Half-Century Club Inductee - Clayton Cole

Colorado PGA News

“Relationships Developed are Career Highlights,” Shares Newest Half-Century Club Member, Clayton Cole

On rare occasions, a PGA member will have their membership reach the 50-year mark, which the PGA of America has coined as “HalfCentury Members.” This month, the Colorado PGA acknowledges and congratulates PGA Professional, Clayton Cole as he is the newest member of the Half-Century Club .

Clayton Cole was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. At the age of 8, his family moved to Monroe, Louisiana, where his dad was the Head Golf Professional at Bayou DeSiard Country Club. Calling Monroe his hometown, Clayton played basketball and a little golf in the summers. It was when he broke his arm in 10th grade during basketball that he decided to stick with golf. His high school golf highlight was being on the golf team as a Senior when the Neville High School team won the State Golf Championship for the first time.

He worked at the golf shop in the summers with his dad. He cleaned the sets of clubs from the prior day’s play and racked them every morning before he could practice. Then, he picked up the range in the afternoon. It was also in high school where he met his future wife, Rena, whom he began dating his senior year. They married in 1960.

Cole attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) on a golf scholarship. He then transferred to the University of Houston where he finished three more years on a golf scholarship.

Upon graduation in 1963, Cole returned to Monroe, Louisiana, and worked in the life insurance business for a few years, even earning “Agent of the Year” in one agency. However, he recalls a five-to-six-hour workday feeling like it was twelve. The times he spent with his dad, working in the golf business, a 12-hour day felt like it was five-to-six-hours. He decided that golf was the route to pursue.

In 1967, Cole wanted to try playing on the PGA Tour. He qualified in the fall on 1967 and played the PGA TOUR in 1968 with moderate success for eight months. Then, in 1970, he was offered an Assistant Golf Professional job at Cherry Hills Country Club and became a PGA Member. He worked at Cherry Hills until 1974 when he took his first Head Professional job at Dallas Country Club.

After 12 years in Dallas, Cole moved to Austin, Texas, as the Director of Golf and Vice President of Operations at The Lakeway Company in 1986 and was there until the end of 1990. He oversaw running three golf courses, a golf teaching academy, 32 tennis courts, food and beverage, the air park (airport) and a 300-slip marina.

Cole was able to keep his relationships at Cherry Hills from when he was the Assistant Golf Professional. The timing of the late ’80s, when The Lakeway Company was about to have new ownership and Warren Smith, PGA, was about to retire from Cherry Hills, worked out perfectly for Cole. He was contacted by the Board at

Cherry Hills to see if he might be interested in applying. He had a great experience there as an Assistant and was very happy to apply for the Head Professional position.

In January 1991, Cole started at Cherry Hills as the Head Golf Professional where he worked until his retirement in May 2008. When asked about a career highlight during his years at Cherry, he told this story of the 1993 U.S. Senior Open: “I qualified to play, made the cut and played two practice rounds with Arnold Palmer. One of those was also with Jack Nicklaus. How this happened is that Palmer called, asked for the Head Professional and asked, ‘Would you get me some tee times?’ I said, Mr. Palmer, I would be glad to. Is there any chance I could play with you in the practice round because I qualified for the tournament? He said, ‘sure.’ This was the steppingstone to me becoming a real good, personal friend of Arnold Palmer.”

“The next two U.S. Senior Opens that I qualified for, I called him, and asked if I could play a practice round with him. He said sure again. Between those three times over a period of five years, we ended up becoming good friends. That was a big highlight because of Arnold Palmer’s involvement with Cherry Hills; his only U.S. Open Victory was at the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills in 1960 and he was an Honorary Life Member of Cherry Hills. It was a nice combination of him and me qualifying for that particular Open – a highlight that led to a very enjoyable relationship.” Cole has several awards and accomplishments to note during his career including the 1993 Colorado PGA Private Merchandiser of the Year, 1993 Colorado PGA Senior Player of the Year, the Horton Smith Award* in 1995 and 1996, election to the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2003, the Warren Smith Award in 2005 and the Colorado PGA Nobel Chalfant Award in 2018. Two more that especially stand out for Cole are the Bill Strausbaugh Award for the Colorado PGA in 2007 and the National Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2008. Because the Bill Strausbaugh Award is given for one’s accomplishments in mentoring, it is appropriate to mention Model-Netics. As part of his training to assistants, Cole taught a 20-week management course, Model-Netics, which increases organizational management effectiveness and efficiencies. While at Cherry Hills, Cole also ventured out on a 5-month trial run to see if indoor teaching had a place in the golf world. At the end of the trial, he hired Joe Assell, PGA, to run the organization, which is now known as GOLFTEC. Cole is very proud to be a part of one of the largest employers for PGA Professionals and comments that Assell has “done a phenomenal job running it.” Cole has been busy since retirement. He was given an Honorary Life Membership to Cherry Hills, which is very meaningful to him. Cole was a governor with the Colorado Golf Association for 10 years and is currently on the Colorado Golf Foundation Board since 2013. He has also been on the Grounds Committee at Cherry Hills for seven years. All of this has been enjoyable to him because it has created nice relationships and friends at Cherry Hills and in Colorado. Cole also is the CEO and Founding Owner of SES Lighting.

When asked on advice he would like to give to PGA Professionals, Cole states, “It’s important to have mentors to help you along. In my case, it was my father (W.E. Cole) and Warren Smith. Be in the kind of work that you really enjoy. If you can find something to do that you have a passion for then it will be a lot more enjoyable - your whole journey will be a lot more enjoyable. Keep doing your best and have high standards.”

Celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this year, Clayton and Rena have three daughters, six grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren, all who live in Denver.

*The Horton Smith Award was renamed the

Professional Development Award in 2020.

Cole in a 1993 U.S. Senior Open practice round at Cherry Hills with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.

Pictured Opposite Page: Clayton with his wife of 60 years, Rena.