-iron, hit draws with an upside down driver, and even smacked a ball dangling from balloons like a piñata, the purpose was pure and simple: help grow the game.
“Maybe there’s a couple of kids who like football, basketball, or baseball better, but through this clinic, [they] maybe want to pick up a golf club,” Spieth said.
As it turns out, the guy Spieth took the “stage” with was one of those kids who gravitated toward baseball first, then picked up a club and became one of the world’s most entertaining golfers.
Slugger to Iron Man
For a kid who hoisted a baseball bat before he was two years old, you might say that Dan Boever has always swung for the fences.
However, before a college scholarship and becoming an All-American at the University of Nebraska, Boever lifted his first golf club at 13 years old. No one encouraged him to play or taught him the basics. He just liked “getting out there to swing and make progress.”
Baseball was his life. He signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds and his talent elevated him to the AAA level, where he played in front of crowds as large as 50,000. His ability to perform under pressure sprouted from there.
“You don’t want 50,000 people yelling bad things about your momma,” he joked.
Boever’s time on the diamond ended in 1989. For the next seven years, he was a hitting instructor and insurance salesman before becoming a sales manager for a dairy chemical company. Still buoyed by a competitive spirit and an interest in golf, he entered his first long drive contest in 1996 and did well enough that he qualified for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship later that summer.
That same year, he met Art Sellinger, a long drive champion and performer who had over 1,500 shows under his belt.
“I got great advice from him on how to make this a career,” Boever said.
He cultivated his creativity in discovering the most entertaining shots possible. Think about the Michael Jordan vs. Larry Bird H-O-R-S-E commercial, and you’re on the right track.
Boever did his first show almost 20 years ago in Branson, Missouri. Since then, he has traveled all around the world as a full-time performer.
“I’m heading to L.A. tonight then I’m on to San Francisco. It’s like I’m a rockstar without the money, the women, and the drugs,” he said.
Rock star or not, Boever calls southwest Missouri home, where he has a loving wife a two children.
The one-time slugger has even gone on USO trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain the troops.
“Those were some of the most fulfilling shows for me,” he said.
He also finds a lot of meaning in performing for kids, like at the Byron Nelson.
“A lot of these kids are in the middle of very tough times in their life,” he said. “They’re pulled in a lot of different directions, but I feel like when they can look at a guy like Jordan and see how he handles difficult things, they can learn from him.”
As serious as Spieth and other PGA pros take the sport, Boever is at the other end of the spectrum.
“To me, golf is something that allows me to get together with my friends or my family and just go and enjoy the day,” he said. “I’m trying to inject that perspective into people who may have an interest in playing.”
The essence of the game really does shine and grow at the Byron Nelson.
.@JordanSpieth the magician @attbyronnelson @PGATOUR. pic.twitter.com/Q6T36oUvAP
— PGA TOUR Media (@PGATOURmedia) May 17, 2016
