The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Good people make good clubs make good times
Glenn Carlson was only 31 years old when he became head professional at the 89-year-old Torrington Country Club in Goshen. That was 17 years ago and, to hear him talk, he’s never had a day when he’s regretted the decision.
“It’s the people,” Carlson, a Bristol native, said Friday. “Just a great group of people.”
At 48, he’s still an outstanding golfer and a heck of a teacher. Much of his time is spent teaching golf and “fitting” clubs for the members, who love the place and come from a wide area.
Carlson, who started playing the game at age 6, is the son of Bruce Carlson, two-time club champion at Bristol’s Pequabuck Golf Club. Carlson was one of those kids who, once he had a golf club in his hands, could not be deterred from making a bee line for “the course.” (I’ll bet you know the kind. I do.)
He won everything in high school, playing for Bristol Central, including the state high school championship, and afterward it was the most natural thing in the world that he become a golf pro.
“I was an assistant pro at Chippanee (Bristol’s other golf course), and during the winter worked as an assistant at a club in Florida for a few years. Then I got (an) assistant’s job at Wethersfield CC.” Then came Torrington.
There is an awful lot to do as a head pro, Carlson soon learned. “I kind of lost it (his golfing skill) for a while, but gradually, it came back,” he said. “And eventually, I was almost my old self. And one day, during a competitive round, I darn near equaled Wiggy’s record. (Wiggy is Dick Weigold, who for years has held the course record, a stunning 63.)
“Well,” continued Carlson, “wouldn’t you know it, on the last hole I hit a tree with my drive and bogeyed the hole. Shot 64.”
Carlson estimated TCC membership at 290 to 300 playing members and another 90 to 100 social members.
Social members? Sure. TCC is proud of its terrific chef, kitchen and elegant dining room. While golf is the main focus, the TCC clubhouse is a place of marvelous cuisine and service, great for wedding receptions and such.
Refresher: The club sits on 180 acres which was originally farmland. It opened, complete with clubhouse and putting green, in 1929 and some three years later, all 18 holes were available for play. There is a comprehensive history of the club in the internet.
The age of the email has made it easy for Carlson and others at TCC to communicate with the membership and they take advantage of it to keep everyone informed about all things competitive and social. Carlson recently sent an email titled “Welcome Back TCC Members.”
Quoting from the second paragraph, “I wanted to write this to remind you of TCC’s diverse group of members. Our membership boasts a very diverse group of people from many different areas (CT, MA, NY.) We also enjoy many ways to get involved and have fun here at TCC; our inclusiveness. This combination is something unique to TCC.’’
In a later conversation, Carlson said many New Yorkers who summer in northwestern Connecticut belong to TCC. “I’d say about 40 percent of our membership comes from New York,” he said. “And many people from Massachusetts who spend their summers at the (area) lakes are also members.”
They know a good thing when they see it, or play it, I’m thinking.