Larry Hayes - Way Too Much Golf

Larry was born in Oklahoma which is a fact and also works as an excuse.  His parents were educators, his mother was a professor at Oklahoma University and his father was Dean of Education at Oklahoma State and later, the Oklahoma State Board of Regents.  Larry’s grandfather was a school superintendent and two of his uncles were college presidents.  Larry is not sure what changed in the genes, but he and his three brothers all are in the “golf” business.  Larry became a Club Professional and now manages golf facilities.  His brother Mark played on the PGA Tour for twenty years, won several tournaments including the Tournament Players Championship and played in the 1979 Ryder Cup.  Brother Jim earned an agronomy degree and is a golf course superintendent.  Youngest brother Dan also became a club professional and runs golf facilities for the US Air Force currently in Tokyo, Japan.

Brother Mark and Larry were introduced to golf when Larry was age six and Mark five.  While they played other sports growing up, by high school they both had selected golf as the sport they wanted to concentrate on and play competitively.  His two younger brothers begin playing golf at a very early age as well.  Larry played on a high school golf team that won the Oklahoma State Championship four years straight and played competitive amateur golf on a national level.  Larry earned a full four year golf scholarship at Oklahoma City University where he majored in business administration.  During high school and college Larry worked at a local, very busy golf course resulting in earning the position as an Assistant Golf Professional upon college graduation.

Larry recalls that after one year as an Assistant Golf Professional and nine years of working every weekend, he took time off to build an A-Frame cabin on family property near Branson, Missouri.  The cabin is still standing forty years later and is the only venture, other than marrying Mary, that he was ever involved in that did not include golf.

Larry returned to the real world as an Assistant Golf Professional in Springfield, Missouri for two years.  Larry married prior to moving to Fort Worth, Texas where he was employed as an Assistant Golf Professional at a Fort Worth Country Club.  His daughter was born thereafter and Larry became the Head Golf Professional at Ridglea Country Club in Fort Worth.  While the first marriage did not work out, Larry was able to secure a position as Director of Golf at the Trophy Club, the only golf course Ben Hogan ever designed.  Larry held the position of Director of Golf and later Club manager for eighteen years and for two years oversaw two other area private golf clubs.  During this period, he met the love of his life Mary, whom he married and expanded their family to three daughters between them.  During this time, Larry wrote and published the “Junior Golf Book” for St. Martin’s Press.  It was so successful that it was later published in paperback and published with a different hardback cover in Europe.

Larry and Mary transitioned to Cumming, Georgia in 2000 where he became General Manager of the Polo Golf and Country Club.  A year later he moved to White Columns Country Club in Milton and now is the General Manager of the high end Atlanta National Country Club.  Mary took up running and discovered points chasing, and soon retired as work interfered with her running.  Some of the races required traveling long distances and driving at night so Larry was introduced to the craziness of the running world as a chauffeur.  Larry met Wayne and Cheryl Vail at Villa Rica at the first race he attended. Thereafter Mary talked him into walking a race in Clayton where he ran, walked some, and came in second behind Bill Chamblee winning a coffee cup!  Larry was hooked after the encouragement of Kathy Givens and Chris Scammon whom he met there. 

For the first time Larry has a hobby to pass the time other than golf, which he can look forward to and enjoy.  Larry enjoys the entire running family and hopes the great experience continues for many, many years!              

Bob checking out from the back of the pack.  Look for the profile on Cheryl Cook, and Milledgeville’s Troy Garland.