Ben Gale , left , with cousin Dudley Blossom after his final round of golf .
A bench honoring Ben Gale now rests at Millwood Country Club .
Better yet , there was a challenging ninehole original Donald Ross golf course on campus , as well . Chamberlain could walk out of his dormitory front door and be on the first tee in a matter of minutes , if not seconds . He was a valued member of the Woodberry golf team and at one point , had an impressive 1.8 handicap index .
Over the summers , he also played junior golf . Gale helped out financially , taking care of instruction , entry fees and traveling expenses . He often took Chamberlain with him on his annual summer fishing trips in Maine , another mutual interest .
IN MEMORIAM
Chamberlain surely could have played Division I college golf . But his classroom prowess at Woodberry led to being named an Oldham Scholar at the University of Richmond , a prestigious full academic scholarship awarded for outstanding achievement in the classroom as well as qualities of character and leadership .
“ I knew I was not going to play professional golf ,” he said . “ I wanted to focus on my studies , and that ’ s what I decided to do .”
He graduated from UR with a degree in international business , earned a Masters degree in sports management from Georgetown University and recently has moved to North Carolina to work out of his national company ’ s Chapel Hill office .
Over the years , Chamberlain remained in close touch with Ben Gale right up until his death . He wistfully recalled their last meal together in late September — both devouring Philly cheesesteak subs and Cokes while sitting outdoors at their favorite Middleburg deli — and said he misses his old friend every day .
A week after Gale ’ s death , Andrew Stifler organized a small memorial ceremony at Millwood in early November . It also was announced that he and Chamberlain will be playing together in the club ’ s member-guest tournament later this year in an annual event that forever more will be named for Ben Gale .
“ After a while , I realized that good ol ’ grumpy Mr . Gale and I were simply very close friends linked at the beginning by our love for the game of golf … As time went on ( it developed ) into an incredible mutual respect for each other that was unbreakable .” — Chamberlain Hill
About 30 friends — mostly all golfers — came to honor Gale . Many of them had chipped in to present the club with a bench in his name located at Millwood ’ s first tee , and a tree planted next to the fourth tee , one of his favorite holes . Chamberlain had a major business commitment in Ohio and regrettably was unable to attend , but he composed an emotional and deeply moving eulogy for his friend that was read by Tom Northrup . In the audience , tears flowed freely .
“ After a while ,” Chamberlain wrote , “ I realized that good ol ’ grumpy Mr . Gale and I were simply very close friends linked at the beginning by our love for the game of golf … As time went on ( it developed ) into an incredible mutual respect for each other that was unbreakable .
“ Did we always see eye to eye ? Absolutely not and sometimes our differences in opinion made for very difficult and very honest conversations . But our respect for each other always remained constant … One of the major reasons that I loved Mr . Gale so much is that as loud ( mostly because he couldn ’ t hear ) and opinionated as he was , there was never a time where I felt that my opinions , views or thoughts weren ’ t respected or being heard . That to me is what made him such a special friend .
“ I cherished having someone in my life like him . I can only hope that everyone gets the privilege of having their own Mr . Gale in their life . He is the good Lord ’ s problem now , and I hope the man upstairs is prepared and has some spare time on his calendar for him . Mr . Gale is coming with a notepad full of questions and a whole bunch of jokes that tend to take some time to develop but usually end up being pretty damn funny .
“ I love you Mr . Gale and you will be missed .
“ Your buddy , Chamberlain Hill .”
COURTESY PHOTO , LEONARD SHAPIRO
28 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ARCH / A PRIL 2021
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