For Andrew Price, the best part of golf might not be the pars and birdies – it’s where the game takes him.
Price, 44, grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois, playing almost every sport he could. Basketball, baseball and golf among them. By the time he reached high school, however, it was clear that golf was the sport that would take him the furthest. After a successful junior career, Price played collegiately at Kansas, competing for a top-25 program and building friendships that have lasted a lifetime.
But the real journey was just beginning.
After college, Price spent a couple of years in Arizona before returning home to Chicagoland, where he settled in the suburbs, joining his family’s fourth-generation insurance business, leaving time on the sidelines to get his game in shape for amateur events. What started with events like the Western Amateurs and USGA qualifiers gradually opened the doors to the highest levels of mid-amateur golf. And with each new opportunity came another unforgettable experience.
There was Brookline, where Price played the US Amateur in 2013. There were trips to Ireland and Scotland, including a friends trip to Trump Turnberry which gave him a taste of what famous links had to offer. There were rounds at National Golf Links and other courses that once existed mostly as names on a bucket list.
Chief among them? Valley of the Pines. Price first visited the legendary New Jersey club in 2012, when he went with his father and some friends for a father-son event. They played about five rounds, giving Price a chance to experience a course he knew would be special.
Thanks to his stellar play as a mid-am, Price eventually received an invitation to the prestigious Crump Cup, and Pine Valley became an increasingly familiar destination. Price won the championship in 2024 and has been a fixture near the top of the rankings ever since. This year, he reached the final again before falling to Stewart Hagestad, 3 and 2.
For the price, however, the appeal of returning to Pine Valley is not only competitive. Over the years, he has gotten to know the staff and members, making each return feel a little more like coming home. This combination – competition, camaraderie and remarkable locations – is what makes the next stage particularly fitting.
Now, golf brings Price to Scotland for the bridge cup, where he will represent the United States in the international mid-am team competition at Trump Turnberry. The event brings together the elite mid-ams from the US and around the world for three days of competition, with this year’s matches taking place at Trump Turnberry from Monday to Wednesday.
Price has played team events before, including the Concession Cup, a US-versus-Europe competition for mid-ams and seniors.
“I just love team golf,” Price said. “It’s good to hang out with some fun guys and hang out.”
It seems fitting, then, that another chapter of Price’s golf journey will bring him back to Trump Turnberry. He has already played the course on a casual trip with friends. This time, however, he will see it through a different lens.