Troy Vannucci didn’t grow up playing golf. In fact, the 34-year-old project manager got his first set of clubs just before starting high school in 2007… and he was far from a natural. If you were to tell anyone who knew him back then that Vannucci would become a three-time reigning New Jersey Golf player of the year and a one-time Golf Association of Philadelphia player of the year, they’d probably call you crazy.
“He drove the ball kind of fine but the rest of his game was just horrendous,” said Beau Guarino, Vannucci’s longtime friend who has caddied for him in the past. “But he was determined and you could tell he instantly caught the bug. I don’t think anyone would have guessed he’d be remotely as good as he is now.”
Vannucci's story is one of hours and hours on the range and refusal to become discouraged when results didn’t go his way. It’s a story about falling in love with golf and the relentless pursuit of a singular goal: to become as good as he can possibly be.
“Growing up it didn’t matter what I was doing, I always wanted to be the best and I loved to practice,” Vannucci said. “If we’re flipping coins, I want to be the best flipper.”
Vannucci received his first set of clubs from his uncle Tommy Hyland. Hyland, a talented golfer in his own right, is also a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Vannucci was instantly hooked, but a hook was also one of the many misses he had when hitting the ball.
“I would go through so many balls,” Vannucci said. “I was all over the place.”
In 2010, Vannucci spent the summer in New Jersey with his uncle, who was a member at Little Mill Country Club. That was when Guarino first met Vannucci, and he wasn’t impressed with Vannucci’s game.
“I’ll play in anything. I don’t care what or where it is, what the conditions are. I just love to compete. I love the action and being under the gun.”
Troy Vannucci
“He had no touch and no feel,” Guarino said. “I think we [at the club] were a lot nicer to him because he was Tommy’s nephew to be honest with you. We’re Jersey guys so we’re all ball-busters. But it was Tommy’s nephew so we just kind of said, ‘You ever play with Troy? Kid’s not very good, huh?’”
But Vannucci had the desire to improve. He says there were many good players at Little Mill, so he’d watch them on the range and try to emulate them.
“I could sit on the range and hit balls all day and not even play and totally be content,” Vannucci said.
When not on the range, Vannucci played in money games with his uncle and other members at Little Mill.
Vannucci steadily improved. In high school, despite winning a tournament or two, he never had any desire to pursue professional golf.
“I was OK in high school,” Vannucci said. “I was always like the [No.] 3 or 4 guy. Nothing impressive. I just played because I really liked it.”
After graduating in 2011, Vannucci decided not to go to college, but he didn’t know what he wanted to do next. Two years later, he moved to New Jersey to work at American Athletic Track and Turf, a company owned by his uncle’s friend.
In the beginning, Vannucci couldn’t play a lot of golf and instead focused on building his position at the company. Now it’s different. Single with no kids, he’s playing golf when he isn’t working.
“I leave the office at 4 and then I go straight to the golf course until dark,” Vannucci said. “I give up a bit of my social life to play golf.”
Vannucci tries to play in about 30 tournaments a year, a schedule that rivals that of some PGA Tour players. By comparison, Scottie Scheffler played in 20 events on the PGA Tour in 2025.
“I’ll play in anything,” Vannucci said. “I don’t care what or where it is, what the conditions are. I just love to compete. I love the action and being under the gun.”
For several years, Vannucci posted a number of good results in amateur tournaments but he couldn’t get over the hump and win. For example, he finished as the low amateur in the 2018 New Jersey Open, two strokes behind the winner.
In 2019, Vannucci and his partner, Vince Kwon, shared medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. The pair made it to the semifinals before losing to Todd Mitchell and Scott Harvey.
In 2021, he lost in the final of the New Jersey Mid-Amateur and lost by a stroke at the Pennsylvania Open.
“I was knocking at the door for years and years,” Vannucci said. “It was grueling and it takes a toll on you but like my uncle always said, just work for the next event and keep on playing. Everything is going to work out.”
In 2022, Vannucci broke through to win the GAP Middle-Amateur Championship at Jericho National Golf Club in Pennsylvania, following in the footsteps of his cousin Michael Hyland, who won the championship in 2018.
Vannucci entered the final round two strokes behind leader Sean Flanigan but came back and prevailed in a four-hole aggregate playoff.
“That was a big monkey off the back,” Vannucci said. “That was a huge relief and then having to do it in a playoff and everything. My time finally came.”
“For him it was all off of hard work. It’s not like he was this naturally gifted golfer. He worked harder than anybody from an amateur level that I know to get to that point.”
Beau Guarino
Guarino says it was awesome seeing his friend reach his potential and be rewarded for the countless hours of practice.
“For him it was all off of hard work,” Guarino said. “It’s not like he was this naturally gifted golfer. He worked harder than anybody from an amateur level that I know to get to that point.”
In 2023, Vannucci didn’t win any tournaments but he won both the GAP and New Jersey Golf amateur player of the year awards for the first time. In 2024, Vannucci reeled off 10 victories in 10 weeks, including the Joseph H. Patterson Cup and the Pennsylvania Middle-Amateur.
Despite being the New Jersey Golf amateur player of the year for the last three years, Vannucci has somehow never won an association event in the state.
“I want to knock off a win of some sort, I don’t even care which one,” he said.
Vannucci also wants to reach U.S. Open sectional qualifying, especially since he has missed by one stroke multiple times in local qualifying.
One thing is for certain: no matter how much success Vannucci has or how many times he falls short, he’s going to keep practicing and trying to get better at the game he loves.
“I feel like I do a pretty good job of staying level-headed and staying motivated and not really thinking about the wins until after the season,” Vannucci said. “I try to get back in the driver’s seat, keep going, and treat every tournament like it’s my last one.”
Top: A strong desire to improve has helped Troy Vannucci become one of the top amateurs in New Jersey.
Kathryn Riley, usga