Golf fan profiled
BUTLER TWP — When Talbot Reiber isn’t working, it’s a safe bet he’s either golfing, thinking about golfing, or writing about golfing. The general manager of W. Rick’s Taproom & Grill has had a passion for golf since he was a boy.
Now it’s all coming full circle with Reiber to join several other residents of the region as the faces of golf in Western Pennsylvania.
Reiber will have his story told as part of a series of profiles being compiled by golf gear manufacturer Titleist, as the company prepares for the U.S. Open Championship, which will be June 13 to 19 at Oakmont Country Club.
Reiber has been contributing to Titleist’s online content hub for years, writing product reviews for Team Titleist, an online forum and news board where the company and players interact and share stories, tips and advice.
Reiber has been golfing since age 5, and calls the sport “the truth in my life.”
“It’s a great way to teach respect and equality — the qualities you want your children to have,” he said.
To be chosen as the subject of one of the site’s U.S. Open profiles, Reiber had to send in a photograph, fill out surveys and provide the company with an essay on what golf means to him, and how the sport fits in when it comes to the Pittsburgh region in general. As the general manager of a restaurant and bar, Reiber said answering that particular question was easy: the golf course is an escape.
“It’s my stress relief, that’s what golf is,” Reiber said.
He equated the experience with that of a Rolling Stones fan who gets to meet the band.
“It’s not being backstage. It’s like if the band came to your house, flew you on their private plane to Liverpool, and dropped you off at home three days later,” Reiber said.
He believes golf is popular in Western Pennsylvania because it resonates with the region’s ideals and the belief that anyone is capable of overcoming long odds.
“That’s what I want to see at the U.S. Open — the underdog. That’s what we all want to see,” Reiber said.
On Wednesday night a crew from Team Titleist visited W. Rick’s Taproom and Grill to film Reiber’s one-on-one. As part of that shoot they also featured portions of the business. On Thursday the crew and Reiber were filming on the course at The Field Club in Fox Chapel.
Earlier on Wednesday, the team spent time with Hermitage resident Michael Polanichka, a technology director for a Pittsburgh-based law firm and another profile subject. Polanichka said he was selected after writing an essay about how golf has brought his family together, and how the region’s many affordable and accessible courses have broadened the sport’s appeal.
“If there’s no snow, we’re golfing in Pennsylvania,” he said.
Rich Veitch, the managing editor of Team Titleist, said the company has spent two years telling the stories of golfers in the communities that host the U.S. Open Championship. In that time, he’s seen a variety of approaches to the game, and thinks Western Pennsylvania is home to the most competitive spirit he’s seen.
“It’s just a little bit more competitive around here than other parts of the country,” Veitch said. “I think that’s an extension of people’s pride, and the passion they have here for sport.”
Veitch said that once the team finishes compiling footage of profile subjects, they will appear on Titleist’s website during the week of the U.S. Open.
