Inside Golf, Australia. August 2014 | Page 18

industry news Ex-managers reunite “When I started at McLeod Golf Club in the early 1980s, Don and Ted took me under their wing and I’m grateful for that,” Rae said. David Newbery [email protected] These stories were a common theme at the reunion and the camaraderie among the group remains strong. A NYONE who thinks a group of mostly retired golf club managers with more than 400 years’ collective experience are whiling away their time in rocking chairs should think again. Last year, octogenarian Ted Coker, the doyen of these former golf club managers, received a recognition award for services to the profession from the Club Managers’ Association of America. Recently 16 ex-managers, mostly from southeast Queensland, descended on Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane for a reunion where each regaled tales of long careers and new beginnings. Most have retired gracefully (or gratefully), but a few including Ian Hepburn, Brett Kerr, Rae Clar