Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – The Temple Terrace “Kids” Begin Making Golf History (1968)

During the summer of 1968, the children of two Club members were recognized for outstanding golfing achievements when twenty-one-year-old Roberta Albers was named to the United States Curtis Cup Team and sixteen-year-old Eddie Pearce qualified for the United States Open.

During 1969, Gary Koch, another “son” of Temple Terrace furthered his stellar golfing career by winning the prestigious Florida Open as a sixteen-year-old amateur. Eddie Pearce would win the same tournament the following year. These two legends of Temple Terrace golf would also team up with two other TT teens, Brian Hawke and Phil Reid, to win the 1969 Florida High School State Championship with a winning score that stood as a state record for thirty years. Their record might still stand if the tournament rules had not been changed from four man teams counting all four scores to the current format of five-man teams counting the best four out of five scores.

To prove their initial win wasn’t a fluke, the team returned to the finals the following year, after an undefeated regular season, and won a second consecutive state championship, this time by fourteen strokes. Brian Hawke had graduated, so his place on the team was taken by Norman Dudley, III.

The King High School team actually had eight players on it and the four who weren’t playing, caddied for the four who were. Gary Koch enjoyed the privilege of having future Federal Judge James Whittemore Jr. as his caddy.

Another “caddy” on the team was Dave Robinson. Dave’s father, John “Bunk” Robinson, was the Marketing Director for the airline that sponsored the Augusta Masters Tournament. On the Monday following the Masters every year, the press and sponsors were allowed to play the course. Eastern Airlines had the first two tee times every year and Bunk’s job included filling those slots with airline “partners”. Bunk said that some twenty years after he retired, he was still getting Christmas presents (not cards) from names he didn’t recognize, presumably because he had once provided them with a tee time at Augusta National. One year he took son Dave who parred #18 to shoot a 79. (Not bad for a kid who couldn’t crack the starting lineup on his high school team.)  

• January 1969 –The Club’s Team Best Ball Championship was won by a pair of sixteen-year-olds named Koch and Pearce with scores of 65, 65, 64 and 67. (Can a minimum age limit for Club Championships be far off?) 

• March 15, 1969 – Score Card Newsletter Shrimp-A-Roo (Apology?)

“All the shrimp you can eat and dancing. Reservations $3 per person. With the price of shrimp what it is today, we have to charge these prices to come out even.”

• May 10, 1969 – President’s Ball Announcement – “Semi-formal (Cocktail Dresses….dark or appropriate business suit) ….though formal dress is not discouraged in the least……For $15 per couple….10 normal type free drinks, tasty hors d’oeuvres, Jack Golly’s 11-piece band, loaded with sharp music, from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM, gratuity and tax, plus an evening of fun and frolic.” (How much for “abnormal” type drinks )

• December 1969 – The Employee Christmas Bonus Fund tradition was started with a voluntary donation amount of $2.50.

• February 1970, Fran Cursi was “Accepted for membership with a $500 Initiation Fee with the understanding that the balance of $250 will be paid if he leaves the head coaching position at the University of Tampa.”

• October 1972 – Future Club President  Joe Affronti and wife Liz accepted for Senior Membership

• June 1973 Score Card Newsletter – Roy Babb, the incoming President of the Club, began his tenure by labeling his monthly column in the Scorecard Newsletter, “The Hot Seat” and stated “I hope the title given to the column I intend to write for the Scorecard is merely the figment of someone’s wildest imagination and that sometime during the year it can be changed to “The Love Seat” Unfortunately, it remained “The Hot Seat” for the entire year; however, the following year,  his successor, Earl Albaugh, with absolutely no fanfare, changed the name to “The Quiet Corner” (I wonder which direction the current Club President would lean?)

• June 1973 – Marilyn Tillis elected President of the TTWGA

• August 1973 – Newsletter Editor Ralph Gower opined on slow play. “Slow golfers and alcoholics have one thing in common; both readily admit the problem exists, but neither can be convinced the affliction applies to them.”

• October 1973 Newsletter – TTWGA President Marilyn Tillis, “Dot Whittemore is in charge of Rake Sales, so please see her to get yours. Remember….Happiness is a raked trap!”

• December 1973 – At the Junior Golf Year-End Tournament, the winner of the age 12 & 13 Flight was Danny Fischer and the runner-up was Donnie Whittemore who opined, “Wait till next year”

On December 28, 1973, “Gary Koch Night” was celebrated at Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club “In Recognition of his outstanding achievements in amateur golf” “Surprise of the evening were the rib tickling comments by ‘Chief’ Ted LeCompte.”

Gary had followed his stellar Junior Golf and high school golf careers by becoming a four-year starter, three-time All American and Captain of the University of Florida golf team where among his achievements were playing on a winning National Championship Team, playing on a winning Walker Cup Team and being one of only two amateurs to make the cut at the 1973 U S Open.  

To this day Gary continues accumulating “outstanding achievements” in the world of professional golf as a player, an announcer and an ambassador for the game. In representing his family, his Club and his community, Gary is definitely “Better than most”.

• August 1974 – Future Club President and Centennial Members Brian and Rhonda Hawke accepted for Senior Membership

• August 1974 – The Dr. Pepper Tournament, featuring an appearance by Lee Trevino was won by Brian Hawke with a two-round total of 143. In the Intermediate Division, Andy Stodghill won the championship on the first hole of a sudden death playoff with “Donnie” Whittemore

• August 1974 – Margaret Valdes’ husband Tony accepted for Senior Voting Membership

In August 1975, Ovieda, the first and only female Club Manager during the 20^th century was hired. I found no reference to whether Ovieda was a first or a last name, but during a six-month period the name was frequently referenced in Board Meeting Minutes and in the Club’s “Score Card” Newsletter with comments such as “Contact Ovieda for more details” or “Let Club Manager Oveida know” but never was a last (or maybe first) name mentioned.

Two different spelling of the name were also common, sometimes reversing the “I’ before ‘e’ rule. She came and left very quickly with few details in between, but suddenly “next man up” Bill Huntsman, appeared as her replacement. Perhaps one of our more “mature” members can shed some light on this mysterious woman.

Note: During a review of this material, several long-time members came forward with vivid recollections of this lady. In my research, Ovieda was always referred to as the Club Manager; however, the gentlemen referenced above, remembered her as being a “Bartender”. When it was suggested the responsibilities of a “Club Manager” would typically far exceed those of a “Bartender”, they agreed it would be appropriate to refer to her as the “Head Bartender”

• September 1975 – The Junior Golf “Most Improved Golfer” Trophy was won by Danny Fischer who lowered his handicap from 11 to 5.

• March 1976 – During the 1976 budget process, the Greens Committee suggested the Capital Budget include a new Greens Building because, “If OSHA came down upon us, they wouldn’t have enough paper to write up all the violations.”  The building was the original Temple Terrace Fire Station and had been built in the 1920’s (When finally replaced in the early 2000’s, the walls resembled a large block of Swiss cheese.)

• July 1976 Board Meeting – A Senior Member, Ray Lamb, advised the Board, “He had recently been confronted with a situation he felt must be corrected by the board”. He said while he and his wife were recently playing #4, the husband of employee Lou Watson came out and stopped Ray and Mrs. Lamb and accused Ray of “yanking the bra off of Lou Watson.”   He stated this had “caused considerable embarrassment to both he and his wife to the extent that Mrs. Lamb would not come to the club anymore”.  After discussion and investigation, the Board resolved that Lou Watson be discharged.  The motion passed with one dissenting vote.

• July 1976 – A record number 373 people attended a Shrimp-A-Roo

• October 1976 – Member Roberta Stebbins forms the first official TT Women’s Bridge Club   

March 1, 1977 – The Robin Roberts family was approved for membership. A Baseball Hall of Fame honoree voted one of the 100 greatest baseball players of all time; Robin was a very active member of the Club for over thirty years. Of his incredible list of baseball achievements, my personal favorite is the fact he once pitched twenty-eight straight complete games, including one that lasted seventeen innings. (And there are still a lot of Robin’s friends around the club who swear he could remember every batter he ever faced and every pitch he ever threw.)

His legacy at the club is guaranteed for at least two more generations through his son and daughter-in- law, Centennial Members Jim and Christy and through grandson Curt.     

Julian Serles – The One-Man Filibuster

In an April 1977 letter to the Board of Directors, Julien Serles suggested the need to strengthen enforcement of the Club’s Rules and Regulation by stating, “I believe the club rules in particular should be greatly improved both in format and in content. Some could only be described as expressions of pious hope.”

Julian’s bona fides for making such a statement were extremely impressive. He had retired to Temple Terrace from Washington, DC after being the only man in the history of our country to serve at different times as Parliamentarian to the U S House of Representatives, the U S Senate and the combined House and Senate.

After spending a career ensuring that meetings attended by 535 of the 537 most influential elected officials in the country were conducted in accordance with the Official Robert’s Rules of Order, Julian volunteered to perform the same function at Annual and Special Membership Meetings attended by some portion of the 430 most “influential” members of the Club.

Anyone who has witnessed Julian in action at meetings of the membership whether in his role as Parliamentarian or even as a participating Senior Member has undoubtedly said to themselves on more than one occasion, “We’re never going to get out of here”, after hearing many versions and iterations of, “Julian Serles #1912”, followed by,  “I’m sorry, that motion is out of order”….. “Mr. President, I have a list of some fifty-five corrections to the minutes of last year’s meeting”….. “I’d like a more definitive motion and wordage used as to what the motion is”…..”I’m sorry, but you can’t bring that up after it’s been tabled.”… “Mr. President, I’m sorry but you can’t propose something that is in conflict with our by-laws” …. “The request, simply stated, is that the by-laws mailed to you be considered as original language, which means……. etc., etc., etc.” (Note that every one of the examples cited above were taken verbatim from the actual transcript of a single membership meeting)

Julian Serles was a member for twenty-five years and during that period volunteered his time not only as Parliamentarian, but as the primary editor of the Club By-Laws and Rules & Regulations. He was also an avid (and competitive) golfer who often chaired the Tournament and Handicap Committees. His contributions to the Club over the years, might be described in a manner similar to the relationship between spouses in any successful marriage, “Hard to live with and impossible to live without.”

• October 1977 Board Meeting, “….…reported that new carpeting had been installed in the golf course rest rooms on holes #6 and #15.” (Should we assume the carpets in the Men’s rooms were ‘pee’ green?)

• August. 1978 – Tifton 419 grass was planted on all fairways.

The Annual Italian Invitational Golf Tournament

The first in a long series of Annual Italian Invitational Golf Tournaments sponsored by the Italian Club of Tampa was held at TT in March of 1978, but it definitely could have been one and done had it not been for the efforts of the Board, especially President Dick Hissam.

It’s not unusual for members to complain about golf tournaments that get in the way of their personal golfing schedules, but this time it was a little more vehement. The fact the tournament started on Friday afternoon and lasted through Sunday obviously didn’t sit too well with a lot of members. One hundred and two of them signed a petition “asking” that the tournament not be brought back for a second year.

A Special Board Meeting was called for August 15, 1978, to address the issue and it was anything but friendly. The agenda would begin with representatives of the Italian Club presenting their views, followed by comments from the fifty or so club members in attendance, the Club Secretary would then read three letters of protest from members not able to attend. This would be followed by the results of a member survey and finally, the Board would meet in closed session before delivering their decision.

After a heated argument over whether the Board should even be allowed to meet in closed session, Judge Walter Burnside, spokesman for the Italian Club, made an impassioned plea that included among other points, all the charitable good the tournament did (“$14,000 this year alone”), all the financial benefits it brought the golf club, and he noted eleven Senior Members at TT were also members of the Italian Club.  Following a lot of noise from club members on both sides of the argument, the results of the one question member survey were announced. Of the over 400 Senior Members, 188 had responded, with 103 against the tournament, 72 for it and 13 indifferent. .

After more posturing and conflicting interpretations of the survey results, the Board went into closed session and when they returned announced a committee of Board Members would meet with the Italian Club and determine whether they could negotiate a new, more favorable, arrangement for hosting the tournament. The final decision to be voted on two weeks later at the next scheduled Board Meeting.  

In the final analysis, the tournament was approved by the Board when the Italian Club agreed to sweeten the pot to the extent the Club was guaranteed a minimum profit of $5,500 and that a minimum of one hundred tournament slots would be made available to Temple Terrace members. It’s noteworthy that in the 1979 tournament, three of those 100 Club members, Al Lopez, Tony Cuccinello and Tom McEwen played with baseball Hall of Famer, Phil Rizzuto.   

President Hissam also told the petitioning members he strongly believed the Board’s obligation was “to represent, not to rule“ the membership but that their first priority had to be the financial viability of the Club. He guaranteed that at the May 1979 Annual Meeting, members would be given an opportunity to decide by majority vote the future of all outside tournaments, including the Italian Invitational.

It may be a coincidence, but less than a month before that Annual Meeting; the Board passed a resolution that, “In order to speed up meetings, no drinks will be allowed in the ballroom during Meetings of the Membership.”     

At the May 17, 1979, Meeting, the Board proposed a balanced “business as usual” budget requiring a Senior Member dues increase of $6 a month; however, they also gave members the option of funding an alternate budget requiring a $16 a month dues increase that would guarantee Senior Members “all day, every day” access to the golf course. No Italian Invitational or any other outside tournaments. Any guesses which option got the most support? (“Ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”)

The Club continued hosting the Italian Invitational for many years. At its peak, the tournament generated net profits of over $20,000 a year. It grew in stature as stories began circulating, such as Joe DiMaggio being a regular and Bob Hope, not only playing, but landing by helicopter, with his personal golf cart, at the home of Art Pepin, across from the 16^th green.

The tournament did manage to survive a major controversy after the 1992 tournament, when City officials “suggested” that setting up a craps table in the Men’s Card Room during tournament week was not a good idea.

The Italian Club promised to comply with the new “no gambling” rule, but the Club GM later reported seeing participants with fists full of money running around the clubhouse recruiting players. To quote, GM Ken DeMott in his plea to the Board, “I, for one, am not willing to jeopardize my career and my family’s future on the role of the dice”.  A last minute “guaranteed” promise by the Italian Club saved the tournament for a few more years.

However, “All good things must come to an end” and while the Annual Italian Invitational recently celebrated its 43^rd anniversary, the last time it was played as a three-day event at Temple Terrace was the year 2000. It was subsequently changed to a spectacular, albeit shorter event and moved from course to course. The good news is that on May 21-22, 2021, the sights, sounds and incredible culinary aromas of the Annual Italian Invitational were once again on display at the Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club.

• February 1979 – Future Club President John Chambers and wife Jan accepted for Senior Membership.

• March 1979 – Club problems with vandalism and theft became so severe; the Board voted to pay for a greater police presence around the golf course. When a police officer caught the son of a local doctor driving his car on the 6^th fairway, he brought the boy and his father to the Club. The father offered to pay the estimated $75 damages his son had caused. President Dick Hissam had a better idea. He suggested the boy be required to pay the debt himself by working five Saturdays in a row for the Greens Keeper, from 5:30 am until 11:30 am. Everyone there, with the probable exception of the boy, thought it was a great idea. (You gotta’ love Dick Hissam’s style.)

• May 1979 – The Club hosted the 10^th Annual Dr. Pepper Open, a two-day tournament that also included a Press Tournament during the prior week. The tournament had a limit of 232 entries with TT members having first choice. A big part of the events attractiveness may have been the merchandise prizes supplied by Dr. Pepper. The 1979 prizes were valued at $12,000. 

• July 10, 1979 – Roy Welty resigned as Club Manager effective July 15. (He was obviously in a hurry to leave)

• October 16, 1979 – Baseball player/manager Lou Piniella approved for membership.

• February 1980 – Senior Member Initiation Fee raised from $750 to $1000

• March 1980 Board Meeting – “Mrs. Carol Kaul is planning to remarry and wants to transfer her former husband’s membership to her new husband. The Board advised this could not be done, under our current by-laws such transfer could not be made, and the new husband would have to apply for his own membership.” (Would it have been allowed if the new guy promised to play with the old guy’s clubs?)

• June 1980 Annual Meeting – Raised Senior Member dues by $7 ($51 to $58) and raised the allowable limit on the number of Senior Members to 465.

• July 1980 Score Card Newsletter – The Social Committee announced scheduling a “Family Dinner” of barbeque chicken, baked beans and salad to be held on the 16^th priced at $2 for adults and $1 for children. Also listed in the announcement were the names of the FIFTY-FOUR members of the Social Committee (which I assume guaranteed a big turnout for the dinner.) 

• August 19, 1980, Board Meeting – “Member Robert Capellini appeared in answer to a complaint his golf cart was parked on the left rear shoulder of #13 green. He pled guilty to the charge, apologized and said it would not happen again.” Motion passed to accept his apology. (I always thought he was hiding something big from a dark past)

• January 1981 Board Meeting – It was noted that “Big John” Brinson would not be returning to work because he was home suffering from the cancer that would take his life in July. “Big John” had worked on the golf course since 1921, over sixty years.

• May 1981 Annual Meeting – Raised Senior dues from $58 to $65, Social Memberships remained at $30.  For the first time, added a minimum F&B spending requirement. ($20/month or $60/quarter, on all classifications except Social.)

• May 26, 1981, Board Meeting – Jim Whittemore, Sr. proposed reforming the Handicap Committee because “As prize value of the tournaments has increased, it appears there are attempts by certain golfers to ‘advance’ their handicaps and Pro Wiley [A very wise man] doesn’t want to assume any responsibility in this direction”  

November 26, 1981 – Ted “Chief” LeCompte

On this date, the Club lost one of its most distinguished and impactful members with the passing of Ted LeCompte. Was he a golfer? Absolutely, and a very proficient one; a scratch golfer who won many Club and City of Tampa Championships over a twenty-year period beginning in the mid-fifties. But what made him special and unique had little to do with his ability to hit a golf ball.

He was born on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota to a Hunkpapa Sioux mother and a Sioux/French father. (Sitting Bull was from the same tribe}. His Indian name was Enockeeni “Running Feet” which turned out to be a visionary name because after a stellar high school athletic career, he was rewarded with a basketball scholarship to the University of Notre Dame where he was also a member of the track team and Captain of the golf team.      

His college career was cut short when he enlisted in the Army during World War II. Seven months later, he was promoted to Lieutenant and participated in four major ground battles. He was wounded in action three times, the final time leaving him paralyzed and unable to speak.

After extensive therapy, he regained his ability to walk and talk, but returned home with partial paralysis on one side, metal plates in his head, two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. In 1946, he met and married the love of his life, Maxine, took her back to the reservation where the tribe adopted her with the name “Red Feather” (An obvious reference to her flaming red hair) They moved to Tampa in the mid-fifties and shortly thereafter, the “Chief” began feeding his passion for helping Junior Golfers develop their games both physically and mentally.

His most successful protégé, at least from a professional golf perspective was Gary Koch. Gary was the driving force behind a Ted LeCompte Celebration at the Club four days prior to his passing.

At his press conference after winning the 1977 Florida Citrus Open, Gary had said, “I must credit my teacher, Ted LeCompte. I went to him on Monday before the tournament started and he spent a lot of time watching me hit balls as he has done so many times over the years. He also helped me with my attitude, as he always does. He is in part responsible for this victory. Ted is not a pro, but he knows so much about the game of golf. I can tell you, he has helped me since I was a small boy.”

When I surveyed other students of Ted LeCompte, it was obvious their memories were about more than being taught the mechanics of the game:

Brian Hawke – “Ted was a true gentleman. He was an exceptional golf teacher. He told me if I was serious about golf he would work with me. As a teacher he was a man of few words, he would watch me hit balls, not say a thing, and then tell me to do something, not technical,  maybe say “hit this seven iron 100 yards”. Whatever it was he told me to do would certainly help me hit it pure. He was a master at analyzing your swing and getting you to perform. He was an exceptional golfer with great hands.”

Don Whittemore – “The Chief was a not professional swing coach like so many profess to be in today’s world, just a gentleman who was extremely knowledgeable and enjoyed helping young aspiring junior golfers. The story was he would only help you if you made a serious commitment to the game, something that by the age of fifteen or so was not an issue for me.  I idolized Gary Koch and Eddie Pearce, so it was only natural I would want to work on my game with the guy who helped them gain national prominence.”    

“I remember Chief playing almost every day and then enjoying “beverages” in the lounge.   I spent hours and hours with the Chief on the practice area on #10 (we called it “The Hill”). I vividly remember frequently finding him in the lounge and saying I needed some work.  He’d tell me to go up to “The Hill”, get started and he would be there soon.  That usually meant I would hit balls for 30-45 minutes before seeing his big red Cadillac pull in next to the practice tee.  His car had a disabled veteran license plate, something I noticed but did not appreciate at the time.”

“The Chief had a great way of teaching, much like I’ve read in the Little Red Book written by famed instructor Harvey Pennick.  He was not into swing theory or mechanics, although he insisted on a good grip and good set-up.  From there, it was about making an athletic natural swing.” 

“My favorite lesson was when he showed up thirty minutes after I started, then sat and watched me for another twenty minutes without saying a word.  I waited for his words of wisdom, but he just continued watching. Finally, he asked what club I was hitting. When I replied a seven iron, he said, o.k., get your six iron. I got it and looked to him for more advice. He said, see that pile of balls down there; now hit your six-iron right in the middle of that pile. Of course, with more club, I made a smooth easy swing trying to keep the ball from going farther than my pile of seven irons, and low and behold, I flushed it, and the ball easily landed ten yards beyond the pile.  He looked up at me from the cart seat, smiled and simply said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“In another great lesson, we were working on my short game on the ninth hole. I was hitting wedges from about 50 yards when he suddenly got back in the cart. Thinking we were going to move to another spot, I started picking up my pile of shag balls and he said, no, stay right there. He parked the cart ten yards in front of me, right in my line to the green and said, now, hit your shots over the cart. No technical advice on how to hit it high, nothing about opening up the club face to create more loft. None of that, just a drill to force me to use my physical instincts to hit a high shot.  Again, it was great lesson.” 

“The Chief died while I was in college, but I was honored to be a pall bearer at his funeral.” 

Almost twenty years later, in November 2002, Maxine, the Chief’s widow, who was still a club member, offered to donate a Rembrandt painting to the Club in memory of the hours the Chief spent working with junior golfers. Her only stipulation was that a small party be held to dedicate the painting and in the event the club ever dissolved, the proceeds from the sale of the painting were to be donated to Junior Golf.

A “hanging party” for the painting was held in the dining room and sometime later, Maxine was invited by Club President Joe Affronti to a meeting where the Board once again expressed its thanks for her generous donation. Maxine LeCompte passed away in 2010, never knowing the “Rembrandt” she had donated to the Club was a fake. (Could there possibly be a more fitting example of the adage, “It’s the thought that counts”?)   

August 17, 1982, was definitely a defining day in the history of the Club. Over the course of the previous twenty-five years, somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty different Greens Superintendents were given an opportunity to “grow” a golf course that would satisfy an extremely tough bunch of critics. A majority of them were gone in a year or less, some by choice, others not so much: but on this day, a man named Doug Hughes was introduced by the Board as the new Greens Superintendent; and while he may have had an occasional critic, he would somehow manage to keep the “Turk” away from his door for the next thirty-seven years.

• February 1983 – Future Club President Bill Wathen and wife Becky accepted for membership

“Over, Under, Around and Through” – The first half of 1983 may not have been the most challenging period in the Club’s history, but it was definitely a challenging period in my efforts to chronicle events in some semblance of their actual order.

Number I – “Over, Under, Around and Through”

February 1983 Board Meeting – The Club Manager opened the meeting by reading from a prepared statement in which he outlined his differences with the House Committee, noting he was also at an impasse with Chairman, Joe Affronti. After complaining about his paycheck, he tendered a two-week notice of resignation.  

At the March Board Meeting he sent word through a couple of members that he would like to keep the job. After a thorough discussion among Board members on both sides of the issue, it was decided to continue the search for his replacement.

I never met the man but based on the less than glowing performance reviews recorded in the monthly Board Meeting minutes during his employment, I believe I would have supported encouraging him to “seek other opportunities”; not to mention that issue with his name. 

During his first year or so of employment, his name was documented in the Minutes as Frank Saccone; then it was shown as Frank Ciccone, then, for the last several months of employment, it was Frank Sicone.  Assuming he wasn’t in the Witness Protection Program, I’d have to say a manager who attends board meetings primarily focused on his area of responsibility and then doesn’t at least read those parts of the meeting Minutes where his name is mentioned, does not meet the minimum requirements for the job. (Note: Two years later, he returned to the club and joined as a Senior Member under the name Frank Saccone.)

So “Frank” resigned because he was “over” worked and “under” paid; but later decided he wanted to stick “around”, however the Board decided he was “through”.

Number II – “Over, Under, Around and Through”

A lot of tension had developed between Club President Ted Wells and the rest of the Board, because they believed he had exceeded his authority by distributing an update to the membership that not only painted the other board members in a bad light, but in their estimation was factually inaccurate.

At a Special Budget Meeting on April 5, 1983, he refused to honor their decision to fund a capital project that would have caused the Assessment Fund balance to go below the $10,000 minimum he had promised the membership would be there at the end of his term. He ruled their motion to spend the money, out of order, on the grounds it was “ultra vires”   (Which to me sounds like a Presidential cure for the Covid virus, but apparently means going beyond its legal authority)

A motion was made to remove Mr. Wells from office for refusing to honor the Board’s decision. After a long debate in which everyone referenced their favorite “pertinent” section of the by-laws covering the subject, Mr. Wells declared the meeting adjourned and left. However, the meeting was continued, Paul Ferlita was elected President, and after he authorized spending the money, the meeting was adjourned again (or maybe re-adjourned to the bar).

The Minutes of the next Board meeting, held two weeks later, opened with the statement, “Action taken at the Special Meeting on the 5^th day of April 1983, pertaining to the removal of Mr. Wells as President, was not in accordance with our by-laws; therefore, it is null & void.”  Mr. Wells remained President until the next month when his term ended. (The real question left unanswered is whether Paul Ferlita’s two-week stint as Club President qualified him for the Club’s lucrative Presidential Pension Plan?)

Ted Wells went “Over” the Board’s head which got “Under” their skin so they decided they didn’t want him “Around”; however, their plan fell “Through”

Number III – “Over, Under, Around and Through”

The Board’s issue with Ted Wells’ management style peaked over their differences on how best to address an estimated $100,000 in Capital Budget needs with the approximate $50,000 in Capital Funds available. In the final analysis the Board chose to use the funds to re-roof the Clubhouse, clean up the residual mess resulting from the City’s installation of a sewer system to replace septic tanks, take a holistic rather than their usual patchwork approach to addressing parking lot pavement issues and to finally take some sort of action on the woeful condition of the maintenance building.

You might say, the Board’s priorities were the roof “Over” their heads, the drainage system “Under” their feet, the parking lots “Around” the Clubhouse and the maintenance building they were tired of seeing “Through”.       

Number IV – “Over, Under, Around and Through”

Shortly after Frank ”What’s his name” left in March, Tom D’Amato was hired as Club Manager. At the July Board Meeting, Jack Dwyer, head of the House Committee, made a motion, “to terminate present Club Manager effective tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., with this week’s pay plus two weeks’ severance pay. The following personnel will also be terminated: Assistant Manager in kitchen; assistant cook; dishwasher; Assistant Bar Manager.” 

A review of Tom D’Amato’s shortcomings reflected him spending 90% of his time in the kitchen where he obviously felt most comfortable after having worked his entire career as a cook/chef. He also exhibited a lack of management skills as evidenced by his 36% payroll overrun on the first month of a budget he had just prepared. They also noted his “confrontational attitude with members“, on the rare occasions he ventured out of the kitchen. Motion passed.

Jack Dwyer had already found a well-qualified, experienced replacement, Marty Martin, who had reviewed the club’s numbers and determined there was no need to replace the Assistant Kitchen Manager or the Assistant Bar Manager. Motion passed and Marty was on the job by the end of the month.

Tom D’Amato had “Over” stated his qualifications, “Under” performed in the job, kept too many deadbeats “Around” and was “Through” by 10:00 AM..  

Number V – “Over, Under, Around and Through”

As the last item of business at the March 14, 1983, Board Meeting, Pro Shop Committee Chairman Jim Whittemore, “reported that Pro Wiley Watkins has submitted his resignation, effective July 10, 1983. A discussion ensued whereupon Mr. Whittemore indicated he would initiate the appropriate search for a replacement pro.”   

Generally speaking, golfers are creatures of habit who develop routines around not only the mechanics of their game, but around when they play, who they play with, how much money they play for, what they do after they play and even how fast they play.  For instance, a group of retirees might evolve into a routine of playing together every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting around 10:00, finishing around 1:30, followed by a post-game lunch where bets are settled and a few beers consumed.  If there are more than four golfers in the group, they’ll have a method of deciding who’s paired together each day and there’s usually one guy in charge of managing the pairings and the tee times.

Temple Terrace, like every other golf course in the world, had groups like that in 1922 and still has them in 2022; but something happened on June 1, 1958, that changed things forever. Up until May of 1958, if a guy from one of those groups called for his “regular” tee time and was told he couldn’t play until 1:00 pm because the Sertoma Club was having a tournament in the morning, he wasn’t happy, but he knew what his options were; skip the Wednesday game, make an afternoon tee time or make a tee time at some other course.

But on June 1, 1958, the dynamic began to change when that guy and probably everyone else in his regular group transitioned from being customers at a public golf course to being customers and “owners” of a private golf club, giving them a newfound sense of entitlement.  The need to flex their “ownership” muscles probably didn’t kick in immediately but definitely did over time. If there wasn’t a Board Member in their regular golf group there was always one around the Clubhouse they could complain to about scheduling too many outside tournaments, or about slow play, or the condition of the sand traps or whatever else was bothering them.

The breaking point for “customer/owner complaints” was probably reached in mid-1965 when the decision was made to cap the allowable number of Senior Members at 450. (A move that in some respects seems analogous to a bank saying, “That’s it, lock the doors, we don’t need any more customers”.)

 While compaction on the course was probably the primary factor for limiting the number of golfing members, there’s no doubt the Board was also attempting to limit the number of “expert opinions” they were forced to deal with. But it was ultimately the Head Pro, Wiley Watkins, who was required to pacify the complaining members by enforcing the “fluid” solutions that were continuously written and rewritten into the Club’s Rules & Regulations or dress code or local club rules, etc., etc., etc. 

Therein lies the primary reason Wiley Watkin’s job was immeasurably more difficult than that of his predecessor, Basil Brook. Basil had only one boss to please, the City of Temple Terrace; but Wiley had 450 bosses, the Senior Members of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club.

Wiley Watkins had served the Club membership well for thirty years and on Sunday, June 26^th “Wiley Watkins Appreciation Day” was held in his honor.

Apparently with “Over” thirty-five years in basically the same job, Wiley was “Over” loaded with thoughts of being “Under” appreciated and “Under” prepared for the financial demands of his pending retirement years which probably seemed right “Around” the corner, thus he made a decision to follow “Through” on an opportunity that would provide a better financial future for his family.

July 1983 – Ray Davis, who had been Wiley’s assistant, was given a two year contract as the new Club Pro. Although he would complete the contract, he never got another one and his tenure was anything but smooth. Ray was very personable but unfortunately had professional limitations. He was well liked by the members and the Board went to great lengths to help him succeed, but he just never developed the management skills required to run the operation and he lacked the business and financial skills to develop a productive staff and keep creditors away from his door

After unsuccessfully trying to shepherd him through these issues, the Board was finally forced to terminate him in December 1985. Their documented list of reasons included, “Not a good enforcer of the rules… He does not promote golf well….His tournaments are poorly run with little participation…He doesn’t work Sundays….His Assistant Pro is not qualified…He is not a good businessman….He is in bad shape with his creditors…He does not use his employees well …. He forgets member’s merchandise orders”  (I sure hope he was good to his mother!) 

June 1985 “Score Card” Newsletter – In his first monthly message to the membership after being elected Club President, Jack Dwyer explained why he had taken the job with the following story. “When I was a teenager just starting to date, one weekend I asked my father if I could borrow $5. Dad said, ‘Sure son’, and gave me the five. ‘Now when you’re prepared to pay me back, put it in my drawer’, pointing to the desk in our living room. Several weeks went by and I again put the bite on Dad. ‘Sure, son, go and get the $5 from my desk drawer’. “

Jack concluded by saying, “I was reminded of that story when I was elected President. Over the years I have taken an awful lot of fun and pleasure from our Club. Now it’s time for me to repay the loan.”

• August 1985 – The winner of the Junior Club Championship was David Langdon with a two-round score of 152.

• September 1985 – Future Club President Don Whittemore and wife Mendy approved for Membership. (No more mooching off of his parents and big brother)

• October 1985 Score Card Newsletter – “The Temple Terrace Women’s Golf Association is collecting S & H Green Stamps in order to replace the worn out snack trays in the Ladies Lounge. If you can help by contributing a book or two or just loose stamps that might be in your purse, please put them in the box provided in the Ladies Room.” (Thought! How old would you have to be to have any idea what an S & H Green Stamp is, or was? ) 

On December 12, 1985, a Special Meeting was called to vote on the final recommendation of the Committee chartered with finding a new Head Pro. The Committee of five, which included three currently active Senior Members of the club, Jim Whittemore, Brian Hawke and Dennis Walters, interviewed over sixty applicants and selected a man named Jim Little, whose career as Head Pro would definitely end with a “bang”.  

• April 1986 – Future Club President and Centennial Members Jim and Christy Roberts accepted for Senior Membership

• May 1986 – Future Centennial Members Steve and Debbie Stodghill accepted for Senior Membership

May 22, 1986:- Gary Koch named an Honorary Member of the Club and on the same date Bill Wathen was appointed to fill a Board vacancy and immediately named Club Treasurer.

At a Board meeting thirteen days later, Club President John Chambers exhibited what might be called a “command of the historically obvious” when he made the observation, “a shortage of money is a major problem for the Club”, after which he immediately appointed a committee headed by (the new guy) Bill Wathen to “study this problem and make recommendations”.

It was obvious that finding more golf members was not the answer, the Club already had its allowable complement of 465 Senior Voting Members and five Non-Voting Senior Members with over forty more in the Social Waiting (to move up to Senior) category. Wathen’s committee concluded a big part the answer was recruiting more Social Members and selling more food to help recover fixed costs.

The Club’s roster of Social Members had ranged between fifty and eighty for years, but a closer look revealed that the majority of them were either wannabe golfers waiting for an opening or golfers who jumped back and forth between golf and social memberships to accommodate physical issues or financial resources. There were actually very few “real” Social Members, and the cost of the membership had to be a major factor.

Club policy at the time dictated that Social Membership dues be fifty percent of the Senior Membership dues. (A business strategy that’s seems analogous to a restaurant offering the options of either a Surf and Turf dinner with dessert for $50 or the dessert alone for $25 and then wondering why more customers didn’t come in just for the dessert)  

Club policy would be changed to price Social Memberships at “the greater of $10 or ten percent of the Senior Membership price”. To minimize the financial hit from implementing the new rate, they also created a separate Social Waiting Membership category for potential Senior Golf Members, but this group was not offered the lower rate. Over time, this was a very positive move.

• April 1987 – John Chambers ended his term as Club President with a bang when he scored a hole-in-one with a 170 yard five-wood on Hole #4.

• June 1987 – The Score Card Newsletter noted a golfing story that only a “senior” Senior Member can truly appreciate. “The reason for Joe Spears’ frustration at not being able to locate his tee ball on #13 was understood when it was finally determined that he had forgotten to tee off.”   (I guess he found the ball in his pocket)