Henleys Find Balance With Golf Travel

By Ken Klavon, Synovus

Since joining the PGA TOUR full-time in 2013, Russell Henley’s career path has been similar to one of his drives off the tee: long and with an upward trajectory.

Over his career he has played in 294 total tournaments and made the cut in 212 of those (through February 23). This season he committed to at least 18 tournaments with the potential to compete in more. Last year he played in played in 20; in 2022-2023 the number was 26; and 22 in 2021-2022.

On the surface, it highlights a disciplined fortitude to compete. Digging deeper, what often goes unnoticed is all the behind-the-scenes, chain-of-events that get him in position to play.

Such as travel.

“With the way the schedule is,” said Russell Henley, who is currently 17th in the World Golf Ranking, “we typically start out a season on the West Coast where the weather is a bit warmer. Then the schedule usually dictates traveling East where we’re chasing the weather as it starts to warm up there.”

For a professional golfer, living a nomadic experience for months is part of the gig. The travel is almost like having another limb, where it’s necessary and vital. According to CBS Sports, the average golfer on the PGA TOUR travels more than 44,000 miles a season. There are some who travel more than 100,000 miles. It all depends on where they live and the schedule, which can be driven by ancillary factors like a player’s status on the TOUR.

Throw in having a family and the challenges become more exponential.

If anything, for fellow Synovus brand ambassador and wife, Teil Duncan Henley, she recognized early on that for Russell Henley to pursue a life in golf, this was part of the package. She added it’s about supporting him in the same way that he supports her art career. They both have goals, and they both try to help each other reach them.

“I don’t think I could do my job if Teil wasn’t up for traveling,” said Russell Henley. “She’s really the glue that holds it all together.”

Traveling is an essential — and accepted — part of his profession. With three young children, the Henleys plot out a plan before each golf season and identify when it’s feasible to include the family on trips.

As the Henleys raise their children, being present is top of their list whether at home or on the road. Teil Duncan Henley said it’s about “prioritizing our core values.” They try to normalize life away from their home as much as they can.

“I feel like the thing kids want and need from their parents is quality and quantity time,” said Russell Henley. “It can't be one or the other. I think it has to be both. I have stressful weeks just like anybody else where I get mentally drained. Sometimes I feel like I'm still at the course when I get home and Teil knows me well enough to see when I'm looking a little distracted. We've just tried to help encourage each other. When we're together, when we're with the family, let’s try to be present.”

To mitigate some of the travel, the Henleys have tried to commit to a plan where Russell — when away by himself ­— isn’t gone for more than two weeks at a time.

Very few tournaments are ever close to their Columbus, Georgia home. That means events are all over the U.S. map, including Hawaii. Mexico and Canada aren’t out of the question. The British Open each July guarantees a trip to an acclaimed course in Europe.

To ease some of the burden, the PGA TOUR Family Center helps players with access to daycare facilities and other support services at tournaments. The program began in 1998 when the TOUR saw how it could better support players with families. There are also housing services the Henleys utilize to ensure each trip is seamless in settling in and moving out.

“It can be a grind,” said Teil Duncan Henley. “You're uprooting your family and then staying in a house that's not your own. With the kids you go into a mode like ‘Don't break this, don't run into that’ or ‘There's no yard, so we’re limited.’”

With the children growing, Teil is cognizant that other priorities (such as school commitments) will take precedent; accompanying Russell at tournaments may wane.

“Even though it comes with many challenges, we'll go to cities with a new aquarium or a zoo and all sorts of things the kids could be exposed to. I like that they’re learning,” she added. “The most valuable thing of all is just keeping everybody together, because especially as they get older, I can tell they notice when he's gone. Sometimes it will be, ‘When is he coming home?’

“But when we’re traveling, I would rather go through any inconvenience to just have them all together, because there will come a day where we can't travel anymore. So, we have to take advantage of these days.”

Last September, Russell Henley was one of 12 players to represent the U.S. Team in the Presidents Cup that was held at the Royal Montreal Club in Montreal, Quebec. It was a quick trip. Teil Duncan Henley attended without the children mainly because other players left theirs at home due to practicality and how fast everything needed to come together. She said it felt different without them.

The times Russell Henley goes solo, he leans on FaceTime often to stay in communication. He appreciates the times when Teil Duncan Henley holds down the fort. In return, when the season ends, priorities shift where he provides her more time in the studio while taking on child duties.

Neither would change any of it.

“Just seeing Russell in this phase of having little ones, he's so unbelievably hands-on, and he genuinely wants to be around,” said Teil Duncan Henley. “And a lot of times when I think, ‘Surely he wants a little bit of a break, it's getting too rowdy, he might need to rest,’ I think it provides a way for him to just escape from the pressures of golf. And we can sure provide some distraction [laughing]. But he genuinely just loves pouring into our family.”

Be sure to check out more content from the inspiring couple, both of whom continue sharing stories from the golf course, the art studio and at home in Columbus, Georgia, where they live with their three children.