Bob Ford’s name is synonymous with the two clubs he served as head professional: Oakmont Country Club for 37 seasons and Seminole Golf Club for 21. While that one-two punch is impressive, what might surpass it is the impact he’s had on the position of head professional throughout the country, placing his assistants into top positions almost from the beginning of his career and then later through the formation of a consulting business called AMF that is now known as Golf Business Network.
From his perch at two of the most storied and revered clubs in America, Ford had an inside seat to how high-powered, discerning memberships govern, react, and deliberate, and he used his institutional knowledge to help choregraph the career advancement of his former assistants. Totaling those Ford trained directly as well as those who they trained (Ford’s “grandchildren” if you will), we counted 135 people leading as head professionals, directors of golf and directors of instruction at notable clubs and other golf organizations.
We spoke with over a dozen former assistants to Ford. To a man, they say working for Ford meant soaking up his aura, his equanimity and calmness. Ford treated everyone with respect, from disgruntled members to merchandise salesmen, always listening more than talking. The great amateur Vinny Giles used to complain about balls flying over the net at the back of the shortish range at Seminole, including one memorable time when Giles was on the 16th tee. Giles let Ford know what happened with great energy, but Ford never lost his cool and said, “Well, we’ll figure it out.” Says Steve Archer of Kinsale: “Bob had a sign in his office that said, ‘It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.’” That ethos endowed him with an uncommon respect and admiration from his assistants. Many we interviewed said the same thing: they simply didn’t want to let Ford down.
It may be hard to believe there was a time when Bob Ford was once wet behind the ears and trying desperately to not disappoint as well. He was just 25 when he took over for Lew Worsham at Oakmont in 1979. Although he had been at the club for five years as an assistant, stepping into the head role was still intimidating. “I was, like, Oh, my God, what have I done? So, I promise you it was smoke and mirrors for a few years,” Ford says.
Ford succeeded in many ways in his first ten years at Oakmont but noted he made one mistake. “I taught eight hours a day. That was really stupid. I was seeing eight people in eight hours and 144 members were up at the club. I never saw them.”
Ford was a great player in his own right—he made the cut at the 1983 US Open at Oakmont while running merchandise for the championship—and didn’t hire a director of instruction until 1990. Oakmont was an intense place, busy with guests and championships, and as he learned to delegate more and more, Ford slowly created a farm system of assistants which was replicated as the men under him moved on.
In the late 1990s, Ford says he went to his assistants and said if anyone had an idea for a company to let him know. Archer came up with the idea for AMF, which was formed among Archer, Bob Mulcahy, and Ford. Ford says the purpose of AMF was to serve as a networking group and consultancy for pros at the top one-percent of clubs. Remembering his own experience as a young pro, Ford says, “I had no one to talk to.” Education was a key facet of what AMF did in its early years, allowing top-tier club pros to trade best practices and their knowledge that was specific to their kinds of memberships.
The formation of the company is an example of Ford’s forward-thinking approach, understanding the particularities that memberships need and value in a club professional and how that shaped his ability to delegate authority, which was really a necessity, he says, as golf boomed in the 80s and 90s and the functions of a head pro expanded. “You just can’t be everywhere all the time. So, I knew that I had to give away some responsibilities, and it was incredible to watch these kids that are 23, 24, 25 years old, get responsibility and grow.”
Over time that system created a “next man up” mentality, says Ryan Coll, now Director of Golf at Columbus Country Club in Ohio, who worked for Ford at Seminole. “It didn’t matter who the assistant professional was, they were going to succeed.” Coll remembers on day one everyone was given a sheet of responsibilities in bullet points and your job was to master those items. After Coll graduated from college, Ford asked him to come to Seminole to caddy, which is where Ford started most everyone. It was not a job Coll’s parents were thrilled he accepted after earning his degree, but Coll convinced them working for Ford was his break in the business. From caddying he moved to range attendant, which “put you in the on-deck circle” to come inside the shop. “And you’ve never been so happy in your life to be a range attendant,” Coll says. Once inside the shop, assistants were to be pretty much off to the races.
Nathan Ollhoff, now Director of Golf at Interlachen Country Club, says when he was first called about the job in his home state, he told Interlachen he wasn’t interested. “Just to demonstrate how dumb and naïve I was, I basically said, ‘Thanks, but I can’t leave Bob. I have an important role here.” When Olhoff told Ford about the call later that day, “He looked at me like I had two heads,” Ollhoff recalls. “You did what?” Ford said. “You need to call them back and go get that job and you’re gonna do great. Everybody’s replaceable.”
Former Seminole club president Jimmy Dunne says of Ford’s style, “Bob has got a very steady, sure calm hand, and everybody sees that side of it, and it’s valuable. That’s sort of what made him a pro’s pro … The thing I most appreciate about him is how direct we could be with each other, and without any doubt as our intention or any insecurity,” Dunne says. When it came time to hire Ford’s replacement at Seminole, Ford told him, regarding his assistant, Matt Cahill, “Jimmy, don’t screw this up. Matty is ready. When [Bob’s] confident enough, he can have a very direct conversation, which I appreciate. And he was right.”
Ford says many pros have a hard time letting go of control, but he told his assistants they were going to run tournaments, the shop, and the range. “I felt like the only way they were going to learn is by making mistakes. Just don’t make the same mistake twice.”
For his two lieutenants who took over for him at Oakmont and Seminole, Devin Gee and Matt Cahill, respectively, both say that while Ford did lead by example, there was always genuine concern for their well-being and future. In a telling anecdote about both his personal and professional qualities, Tom Gilbert of Gulph Mills says he marvels at his former boss’s ability to stay in touch and keep up with everyone, never missing a birthday, and knowing not just what his former assistants are up to but their assistants as well. Gilbert says, “At his retirement party, he said something I’ll never forget. He said ‘I have one regret. I just regret that I didn’t get to know your children.”
Bob Ford’s legacy, as much as anything else, was that he was always readying the next generation to take over, even the ones he may never meet.
GOLF PROFESSIONALS WHO WORKED DIRECTLY UNDER BOB FORD (Warning: this is about the longest scroll in golf)
John Aber Allegheny
Billy Anderson Eagle Point
Steve Archer Kinsale (FL)
Brendan Bond – Quogue Field Club
Colin Campbell Beaverbrook (Surrey, England)
Ed Clark Wannamoisett
Ryan Coll Columbus Country Club (Ohio)
Jack Druga former Shinnecock Hills
Nick Erlichman Old Sandwich
Mike Foley Somerset (MN)
Matt Frietag Robert Trent Jones Golf Club
Devin Gee Oakmont
Tom Gilbert Gulph Mills
Pat Gunning Noyac
Bill Hall- Charlotte CC
Steve Houg Old Warson Country Club
Reid Howey Piping Rock
Greg Lecker- McLemore
Bret Leon Old Elm
Jamey Magas – Newport
Anthony Malizia Biderman
Jason Marciniec Governors Club, Chapel Hill
John Marino Old Chatham
Chris Muldoon Tuxedo
Nathan Olhoff Interlachen Country Club
Avery Owens – Saugahatchee
David Padgett Whitemarsh
Jack Ramsett – Whippoorwill
Eric Seguin Vineyard
Andrew Shuck Fall Line
AJ Sikula Sleepy Hollow
John Spelman Richland (TN)
Grant Sturgeon Arcola Country Club (NJ)
Scott Sundstrom Youngstown CC
Dieter Wiedmayer Shoreacres
Gavin Wilsker – Beaver Creek (CO)
GOLF PROFESSIONALS WHO WORKED FOR PROS TRAINED BY FORD
(Via Steve Archer)
Brian Anderson, Lookout Mountain Club
Ben Blalock Watersound Club (FL),
David Coates, Williamsport Country Club
Cory Cooper Country Club of Jackson,
Mike Gooden, NAKUA (Mexico)
Alex Lindeman, Arcadia Bluffs
John Mascari Alpine Country Club
Jason Prendergast Country Club of Jackson
Eric Reeves at Wade Hampton
Trillium Rose, Woodmont Country Club
Hank Smith The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek
(via Dave Coates)
Joe Alden Devil’s Ridge Country Club
Jon Bebeau The Ivanhoe Club
Connor Bergman TPC Twin Cities
Justin Blan Northland Country Club
Brian Bohlig Annandale Golf Club
T.J. Boulanger Forest Creek Golf Club
James Brod Oakmont Country Club
Luke Burbach Minneapolis Golf Club
Ryan Carroll Frenchman’s Reserve
Abby Corson Martis Camp
Sam Dupont Northland Country Club
Emily Farrell Abendroth Golf
Michael Foley Somerset Country Club
Justin Freudenburg Minnehaha Country Club
Sean Golden The Creek Club
Jeff Headman Gaston Country Club
Steve Houg Old Warson Country Club
Stephen Limpach, PGA of America
Matt Michalak X-Golf Kalamazoo)
Yann Murkin The Woodlands Maine
Kelly Newland, Maryland State Golf Association 2010
Julia Nittoli Golf Business Network
Kolby Oliphant Paradise Valley Country Club (AZ)
Nathan Olhoff Interlachen Country Club
Joe Porrello The River Club at Kiawah Island
Mark Reilly Oldfield Golf Club
Dylan Rowe Whispering Pines Golf Club
Nick Sage Southview Country Club
Mike Schuette Loblolly Pines
Gabby Sinkovic, Campbell University
Diamo Streaser Watchung Valley
Andrew Van Ert Dodge Riverside Golf Club
(via Jack Druga)
Brendan Bond Quoge Field Club
Jack Davis Merion Golf Club
Kody Dickerson The Savannah Golf Club
John Ebmeyer, Trump Jupiter
Dan Guidarelli Manhattan Woods Golf Club
Pat Gunning Noyac Golf Club
Morgan Jewell, Floridian National Golf Club
Kevin Muldoon Jupiter Hills
Pitch Reilly, The Hills (Discovery Land) Long Island
Bill Wallis New Haven CC
(via Devin Gee)
John Brautigam Butler CC (PA)
Joe Compitello Indian Creek (Miami)
Matt Denesha Wildcat Cliffs
Steve Hopley Sewickley Heights
Brendan King Longue Vue
Jack Ramsett Whippoorwill
Garrett Rodgers Coldstream CC
Chris Zumpano Hillwood CC
(via Tom Gilbert)
Tom Cecil Camargo
Logan Decarolis Everglades Club
Steve Hudson Johns Island Club (FL)
Eric Keeler North Shore Country Club
Eric Steindel Country Club of Fairfield
Chris Twombly Prouts Neck (ME)
(via Greg Lecker)
Doug Amor The Keep
Brandon Arnold Highlands at McLemore
Adam Brigham Waynesborough CC
Stefan Brunt Sawgrass Country Club
Chris Brosius Maple Dale Country Club
Matt Hipps World Golf Village
Dave Pagett Whitemarsh Valley CC
Billy Pomeroy Grand Hotel Golf Resort
Mark Robinson Coosa Country Club
Pamela Shelley Storz Reynolds Lake Oconee
Eric Shillinger Delray Dunes club
Sam Wiley Wee Burn CC
(via AJ Sikula)
Davis Agnew, Royal Palm Yacht Club.
Cody Cable, Tennessee National.
Ben Collie, Eagle Point.
Jonah Cox, Grandfather.
Stephen Crawford, Sleepy Hollow
Chris Cullison, Biltmore Forest
Griffin Fitzpatrick, Inverness
Nathaniel Graybeal, Contentment
Ashley Hylton, Old Tabby
Michael Quinteros, Pittsburgh Field Club
Heath Virgin, Scioto
(via Grant Sturgeon)
Diamo Streaser Watchung Valley Golf Club
(via Dieter Widemayer)
Tim Boush Holliday Farms
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
