Golf Former WSU receiver Pointer finds golf after football

By Craig Smith
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Deron Pointer took a golf class at Washington State and it changed his life.

"I caught on," he said. "I started looking for time to play golf and then I was hooked."

Pointer is better remembered at WSU as a record-setting wide receiver than another recreational golfer. He still holds the school record with 255 receiving yards in a 1993 win over Arizona State.

These days, though, Pointer, 33, is an assistant golf professional at the Desert Mountain complex in Scottsdale, Ariz. His goal: Become a head pro.

Pointer got serious about the golf business after his pro career in football ended and he returned to WSU to finish his sociology degree and graduate in 1998. He was on the practice squads for the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Cleveland Browns, played for Dusseldorf in the World League and then with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

He even played some winter baseball in the Cleveland Indians' farm system. One reason the Indians were intrigued was because Pointer has baseball genes — his father, Aaron, played for Houston in the 1960s. He also has entertainment genes — the Pointer Sisters are his aunts.

After graduating from WSU, Pointer one day walked into the pro shop at the Vicwood and Merriwood complex (now called The Golf Club at Hawks Prairie) in Lacey.

"Behind the counter was a guy I had hung out with in San Diego," Pointer said. The fellow was Warren Orr, who had been attending the San Diego Golf Academy when Pointer was with the Chargers.

Pointer asked if the courses were hiring and soon found himself with a job. He also found himself with an opportunity to improve his game.

He has posted such scores as a 5-under 66 at North Shore Golf Club and a 3-under 69 at the Coal Creek course at The Golf Club at Newcastle.

Pointer, who has passed the difficult PGA playing test, is pursuing his Class A pro license through the PGA of America.

He moved to the Phoenix area last October and the complex where he works has six courses.

"There's a lot of opportunity," he said.

What does this former three-sport star at Curtis High School outside Tacoma like about golf?

"What I like is that it's not a team sport," he said. "It's individual — you against the golf course."