Set on his course

Deirdre Newman

While most 19-year-olds are still deciding what to do with their

lives Chris Maddy has got a firm grip on his future.

Maddy opened Coast Golf Repair in Costa Mesa on Aug. 1 and is

poised to launch an advertising campaign to get more exposure.

“It was pretty busy when I first opened, but it slowed off a

little bit,” Maddy said. “Hopefully when I do more advertising it

will pick up a little bit.”

The Newport Harbor High School grad has been playing golf since he

was 9 and worked at various golf shops in the area doing repairs. His

dad, who owns some businesses of his own, would ask his son if he

ever thought about opening his own repair shop.

The answer was usually, “no.”

That changed when Maddy went to Orange Coast College. He found he

didn’t like community college that much so he turned to something

more enjoyable.

He went to a school in Texas for a few weeks to hone his golf

repair skills. Then, he scoured the Newport-Mesa area for eight

months trying to find a suitable, affordable location. He wanted to

find a spot in this area because most of the repair shops are in

Tustin, he said. He finally found one on West 17th Street in Costa

Mesa.

“I drive by here all the time,” Maddy said. “I thought the rent

would be crazy. But that was the cheapest and it was set up just how

I like it with an office and a place to put everything in.”

His parents support his entrepreneurial efforts and even gave him

$25,000 to open the store. He said the best advice his dad gave him

was to be organized.

Advice that he took to heart as the shop has an orderly feel to it

with shafts lined up on the walls, grips neatly stacked in baskets

and plenty of open space in the middle of the room.

While it has been a challenge getting started, Maddy said the

reward is going to a job he actually enjoys doing every day.

With all the pressure of starting a new business, Maddy said he

still finds time to play his favorite sport.

“I have friends where if I want to play golf, they’ll come down

and take orders and I’ll come down later and [work on them],” Maddy

said. “And I usually go after work.”