AT HOME WITH MIKE WEIR Photo by John Thomson - Pioneer

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At Home with Mike Weir

INSIDE THE GOLF SUPERSTAR’S MAGNIFICENT UTAH HOME

AT HOME WITH MIKE WEIR By Robert Thompson

In a picturesque area overlooking Salt Lake City in Utah, a group of families is gathering for a housewarming. After a year of renovating, the new family on the block is preparing to host a neighbourhood gathering, to introduce themselves to their new neighbours and to show off all the work they’ve done on their large home, that sits in the foothills, presenting a clear view of the city below and with the east mountains as a backdrop. However, the guests – the husbands mainly – recognize this isn’t just any housewarming and this isn’t just any neighbour. Rarely does a neighbour win the Masters golf tournament. Rarely has a neighbour won nearly US$24 million in prize money during a decade-long career on the PGA Tour. Surely the visitors have been aware for some time that the Weir family, led the best professional golfer in Canadian history, have taken up residence on their small street. And as the guests enter the 14,000-square-foot home with its rustic Italian façade of brick and stucco, the wives take in the decorating that Weir’s wife, Bricia, has undertaken. The men, on the other hand, have one thing in mind: seeing what Weir jokingly calls, “my little facility down there.” In truth it there’s nothing little about it at all. Formerly a garage for the previous owner’s RV, Weir had turned it into his own indoor driving range, replete with enough area to watch the ball travel in the air for 15 yards, and punctuated by a computer system he can use to analyze his swing.

“While Bricia was showing the ladies the art and couches in our place, the guys all wanted to go and see the room: my gym and my practice facility,” Weir says. Showing off the house, which the Weir family acquired in 2006 after a plan to build a home fell apart, brought to a close a year-long process of designing, decorating and furnishing. It also represents a degree of permanence in the transient life of Weir, who was raised in Brights Grove, near Sarnia, Ont., but who has chased a little white ball across golf courses around the world since the early 1990s.

On Top of His Game Weir’s relationship with Utah is longstanding, starting with a recommendation from Canadian PGA Tour winner Richard Zokol, who suggested Weir consider attending Bringham Young University in Provo and playing on the school’s golf team, which was then regarded as among the best in the U.S. It was at university that Weir, who would become an AllAmerican on the golf team, met Bricia, who was studying to become a social worker. He turned pro after leaving school in 1992, Bricia, who is originally from Los Angeles, worked in Utah to support the couple while Weir chased his dream. “Bricia had a job as a social worker right out of school, so she kept it going for us as I tried to establish myself,” he says. Bricia continued to work while Weir travelled the world playing golf, including stints in

Photo by John Thomson

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Australia where he literally ran out of money on a couple of occasions. Other times, he’d make the 11-hour drive to California to visit Mike Wilson, his swing instructor at the time. It was a difficult period during which the couple had little money and the golfer didn’t progress up the ranks as quickly as many expected. “Bricia traveled with me for three years in there,” he explains. “We’d get an apartment and when I had to go on tour we’d just put everything in storage.” That changed in 1998 when Weir made it through the daunting qualifying school: six rounds of difficult, pressure-filled golf, and finally found himself on the PGA Tour. His rookie year was far from a disaster, but he didn’t earn playing privileges for 1999. Instead he went back to Qschool, won that tournament and would become the first Canadian to win an event in Canada in more than four decades when he captured the Air Canada Championship in Vancouver. That set him up to become the best Canadian golfer in history, winning again in 2000 and 2001 before his breakthrough year of 2003, when he won three times and became the first Canadian to win one of golf’s four major championships when he prevailed over Len Mattiace in a playoff at the Masters. By then the days of stuffing the family’s belongings in storage while Weir played golf was a distant memory. In Canada, Weir became a sports superstar, instantly recognizable through a series of television commercials and billboards in support of a Toronto-based mutual-fund company. He made nearly US$5-million on the course in 2003, and millions more off the course through endorsement and sponsorship deals set up by his

management company, IMG Sports. As Weir’s star grew, the family, which now included daughters Elle and Lili, became more attached to Utah, especially the outdoor activities and the privacy it offered. “It was a good base and soon enough all of our friends were here,” Weir explains. “We grew to like it and loved the out-of-doors, the skiing, the lifestyle. We liked it all. And I’m definitely more anonymous here than if I lived in a golf town like Scottsdale or Orlando. Golf is big here, but no one is bugging me at the grocery store.”

Making a Home On a mild day in December, Weir is enjoying a break from the rigors of professional golf. He didn’t win in 2008, but he did make more than US$3 million in a solid year. His year came to a close at the end of October, and since that point he’s spent more time at home in Utah at one stretch than he can easily recall. “I enjoy getting up, getting the girls breakfast and taking them to school,” he says. “It is about being dad.” Schooling for the girls was one of the big considerations to the location of their new home, which Bricia found during an Internet search. It

With its rustic brick-and-stucco façade, Mike Weir’s 14,000square-foot home almost looks as if it sprung from the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City, Utah. Mike’s wife Bricia worked closely with a designer for a year to create a sense of scale and comfort that suited the family.

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had been the dream project of the previous owner, whose spouse died suddenly, leaving the house largely unfinished. “It was a beautiful home, but it was a question of what we could do with it,” Weir explains. The new house was 20 minutes closer to the school the girls were attending, and had a bigger lot for outdoor activities. Located about 25 minutes outside Salt Lake City (“the highways put in place for the 2002 Olympics make it really easy to get around,” Weir says), the house offers the privacy the family was striving for while also providing the natural beauty of the mountains with the city in the distance. But its vast size presented a challenge, especially since the family didn’t want it to seem too expansive. In order to take the house from the massive shell to a homier, more comfortable setting, the Weirs employed a designer that worked with them for more than a year. Working closely with Bricia, who managed the process of redesigning the house, the goal was to make the main rooms feel less spacious. This was done by creating what Weir calls “rooms within rooms,” essentially utilizing furniture to create intimate sitting areas within some of the more expansive areas of the house. In the great room, for example, which is one of the central areas of the house, Bricia and the designer acquired a number of antique items that separated elements of the room, and utilized earth tones to

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The great room is the focal point of the Weirs’ Utah home. To give this expansive space a more comfortable scale, they acquired several antique items to separate various areas, and used earth tones to add warmth. So that the big Pioneer Kuro plasma TV from dominating the area, there’s a movable abstract painting in front of the screen. It rolls up when the TV is turned on, then back down, hiding the screen, when the TV is turned off.

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Photos by John Thomson


The Pioneer Kuro plasma TV in the master bedroom is installed inside a large cabinet. When it’s not in use, the screen is hidden by sliding bookshelves, which can be pushed to the side when Mike and Bricia want to catch a late-night movie.

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The golfer did bring one element to the home’s design: he wanted it outfitted with Pioneer’s Elite Kuro plasma televisions. Weir had first heard about the televisions from fellow PGA Tour pro Jerry Kelly, who had a sponsorship deal with Pioneer. The Weir family purchased one and put it in their ski condo in Sundance, Utah and Weir was so pleased with it that he acquired a dozen more for the new home. The Weirs are big movie watchers, often using the televisions to take in the latest Hollywood fare. And while there isn’t a lot of golf shown on the screens (though Mike occasionally tunes into the Golf Channel), he has been known to preview courses he’s not familiar with by watching videos of past tournaments. However, most of the time spent watching the televisions is focused on college sports (particularly football) and sports news programming on ESPN, which is a regular draw for Weir – though not as much for his wife, he admits. The only area on which the golfer and his wife disagreed was on how the televisions should be presented. Bricia didn’t want them dominating rooms and didn’t want one in their bedroom. Weir took a mulligan, agreeing to make the televisions in the great room and master bedroom more discreet. In the master bedroom, the Pioneer plasma is installed in the centre of a large cabinet, which Bricia found in a local boutique. When it’s not in use, the television is covered by bookshelves that slide horizontally. When the Weirs want some late night viewing, they slide the bookshelves to either side of the cabinet, uncovering the screen. When they’re done, they slide the bookshelves back into the middle to hide the screen. The great room is near the main entrance, with a big open kitchen directly behind, separated by huge stone fireplace. The living room and kitchen is where visitors tends to gather. Weir wanted a flat screen in the living room so that guests could chill out and watch a game instead of having to go into the adjoining pool room. Bricia didn’t want a big screen dominating the décor of the room. So they hid the TV. There’s a picture frame around the TV, and in front of the screen, there’s an abstract painting. When no one is actually watching the TV, the screen is completely hidden by the painting, which matches the décor beautifully.

When someone turns on the TV, the painting scrolls up on a roller, uncovering the screen. Turn it off, and the painting scrolls back down, covering the screen. For music, there’s a whole-house entertainment system from a Utah company called Control 4, with speakers built into the ceiling of the living room. The Control 4 system operates a 400-disc changer and a hard disc server containing the family’s entire music collection, and can also stream music from the Rhapsody online music service. Using wall-mounted control pads, the Weirs can program in their favourite music. For Mike, that includes Canadian rock band Nickelback. Weir met the band’s bassist during a trip to Hawaii and is partial to the group’s hard-edged sound. However, big guitars aren’t the only music playing on the system. The Weir family is also partial to country music and the system was plugged full of Christmas music that played constantly when the family entertained over the holidays.

“My Little Facility” In other areas of the house, the televisions and technology come to the forefront, specifically in Weir’s elaborate home gym, constructed by his trainer, Jeff Handler, and in his indoor range in the converted RV garage. Like many professional golfers, Weir has embraced the fitness revolution that has become part of the game since Tiger Woods’ emergence as the

Photo by Gordon Brockhouse

bring a warm sense to the area. “We wanted the house to have a cozy feel, because it was so big and open when we bought it that my vision for it wasn’t great,” Weir says. But Bricia was taken with the possibilities of the home and worked with a designer to take the Italian theme from the home’s exterior and extend it to the interior décor.

A whole-house entertainment system lets the Weirs program an evening’s worth of music using wall-mounted keypads. Music, stored on a hard-disk server and 400-disc CD changer, is played through wall and ceiling speakers.

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Mike Weir works out about four days a week in his well equipped home gym. While exercising, he likes to watch ESPN on the big-screen Pioneer Kuro plasma TV. best – and most fit – player in the game in 1997. Plagued by difficulties with his back, a typical problem many golfers experience, Weir has long been very conscious of his strength and conditioning, making a gym and workout area a necessary part of the new house. Under Handler’s guidance, Weir’s gym is designed specifically for the golfer’s needs, and while there isn’t a huge amount of equipment, it has all been carefully considered. The gym includes a universal weight machine, which allows Weir to do everything from squats to bench press, as well as an elliptical trainer, a FreeMotion cable machine designed to promote strength and flexibility, and a stationary bike. An average Weir workout would probably ruin most weekend hackers. He works out – including extensive stretching – for a couple of hours most weekdays, while he watches sports on one of the everpresent Pioneer plasmas. “I’m there four days a week,” he says. “And the TV is on every morning when I’m down there, with ESPN or something.” Weir’s indoor hitting facility is the most technically sophisticated area of the house and is the envy of many PGA Tour pros, he says. The system was set up by JC Motion Video, a company based in Draper, Utah that has created computerized motion-analysis systems for some of golf’s

biggest names, including Augusta National Golf Club, home of the annual Masters golf tournament, as well as famed golf instructors Rick Smith and Jim McLean, and actor Will Smith. The system was set up to allow Weir to utilize one of his screens and was installed in his house in the middle of last year. The system created for Weir has four cameras, including an overhead camera, with the television in a location that allows the golfer to immediately replay any of his swings. “I can put it on auto-repeat, slow it down, write lines on it, whatever I need to do,” he says. In 2007, the golfer began working with Andy Plummer and Mike Bennett, golf instructors known for their revolutionary “stack and tilt” swing theory. Weir learned a great deal about his swing by working with Plummer and Bennett, and became quite comfortable analyzing its nuances, something he does regularly in the indoor range at his home. “For me it is ideal because I can separate my game by working indoors and being technical and get immediate feedback,” he explains. “That way I can implement any change right away, whether it is making my irons steeper or changing the plane of my swing. But when you are on the range and you are at a tournament, you always have it in the back of your

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mind that you’re going to play and you don’t want to be too technical.” Like the gym, Weir spends a lot of time at his hitting facility. “Basically when Bricia is trying to find me she knows where to look,” Weir says. “I’m either in the gym or the room beside it hitting balls.”

Family First While it may have an ultra-sophisticated gym and golf area, it is clear that to Weir that is the practical and functional part of his home. Weir says his daughters – and specifically his 11-year-old Elle – have embraced technology in a way their father has not. Elle is the one that sends e-mail to family members or can be found listening to music in the family’s Utah home on her iPod. And it is Elle and her younger sister Lili, 8, who have one of the Pioneer plasmas televisions hooked up to a Nintendo Wii. Sometimes Weir joins in. “We don’t play much Wii Golf,” he explains. “Right now it is Rock Band and the Wii Play games: ping pong, tennis and baseball.” However, Bricia and Mike are insistent that the girls don’t spend too

much time on the Wii or their computer. They make sure the pair gets out in the fresh Utah mountain air. While Weir says he likes the “physical aspect” of the Wii, it isn’t a substitute for more traditional childhood experiences, he says. “They don’t play much,” says Weir. “They burn off an hour or two after doing their homework. But we make sure they get outside, riding their bikes or jumping on the trampoline.” Family is a huge focus of Weir’s life. This past Christmas, the Weirs invited 17 family members (from both sides of the family) for the holidays. It is clear he’s thrilled to show off the finished version. And in typical Canadian understated fashion, he’s a bit sheepish about the home’s size, not wanting to appear ostentatious. But he’s also happy that the home can accommodate such a large group. “Sure the house is bigger than we wanted, but now it suits our purposes,” he says. “When we have 17 family members at Christmas, we’ll squeeze them all in. It’s the first time we’re getting everyone here at once. It’ll be great.” HH

A computerized motion-analysis system in Mike Weir’s home records the golfer’s swing, then lets him analyze his technique. “For me it is ideal because I can separate my game by working indoors and being technical and get immediate feedback,” Weir explains. “That way I can implement any change right away.”

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GOLF GADGETS

Products that will help your game

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Golf used to be about hitting a little white ball with a club. But in recent years it has become a quest to incorporate the latest technology. Take, for instance, Taylor Made’s new R9 driver. Golf superstar Mike Weir began working with the driver last fall. Known to be fastidious about his equipment, often tweaking and tinkering with it for weeks before using it in a tournament, Weir was still finding a setup he was comfortable with when he played Tiger Woods’ Chevron World Challenge in California in the middle of December. Like earlier Taylor Made drivers, the R9 utilizes “movable-weight technology,” which allows golfers to move weights in the clubhead in order to shape their shots differently. The technology is so successful that most golf companies have now incorporated it into some clubs in their roster. TM’s R9 takes the technology a step further by allowing golfers to adjust the face angle to open (for those that draw the ball) or to closed (for those that slice it). Additionally golfers can adjust the loft of the club, moving it from 8.5 degrees for those with higher swing speeds or higher launch angles, to 11.5 degrees for golfers who need to get the ball in the air more easily. Callaway is also offering a club to help golfers keep it in the fairway. The company’s FT-iQ driver (retailing at $529), with its unusual square face uses technology found in Stealth bombers and Formula-1 cars to promote distance and accuracy. Worried that the latest drivers will only allow you to hit it further into the woods? There’s a fix for that too. Currently on the market is myriad of GPS devices designed to help determine accurate yardage to the green from wherever you find your golf ball. Among the best is the GolfLogix GPS-8, which uses GPS technology from mapping giant Garmin ($275). Among the more intriguing developments is the movement towards

Featuring an unusual square face, Callaway’s FT-iQ driver features technology to promote distance and accuracy.

p33 Using a Web-based program, golfers can design their own customized versions of MyJoys golf shoes, choosing colour, style, laces and even logos to place on the heel. personalization. FootJoy’s move into the personalization category with its MyJoys shoes ($189.99) is the most intriguing and entertaining. Utilizing a Web-based program, MyJoys allows golfers to pick everything from the model type to colour of the laces through to adding the logo of their favourite football team on the heel. Dozens of colours and configurations are available, allowing customers to create their own unique footwear, from classic traditional looks to bold and sporty. In fact, experimenting with combinations is almost as fun as wearing the shoes themselves. Already among the most successful products in golf history, Titleist’s ProV1 ($49.99) golf balls get a facelift for the 2009 season. Titleist has been embroiled in a patent lawsuit with rival Callaway over the technology that goes into the ProV1, a battle that has forced the The GolfLogix GPS-8 can company to create a new version. As store information on 20 the most popular ball on the PGA Tour, golf courses, from a dataTitleist promises the new version base of 22,500. It calculates (which doesn’t infringe on Callaway the distance of your last patents, according to the company) will shot and tells you the be equal to or better than the existing distance from your current ProV1. HH location to the green.

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There’s nothing particularly modern or cutting edge when it comes to Mike Weir’s taste in golf courses. As a golfer who has played and won on some of the toughest courses in the world, including Augusta National, home of the Masters, and Riviera Golf Club in Los Angeles, Calif., Weir is particularly fond of the classic courses built during the so-called Golden Age of golf design, a period starting around the turn of the 20th century and ending just before World War II. These courses emphasize shot-making over power, and play to Weir’s game, which is not simply about hitting his driver 300 yards at every opportunity. “I’m an analytical thinker,” explains Weir. “I like to have a game plan and I like to prepare that way heading into a tournament. It puts me at ease when I prepare in that way so when I arrive at a course like Colonial, Riviera, or Augusta, I’m playing out a strategy.” In Canada, Weir’s favourites include Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ont., where the RBC Canadian Open was played in 2003 and 2006, and The National Golf Club of Canada in Woodbridge, Ont., often regarded as one of the most difficult in the country. “I look at many of my favourite courses and I came to realize that a lot of what makes them challenging are the strategies,” he says. “It isn’t an issue of losing golf balls in fescue, or having fairways bounded by endless water hazards. The great factor that many of my favourite courses have in common is that an average golfer playing the appropriate tees can have fun without being too beaten up by the experience. It is like Augusta; I’ve played with my Dad there and if he plays the correct set of tees he has a great time.” With all of these experiences now part of a decade-long PGA Tour career, Weir is venturing into designing courses, creating the firm of Weir Golf Design with Brantford, Ont. architect Ian Andrew. Several projects are in planning stages. “I’m really excited by this opportunity and the Mike Weir Design team is coming up with great ideas and concepts for our projects,” he says. “Our goal is to focus on a limited number of projects, providing a lot of attention to detail and time on each.” HH

MAKING THE SHOT

One of Mike Weir’s favourite Canadian golf courses is the The Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ont., where the RBC Canadian Open was played in 2003 and 2006.

The National Golf Club in Woodbridge, Ont. is one of Mike Weir’s favourite courses, and is regarded as one of the most challenging in Canada.

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Photo by Robert Thompson

Mike Weir’s favourite courses