Perry Noun Still Swinging at 89
The multifaceted Liverpool resident also hosts a radio show (about golfing), writes a golf column and creates golf videos that are both instructional and motivational
By Mary Beth Roach
At 89, Perry Noun Jr. is still teeing it up. And he’s still looking to take a swing at new projects.
He hosts the weekly “Tee Time with the Pro Noun” radio program from the iHeart studios near downtown Syracuse.
He writes a weekly golf column for a local newspaper outlet.
He takes in a few holes at a nearby golf course as often as he can.
He creates golf videos that are both instructional and motivational.
He’s started a book about golf and life, having already written 10 chapters.
He joked that he’s already penned the last chapter.
But he certainly hasn’t written the last chapter of his career.
“I’m always waiting for the next challenge,” he said.
And whether it’s a current endeavor or one he plans to embark on, there is no doubt that Noun will bring his brand of energy and enthusiasm. That he poses in many of his photos with a thumbs-up sign further underscores that positive attitude.
Over the years, the Liverpool resident has won scores of tournaments, has run his golf radio program for more than 25 years; has served as executive director of the Northeastern New York PGA Section (PGA of America); is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and has been involved in golf course management, marketing and consulting. And for a good part of that time, he also had a full-time job as president of PNA Associates, a real estate management development and consulting business.
He credits the game of golf for his longevity.
“It’s a wonderful game because you can play golf for the rest of your life and everybody should,” he said. “You’re out in the fresh air. You’re in nature. You’re walking. You’re exercising. You’re moving. The human body needs to move.”
He added, too, “Golf is a sport that, when you play it, you will find that once you step on the golf course on the first tee and you begin to play, it erases the cobwebs that accumulate between your ears during the day.”
Noun practices what he preaches.
“If the sun is shining; if it’s cloudy or if there’s just a little bit of rain, I’m going to go out and just swing the club,” he said. Sometimes, he said, it might only be for four, five or nine holes, but rarely 18 holes these days unless he’s in a tournament.
Noun didn’t take up the sport until he was 42 because, as he said, he wanted to win a tournament. So, he entered an amateur tourney in Schenectady and he beat out a field of about 160. With a long history in college and pro sports, he admitted, with a sly smile, that he might be a little competitive.
Since 1980 he says he has won 126 tournaments, some by himself and some as part of a twosome or foursome. But one — or maybe four — points of pride for him are the tournaments he’s won with each of his children, Holly, Heather, Perry III and Will.
Among his other achievements in the game, he has been winner of the NYS Super Senior Amateur Championship and a two-time runner-up in that tournament; he has won the NY “State Days” Championship; been the Syracuse District Golf Association Super Senior “Stroke Play Champion” three times and won the Syracuse District Golf Association “Father and Son” Champions twice. He has also been inducted into the Edison Club (Saratoga County) Golf Hall of Fame and has been named the Syracuse District Golf Association “Golfer of the Year.”
But long before Noun made a name for himself in golf, he played baseball and football at Ithaca College. Upon graduating in 1959, he went onto play for the Chicago Cubs baseball organization in some of its minor league teams.
After six seasons, Noun left baseball to pursue other career interests, but he would return to Ithaca College to get his master’s degree and to go on to become the dean of students there. And he is in the college’s Sports Hall of Fame.
He eventually came to Syracuse to pursue a doctorate degree and one day, while reading the Post-Standard, he noticed that the paper had printed the Arbitron radio ratings.
He said he’d always been interested in trying sports broadcasting, so he thought he’d learn which stations might be the best. He noticed that the former Fulton-based WZZZ station had hardly any ratings.
He figured, “If I was going to begin, why don’t I begin there.”
Noun got a gig doing a morning program and was there for about 18 months before the owner put the station up for sale. Noun approached ClearChannel Communications, which was later sold to iHeart Radio and he has been there for about 25 years. Golfers looking for some tips, interesting interviews with local and national notables from the sport, or just some fun repartee between Noun and his guests, can find the show on Saturday mornings at 7 on WSYR570AM and NewsRadio 570 WSYR 106.9 FM. Previous broadcasts can be found on the iHeart website, YouTube or Noun’s website, www.perrynoun.com/teetime.
As for why he wants to pursue even more endeavors, his response is simple and matter-of-fact: “Why not? Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”