North Shore Towers Courier n July 2014 13 Even after starting college, he went back to East Williston every summer. Until one day the golf pro strode into the caddy yard at the venerable golf course and said, “Anybody want the starter’s job.” What happened to the previous starter, Rudy still cannot say. “But simple as that, that’s how I got it,” Rudy says. “I said, ‘Sure.’” The pro was Mike Mallon, a young, former PGA-tour golfer who’d won the Long Island junior championship in 1962 even though he was – officials discovered too late -- a year younger than eligibility rules allowed. Mallon had practically been born on a golf course, His father had been the pro at Wheatley before him and it was Mike who taught Rudy the starter’s job from tee to green to the bag room. “He was a very good boss,” says Rudy. “He showed me what to do, schooled me on all the operations, how to get a ‘book’ on the members. I learned very fast.” A “book”? “How demanding are they?” says Rudy. “Who are the ones you could talk to casually – and the ones you called ‘Mis ter . ’ Who does he prefer to play with? Does he have friends? “He taught me how to recognize a person’s needs.” Rudy pauses at this point and proclaims the closest thing he has to a creed: “If you don’t know the members, you shouldn’t be doing this job.” Every week, golfers fill out cards to reserve the times they want to start from Tuesday to Sunday. “Then I start to play with the schedule,” he say. Groups that are fast, you get them out first.” He doesn’t have to say the obvious – the lessspeedy are held back until later in the day. No matter, Rudy guarantees he can get you a time within half an hour of your reservation. What are the secrets of the starter? “No secret,” says Rudy. “Just that everyone wants to have a good time.” Best time to play? “After 2 p.m. There’s no one in front of you.” Worst days? “Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the highest demand days.” How do you handle a slow golfer? “I might suggest they skip a hole. Or I might tell the group behind to go ahead to the next hole.” Bad behavior on the course? “There is no bad behavior here.” For tournaments – Sundays for men, Tuesdays for the ladies – how do you make up the pairings? “The golf pro and tournament chairman decide that. I just put them in the computer.” Is that a delicate operation? “Always.” Are you happy you don’t have to do it? “No comment.” People who have gotten Rudy out of the starter’s shack on to the golf course are perplexed by his utterly personal style. “I taught myself to play,” he says proudly. “I have a horrible backswing, but it works.” What’s his handicap? “12,”he says proudly. “But people cannot figure why it’s so low.” The sheet of starting times begins the day looking like – but is “big mess” by the time Rudy gets done with it. ” ”I have a horrible backswing, but it works.
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