Minnesota’s Trent Peterson a World Beater, On, Off Golf Course

It’s a good bet most of the 264 players in this year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship have not experienced the Egyptian pyramids, the rock-cut architecture of Petra, walked the streets of Hanoi and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City to some), served a one-week medical missions in third-world Latin and South American countries such as Haiti, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador, and watched younger sisters compete in the Olympics.

Meet Trent Peterson, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and golfing savant who also happens to come from a family of curlers, two of whom competed in the Winter Games.

The 37-year-old Peterson, an Eagan, Minn., native competing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur this week at Kinloch Golf Club and stroke-play co-host Independence Golf Club, has managed to combine a lifelong passion for travel – specifically to second- and third-world countries – and anesthesiology. And, oh, he’s also pretty good at golf, having won a record 40 Minnesota state titles, including his state amateur, state open (as an amateur in 2014) and four mid-amateurs.

All while maintaining a challenging vocation that sees him work three 12-hour shifts per week at Union Hospital in St. Paul, as part of a team from Associated Anesthesiologists.

As a CRNA, Peterson helps prepare patients for a variety of procedures, everything from complex open-heart surgery and a craniology (brain) to something as routine as a toe removal or colonoscopy.

After regaining his amateur status in 2013 following a brief two-year professional mini-tour career and four seasons at South Dakota State University, where he became the first Jackrabbit to qualify for NCAA postseason play (2009), Peterson decided to put his love of science/medicine to good use by getting his nurse certification at the University of Sioux Falls, in South Dakota. His father, Sheldon, is a dentist, and his mother, Gaye, is a hygienist. His younger sisters, both Olympic-caliber curlers, have followed similar paths; Tabitha, 35, is a pharmacist, and Tera, 33, is a dentist. 

“I realized I don’t like to practice and don’t hit it far enough,” said Peterson of his career switch. “I thought maybe it’s time to move on. I needed a job that pays every two weeks, and still be able to golf as much as I want. Nursing was perfect because I have a science background.”

Peterson first began in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) then transitioned to becoming a CRNA three years ago following an intense 2½ years at the Minneapolis School of Anesthesia.

“There are a million different ways to do anesthesia, and you have to learn it all,” said Peterson. “For open-heart surgery, there’s a lot of prep work. It can take an hour to [prepare a patient for the procedure]. And if I don’t do it right and you stop breathing at the wrong time, it doesn’t end well.”

While many mid-amateurs plan buddy trips to fantastic venues such as Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, Pebble Beach or the United Kingdom/Ireland, Peterson has taken a far different approach to travel, venturing to an estimated 45 countries. He prefers far-off spots as Vietnam, Jordan, Egypt, and Latin and South America over Europe or Canada. He’s also been able to use his medical expertise on one-week missions to Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti through various non-profit organizations. He visited the latter not long after the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed 300,000 inhabitants.

One World Surgery sponsored his latest trip to Honduras, his first as a CRNA, where he assisted in several spinal surgeries.

“It allows you to see the world and help people at the same time,” said Peterson. “It really is [eye-opening]. To see the huge smiles on these patient’s faces. They are just so happy you are there and so thankful. They don’t have much, yet they still want to give you things like food.

“[My first mission] was to Haiti. It was after the earthquake. The conditions were just appalling. It gives you appreciation for what we have here [in the U.S.]. People here complain about the smallest things. But guess what, they don’t have any of this [care]. Yet the kids are running around with big smiles on their faces kicking straw-stuffed soccer balls that are deflated, and they are as happy as can be. It’s because they know nothing else.”

When he’s not on mission trips, one can find Peterson visiting such places as the Taj Mahal in India or Petra, a historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. In most cases, Peterson will search for an inexpensive airfare and then progress from there. His accommodations aren’t at the Ritz Carlton, either. To save money, he’ll stay in a youth hostel or budget hotel.

Being single helps as well.

“I have a lot more time than the average Joe,” said Peterson. “I can travel and play golf whenever I want. I don’t bring my clubs when I travel. I did play in Beijing 15 years ago with rented clubs that were not suited for me. It was terrible. I shot a million and didn’t have fun.”

Vietnam remains his best-loved destination.

“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” he said. “It’s relatively cheap and it has perfect weather. I had some of the best food and met some of the nicest people. The whole Southeast Asia region is my favorite.

Six years ago, Peterson traveled to another part of Asia, for an entirely different reason. His sister, Tabitha, made her first U.S. Olympic Curling Team and the entire family traveled to PyeongChang, in the Republic of Korea, for the Games. Curling had always been part of the Peterson family since they were kids going to the St. Paul Curling Club. Given the state’s short golf season, it became the perfect family winter activity. Trent, a former state high school golf champion, stopped participating in the sport just prior to attending South Dakota State, while Tabitha and Tera, both decent golfers themselves, continued to compete at the highest level.

Tabitha’s curling team qualified for the 2018 Games, while Tera made the squad for the Beijing Games in 2022, but because of COVID-19 restrictions, the family could not attend in person. Both are hopeful to qualify again in 2026 when the Winter Games will be staged in Milan, Italy.

Tabitha, the most experienced of her four-woman squad that competes in Bonspiels (or tournaments), is the skip (always throws last in the rotation), while Tera either is the first or second thrower. Their current squad consists of three Minnesotans and one woman from Alaska. The Olympic Team is decided at the Trials.

“People all see [curling] in at the Olympics and often say, if I could do an Olympic sport it’s curling,” said Peterson. “Then you get these people on the ice who have never done it and they say, this is so hard. There’s a lot of balance to it. Then you let go this 42-pound stone and somehow have to make it stop in the ‘House,’ or the bull’s-eye, right where you want it. It’s chess, too, because you each are alternating shots. There’s a lot of strategy.”

Much like golf. Trent sees a lot of similarities as each sport requires aiming for a specific target, and precision is required for success.

Just don’t expect to see Peterson, a three-time Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year, on the practice range hitting balls until his hands bleed. His non-tournament rounds in 2024 included the two practice rounds at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball in May at Philadelphia Cricket Club, and the two on Thursday and Friday leading into the U.S. Mid-Amateur. He and partner Nicholas Jarrett, who also qualified for the 2024 Mid-Am, lost in the Round of 32 to eventual runners-up Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington.

At the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Sand Creek Station in Kansas, Peterson’s first USGA championship and the last APL before it was officially retired by the USGA, he lost, 5 and 4, in the opening round to eventual semifinalist Michael Gellerman, a University Oklahoma All-American. His first U.S. Mid-Am start in 2017 at Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course in suburban Atlanta, ended with a 1-down loss to 2011 champion Randal Lewis.

His goal this week is to make match play and hopefully win a match or two, or six, the number required to capture the championship.

But whatever happens, this summer already has been a major success. Two months ago, Peterson completed the necessary 50 hours of training to obtain a pilot’s license in a single-engine plane. He’s flown a Cessna 172, although not to Virginia. That would require far more training with a multi-engine plane.

Right now, flying is just a hobby.

And one more check that’s been marked off Peterson’s bucket list.

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.