TEEING OFF: BRENDAN JAMES
The last time I spoke with Mike Wolveridge he was his usual English chipper self. The excitement in his voice was clearly evident as he talked about coming out of retirement to oversee redesign work on the Mirage Country Club at Port Douglas – the same layout he and former design partner, Peter Thomson, created for the high-flying Christopher Skase in the mid-1980s.
We talked for nearly 20 minutes. Most of the time Michael reflected on his times working alongside Thomson, the plans that lie ahead for the Mirage project and the state of the modern game. Most of which was published in a feature in this magazine last month.
He ended our chat, reaffirming how good life was.
“We’re all having a lot of fun. We’re involved in something that is going to be very special and I’m loving it,” he said. Sadly, it would be his final interview. Only days after his story hit the news-stands, Michael passed away suddenly. He was 82.
Wolveridge’s life in golf began at the age of 11 at Belfairs Golf Club in Essex, England. He grew to become a fine amateur but instead of playing events on home soil, he headed ended up in the warmer climes of Bermuda where he landed a professional’s job at the Mid Ocean Club. His boss later sent him to the US to further improve his game, and he crossed paths with Claude Harmon and the two-time PGA Champion Paul Runyan. Both taught and influenced Wolveridge, who won his Tour card in 1961. He made his Tour debut at the 1962 LA Open on the same day as one Jack Nicklaus.
But his greatest legacy to the game was through golf course design over a career spanning nearly 50 years, all of which he worked alongside Thomson. In all, Wolveridge was involved in the design of more than 200 courses in 23 countries.
“He was such a great man, Pete. I miss him dearly,” Michael said during our interview.
He then went on to reveal, with a laugh, how back in the day he and Thomson would snicker over the routing and design plans for a course they thought might be played by Greg Norman.
“We both loved Greg. Such a strong driver of the ball,” Michael chuckled. “He was so good that we would design a lot of holes with a lone bunker further down the fairway from the tee than the rest of the bunkers. We used to call them our Norman bunkers.”
I can still remember the mischievous laugh that came with the delivery.
Michael lived a wonderful life in and out of the game, and I have no doubt he’s up there somewhere enjoying the company of his old mate Thommo.
Michael is survived by his wife of 30 years, Barbara, two children, two grandchildren from a previous marriage, two step children and three step grandchildren.