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Musguire’s tales among Greatest
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Leland Musguire chips in the backyard of his home in Pulaski, Pa. Musguire has had many hobbies, ranging from boxing to male dancing, and now he is up for Greatest Golfer.
By RYAN W. BUCK
There’s an expression in the alternative culture of adrenaline junkies and extreme sports competitors called “the white light.”
Leland Musguire, as only he can, describes it as the physical shock and overpowering sensation to the eyes and mind after a collision of extreme intensity. He says he’s experienced it perhaps a thousand times. The phenomenal storyteller will leave his audience with their own “white light” upon hearing the western Pennsylvanian’s journey to the 2012 Vindicator’s Greatest Golfer of the Valley presented by Farmers National Bank.
Now approaching 50 years of age, Musguire’s spent a lifetime pushing the boundaries of all forms of safety and prudence. A natural risk-taker, he’s pursued professions and pursuits considered crazy by most.
A welder and fabricator by trade who develops prototypes for numerous kinds of vehicle systems, he’s only recently discovered his love for golf.
“About three and a half years ago I was up here working and I played a couple games of golf and I said, ‘Hey this is okay, this is cool.’ And I used my stepmother’s clubs and I said, ‘This is fun.’ When I was younger I thought it wouldn’t be.”
After receiving an improved set of clubs as a gift, Musguire spent hours upon hours honing his craft. A year ago he began reading about the Greatest Golfer of the Valley.
“I went to Golf Headquarters and I saw this young kid and I was talking about it and he says, ‘Yeah, I’ve played 170 tournaments in youth,’ and I was like, ‘Oh man that’s what I want to do!’
“I don’t just want to golf to have fun, I want to compete.”
Musguire’s father, also named Leland, wanted to teach his son the game early, but it didn’t take.
“I never golfed and my dad has been an avid golfer forever. I always thought, ‘Golf, that’s boring as hell.’ It couldn’t keep my attention. It wasn’t tough enough.”
His father was, however, successful incorporating his son into the family venture of motocross while enriching an insatiable drive for competition.
“I was obsessed with winning,” Musguire said. “Not like an ‘arrogant obsessed’ where you have to win. If I didn’t win, I went over every detail. Where did I make a mistake? What did I do? Why’d I do it? How’d I do it? And I would go out and just practice and practice… I wanted to be at the top.”
Success on the race track took him to South Florida in 1982 where injuries slowed his budding career.
“I broke 22 bones. I’ve had a halo on, bolts in my skull, my leg’s been wrapped around my back, I’ve got a rod in my feet; ankles, knees have all been ripped out; my hand’s been broke six times, my collar bone and most of my ribs have been broke.”
“I used to either win or crash,” he emphasized.
Musguire, a lifelong bachelor, found other interests that satisfied his quench for the adrenaline high. He jumped bridge gaps on motorcycles, free fall- bungeed from upwards of 100 ft, cleaned high-rise windows at 430 ft, tangled with alligators and worked his way through the ToughMan boxing ranks. A casual interest in poker turned into a four- year stint as a professional before his pool- playing skills led to another career.
“I can’t even describe how many aggressive things I would do and that’s basically what my whole life was filled with,” he said.
The greatest rush he says he’s ever felt, however, was his entrance to a Clearwater, Fla., stage where he was to dance before 2,000 women as a stripper.
Welding work and desire to be closer to family brought him back to the Mahoning Valley in 2009.
Musguire will compete this weekend in the Men’s 10-14 Handicap division, while his father will vie for the Super Seniors division crown. The son doesn’t plan on stopping until he’s a scratch golfer.
“The key is if you pick something and you see if you can get it, take it as far as you can get it… to the edge,” he said. “I just started realizing I wish I had gone into it when I was young. This gives me as much of a rush as anything.”
For continuing tournament coverage, see vindy.com/golf and follow along on Twitter @vindygreatest.