To m Wo o d a r d L i v e s A R i c h L i f e

By Jerr y Walters DIVOT Contributing Writer

When someone tells you they’re planning to retire, your most immediate thought is that they’ll finally head off into the sunset in their golf car t to play the game they’ve revered for their entire life. Not so with Tom Woodard Retirement is just another chapter for him His legacy will be forever be woven into the fabric of golf in the state

From meager beginnings in Midland, Texas, Tom and his family moved to Denver just 2 bloc ks away from City Park Golf Cour se in 1966 when he was 10 year s old. He quic kly learned how to caddy for some of the best money player s in the area who ever laced up their steel spikes Caddies would of ten shag balls on the small range before and after their loops. Doing so, Woodard rapidly became infatuated with golf The attraction for young Tom was free lessons for the kids in the City Park GC area. The cour se also provided use of cut-down clubs for junior s The clubs were so heavy and stif f that Woodard developed a wristy style that ser ved him well over the years

When Woodard was unable to attain a scholarship to go to Colorado University, he applied for and was granted an Evans Scholarship as a walk-on af ter caddying at City Park GC. A six-round qualifying tournament for the Univer sity of Colorado players netted Tom a spot on the team af ter finishing third. Les Fowler, CU coach at the time, asked his top player, “ Who is that kid” referring to Tom The player replied, “I don’t know, but he sure can play.”

Af ter a 4-year college career, Tom received financial help from local businessman,Willie Kellum, who used to gamble at City Park GC This financial stipend jumpstar ted his professional endeavor where he played the Asian Tour. This is when he played and practiced with Payne Stewart. In those days, all the Americans traveled and stayed together.

To prove the point, Tom proudly displays the picture of a gathering around a table with Payne and others. In 1984 Tom had his best year ever winning 9 times on the mini tour s Even though he won, there was not a lot of money on tour during those years.

He played in the old Qualifying School for the PGA Tour 5 times. In those days, a player had to re-qualify if they didn't win enough to keep their card Tom qualified and played on tour af ter 3 successful attempts and missed qualifying once by only 2 strokes For 8 year s during that period, he played and practiced with the best players on the planet. But tour life wasn’t as glamorous as you might believe, especially when he had a young family bac k home. Having your family tag along on the road with you isn’t much better Woodard got his PGA Tour card in the fall the next year. He had his best tournament at Quad Cities finishing 10th and made a paltr y $1600 Woodard played professional golf on the PG A Tour for 2 1/2 year s. With a wife and two kids at home and at 30 years of age, Tom felt like he couldn’t play any better than he was playing at that juncture in his life. Ultimately, he quit tour life and decided to pur sue a regular paycheck . Traveling in a van with his family wore thin on him. Eventually golf brought him bac k to his golf roots in Denver in 1986 as the manager of golf operations at City Park Back to where his golf life began

At the time of his graduation, he played the most rounds (111) of any golfer in the CU program While his career CU stroke average was a shade over 75, it was still second all-time to Hale Irwin at the time.

In talking to the people that have worked with Tom over the years it’s obvious that not only is he a tremendous leader, wellrespected and successful, but also has an infectious sense of humor Todd Marley, who worked with Tom during his stint at the city of Denver recalls Tom saying that two things would happen ever y day “The sun will come up and my ball will go lef t to right.” Tom still loves to play golf and occasionally will tell his staf f they need to get out and play an emergency 9 holes with him. If he knows you play golf he’ll fir st of all ask what your handicap is, and then attempt to talk you into a small money game, regardless of age and ability.

On one occasion when he was Director of Golf for the city of Denver, Woodard c hallenged a young staf f member to a game of golf At the conclusion, Tom was the victor and came away with the young man owing him a few dollars, which he didn’t possess Tom said, “That's ok You don’t have to pay me Just call me Big Daddy for the rest of the month.” Less than a couple of days later, the young man showed up with the money he lost to Tom saying, “I can’t handle calling you Big Daddy.”

Tom’s putting eventually became an issue so he reached out to a local putter company at the time asking if they could construct a long chest putter for him Because of his height, there were no putter s available at retail. The long putter saved his game in his later years, and he fondly naming it Rodney. During a late round at Inverness GC, during the Colorado Open, Rodney wasn’t behaving and somehow ended up in the pond alongside the 17th green. After ever yone had completed their round, Tom trekked back to the 17th hole and went wading into the water to retrieve his old friend.

Randy Meyers, Tom’s co-worker and successor at Foothills Park and Recreation, was asked about the recent retirement par ty, whic h turned out to be a roast Tom spent 17 years at the helm as Director of Golf. Randy had written some glowing remarks about time spent being mentored by Tom The compliments seemed to go on until Randy looked at Tom and asked, “This IS how you wrote it up, isn’t it?” As expected, the crowd who was there to thank their beloved leader howled with laughter.

Quoting Tom is relatively simple because he uses the same quotes quite of ten. It’s common to hear him say on the first tee, “I won’t ask you to hunt for my ball because I’m not going to hunt for your s.” The reason being the eventual encounter with snakes in native areas of the course. He swears he can never see the ball and forever is saying, “ Where’d that drive go? Did anyone see it?” Tongue in cheek , he likes to remind his playing opponents that yes, he is in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame

There are 4 golfers in the histor y of the University of Colorado who have been inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame. Three of them have won majors on the PG A Tour Being recognized as an outstanding athlete, Woodard stands alongside Hale Ir win, Dale Douglass and Steve Jones. Because of his success at the college level, Tom made honorable mention All American his senior year. The list of accomplishments bestowed on Tom Woodard are lengthy and well-deser ved

It’s no surprise that Tom Woodard has forged a hall of fame career in golf. As a golfer he was the 1997 Golf Per son of the Year in Colorado Tom was also the Colorado PGA Section player of the year in 1992 and 1993. He was inducted into the National Black Golfers Hall of Fame in 2012 and inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame the next year. The University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame came calling in 2015 followed up by his induction into the African American Golfers Hall of Fame just two years later

Tom’s community involvement is just as broad as his playing career and achievements. In the past, Tom has dutifully ser ved on the Board of Directors for the First Tee of Denver for two terms, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame and the National Black Golfers Hall of Fame. He has also ser ved on the Board of Governors for the Colorado Golf Association

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Jerr y Walter s is hos t of the popular In The Fair way podcast and teaches golf at the Tent Wearner Golf Academy.