There is nothing typical about the high-speed, four-on-the-floor career of Tommy O’Brien, a Houston native and PGA of America Teaching Professional at Black Hawk Country Club in nearby Richmond, Texas.
On any given day, the resourceful O’Brien might be teaching a club member or PGA TOUR player before shifting gears to restore a classic car at the Four on the Floor Garage he co-owns with business partner Jason Aker. Then, O’Brien might shift into overdrive comparing golf instruction philosophies with the likes of Jim Murphy, Hank Haney, Jim Hardy, Stan Utley and Mark Sweeney before gearing down to spend the evening with his wife Catherine and their five daughters at home or at a Houston Astros game (Tommy’s also a baseball fanatic).
The biggest challenge facing the 47-year-old O’Brien is finding enough hours in the day to pursue his passions of golf, classic cars, family and baseball.
But as a kid, O’Brien wanted to play for the NBA’s Houston Rockets. “My father was the team dentist for the Rockets from 1985 until 2022. When I figured out I was not going to be 6-10, I picked up golf in 8th grade,” chuckles O’Brien.
Tommy (pictured left) grew up at Quail Valley Country Club watching the PGA TOUR’s Billy Ray Brown in his heyday, and at Sweetwater Country Club watching Murphy and Haney teach. Thus, it didn’t take long for O’Brien to become hooked on golf.
“Knowing a tour player and interacting with him as a 10-year-old was a larger-than-life experience,” recalls Tommy, a former Southern Texas PGA Section Eastern Chapter Teacher of the Year who was elected to PGA of America Membership in 2003. “I knew I wanted to do something with golf.”
O’Brien walked on at Sam Houston State University in 1997 and excelled as a player – and teacher.
“Several of my teammates at Sam Houston State would often ask me to help them with their games,” says O’Brien. “If I couldn’t win, I really enjoyed helping others win. It was a very satisfying feeling.”
Not so satisfying was when O’Brien’s position as Head Professional at Walden on Lake Houston was eliminated in 2011.
“That forced me to teach full-time to eat,” reflects O’Brien. “I also decided I wanted to be my own boss from then on. It was initially a scary decision, but I decided it had to be God’s will.”
Then O’Brien’s passion for teaching golf collided with his passion for restoring classic cars during the coronavirus pandemic. He was binge- watching a show called “Fast and Loud” on Discovery Channel that featured Richard Rawling’s Gas Monkey Garage and vowed he wanted to take a stab at restoring classic cars.
“Being a (Ford) Mustang freak, the very first episode I watched with my girls was the episode where Jason Aker and Richard built a ’68 Bullitt Mustang for Chad McQueen as Chad was going to re-enact the famous chase scene from his dad’s (Steve McQueen) famous ‘Bullitt’ movie from the late 1960s,” recounts O’Brien. “Through watching the show, I really began to admire Jason (Aker) and his restoration work.”
Unbeknownst to O’Brien at the time, Aker left the TV reality show and began working as the lead mechanic for Barrett Jackson Auctions. When Barrett Jackson hosted an auction in Houston a few years ago, O’Brien was in attendance and one of his daughters recognized Jason. So, O’Brien sauntered over and introduced himself.
“It was dumb Irish luck that we happened to see him,” recalls O’Brien. “Jason could not have been nicer, and we realized very quickly we both had a love of classic Mustangs and sports. I was in the process of acquiring my 1968 Bullitt Mustang and he was very kind to help me through that process. He mentioned to me if I ever wanted to ‘flip’ classics with him, he would be interested.”
O’Brien loved the idea and the Four on the Floor Garage was founded. He and Aker restored and “flipped” their first Mustang, a 1969 428 Mach 1, a year later, selling the restored gem to a billionaire in the Bay Area.
“Four on the Floor Garage has been an incredible and enjoyable experience,” says O’Brien.
You can call Tommy O’Brien a gearhead and he won’t object. But the titles he truly embraces is that of PGA of America Professional – and father.
“Classic cars fill my time when I’m not teaching golf, but my beautiful wife and five daughters truly fill my time,” explains O’Brien. “Restoring cars could eventually be a full-time thing after I retire from teaching golf. It’s hopefully what I will do in my golden years.”
—Roger Graves