Boston, Mass – Webster’s dictionary describes “renaissance man” as a person who has wide interests and is an expert in several areas. America’s oldest dictionary publisher might consider a direct link to the resume of Frank Giordano Jr. Ph.D.
Golfer, writer, artist, wine connoisseur, consultant, chef, philosopher, professor, author and dad are just a few titles the Chapel Hill N.C. resident answers to in his busy but contented life.
We met many years ago at a golf conference in Pinehurst and I was drawn to his interesting background, both in golf and life. We recently reconnected through social media, and boy, was I wrong thinking he was sitting in a recliner after a daily dose of 18 holes.
“I don’t have plans to slow down or retire because I’m having too much fun,” said the 75-year old from his home in Pinehurst, N.C. “It’s vital to stay busy and be creative. Moonlighting as a free-lance wine and golf writer took me to places I’d never have seen — Cypress Point, Colonial Country Club , Royal Dornoch and St. Andrews, the Napa and Sonoma wineries — introduced me to pro golfers and teachers and winemakers I’d never have met otherwise and who became long-time friends. Equally importantly, that pleasurable work supplemented my teaching income sufficiently to send our three kids to first-rate universities, where they met the top-notch spouses that have filled our lives with 11 amazing grandkids.”
After moving and a long career as a professor of English literature, business writing consultant and freelance golf and wine writer, Frank Giordano Jr. Ph.D., retired from the University of Houston, and moved with his wife of 57 years, Margaret, to Pinehurst in 2005. While golf has always been a key element in his life, there he rekindled the desire to paint and draw that had lain dormant for years as he built a marriage, family, academic career and business writing consulting firm.
“Writing articles kept me energized,” he said, fresh off another adventure to Florida to research a future golf assignment. “I found that I could earn extra money and it led to more opportunities in publishing. Now my passion is in painting golf landscapes.”
Since moving to Pinehurst area, Giordano become a member and officer of the Artists League of the Sandhills. Working chiefly in acrylic and pastel, he draws landscapes and golf-scapes, in which the natural rhythms of the land and the brilliant reflections of light result in works of rich color, shape and movement.
Several of his golf paintings and murals have won awards over the years and Giordano has donated some proceeds of his golf sales to the First Tee of the Sandhills.
“Pinehurst and the area gets better all the time,” said the long-time Golf Writers Association of America member. “Golf is a big part of this community and it’s the activity that brings so many people here. But it’s more than golf. Pinehurst is a peaceful, civilized town with a lively arts and musical vibe, and full of interesting, accomplished, high quality people.”
Over 45 years of his freelance writing career, Giordano wrote regularly about golf courses and resorts in local, regional, national and international publications. His work also appeared in golf publications, such as Golf, Golf Tips, LINKS, and Golf Illustrated.
His golf writing career includes working as golf guru Hank Haney’s ghost writer in the mid-1980s producing a long series of articles on his approach to teaching the golf swing. For LPGA star Betsy Cullen he worked in the same capacity on a series of articles on golf for women. He’s worked with other teaching pros in Texas, collaborating on instructional articles. In addition to his golf writing resume, he authored three books and several articles on Texas wine and golf, in addition to his two scholarly books and articles on the fiction and poetry of Thomas Hardy and Victorian literature.
His paintings of some of the world’s finest golf courses, designed by many of the game’s greatest architects, are currently sold online. For several years they were sold in art galleries, stores, and pro shops in the Sandhills area of North Carolina. Readers can view his work and arrange commissions for original paintings at his Etsy site.
While all of the golf-related interests and passions Giordano participates in bring comfort and joy, none can touch the pride he gets when discussing his three children and eleven grandchildren.
A life well lived both on and off the course!
On the web: Etsy.com/Shop/GiordanoFrank
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