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Famous golfers with greenkeepers in their family

13 June 2024 Feature Article

When Robert MacIntyre found himself without a caddie at the RBC Canadian Open, he called upon his dad, Dougie for help.

The world instantly felt in love with the father-son duo, with Dougie, the head greenkeeper at Oban’s Glencruitten Golf Club, steering his son to his first PGA Tour victory.

Back in the early days of golf, the roles of greenkeeper and professional were linked, so trailblazers like Old and Young Tom Morris and Harry Vardon often spent time ‘on the tools’. In recent years the roles have become more specialised and so its rarer for greenkeepers to achieve the heights they once did in the game, although some are still giving it a good go, such as former Boston Golf Club greenkeeper Dave Coupland.

Dougie won’t be back on the bag at the US Open this week as it’s a busy life preparing the course at Glencruitten for the club’s members, but it got us to thinking, how many ‘modern’ golfers have (or had) a greenkeeper in the family?

We can think of seven – and we’d love to hear from you if there’s someone we’ve missed.

Robert MacIntyre’s dad Dougie

‘Bob’ MacIntyre can now lay claim to being Oban’s most famous son, having been a member of the victorious European team for the 2023 Ryder Cup and then claiming his first PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open.

With Bob unable to settle on a caddie for the event, he called his dad Dougie, the head greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club, where Bob grew up playing the game.

“I’m a grasscutter not a caddie,” said Dougie. “Last Saturday night, I’m sitting on the couch at home and I’m [thinking] can I leave my job here, I’m busy at work. Eight o’clock the next morning, I’m on a flight out here, and wow.”

After their victory, Bob pledged to use his winnings to pay of his parent’s mortgage. He explained how as a youngster he would play four holes with his dad every evening, adding: “He’s the guy that taught me the game of golf and he knows my game inside out.”

Graeme McDowell’s brother Gary

Gary and Graeme McDowell.jpg


Both Graeme and Gary McDowell were successful golfers at Rathmore Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland. While Graeme went on to become the 2010 US Open champion and four-time Ryder Cup player, Gary joined the Royal Portrush greenkeeping team straight out of school, and he’s still there today.

“Gary always had the better swing,” Graeme told BIGGA in 2019. “But he was never as comfortable with the grind of competitive golf. I have always been proud of my brother and his commitment to the team at Portrush since he was 16. He is proud of his work and happy with his life.”

Sam Torrance’s dad Bob

Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance won 21 times on Tour and featured on eight consecutive Ryder Cup teams, but his dad Bob could claim to leaving an equally important legacy on the game.  

Bob coached Padraig Harrington to two Claret Jugs in 2007 and 2008, as well as also working with Paul McGinley for over 20 years. He was a renowned coach who worked with many leading names in the sport prior to his death in 2014.

Famously hitting a perfect golf stroke the first time he ever picked up a golf club, Bob worked as an assistant professional and trainee greenkeeper at Largs Golf Club before taking up the position of professional and greenkeeper at Routenburn Golf Club, a job he held until his retirement.

Darren Clarke’s dad Godfrey

Thank A Greenkeeper 2023


When BIGGA caught up with Darren Clarke at a Legends Tour event in 2023, the 2011 Open champion reminded us that his dad, Godfrey, was head greenkeeper back in his hometown, Dungannon. Although the golf club had the unwanted distinction of being the most bombed golf club in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, it was the place where Darren learnt the game and spent practically every waking hour.

“I used to be the head greenkeeper and he would come out with me at 8am,” Godfrey told the Belfast Telegraph in 2011. “Then we’d get a phone call at half nine at night saying, ‘I’m ready to go home’. At least we knew where he was and he was getting up to no harm.”

Ian Woosnam’s brother Gareth

Another greenkeeper still working, Gareth Woosnam was for many years the head greenkeeper at Oswestry Golf Club in Shropshire.

While World Golf Hall of Famer Ian is a former world number one and US Masters champion, the other ‘Woosie’ is now course manager and director of golf for RM Estates, the parent company of The Ian Woosnam Golf Academy and Golf Courses, based in the north west.

Ben Curtis’s dad Bob

When Ben Curtis won The Open in 2003, his dad Bob hadn’t watched all the final round because he spent part of the day mowing Mill Creek Golf Club’s greens. When finished, Bob could finally settle in front of the TV and watch his son conquer Royal St George’s fairways, winning a major at his first try.

Mill Creek in Ohio owes its existence to the Curtis family. It was built by Ben’s maternal grandfather, Bill Black, and Bob was the superintendent for many years. When Bob was young, he recalled his son sneaking out the family home and turning on the lights in his dad’s office, so he could use the light to keep practising on the putting green.

“That’s when we realised he really, really loved the game,” Bob told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Arnold Palmer’s father Deacon

Possibly the most famous of them all, Arnold Palmer was The King, winning 62 PGA Tour events and seven major championships. Arnie would achieve everything there is to in golf and he attributed much of his success to his father, who was superintendent at Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania.

Christened Milfred Jerome Palmer, he instead went by Deacon or ‘Deke’ and spent half a century, from 1926 until his death in 1976, tending the fairways at Latrobe. As the course where Arnold first played the game, Latrobe has since gained legendary status among golf fans, but much of its legacy is due to the unyielding work ethic of his father.

Known as a steely man of few words, Deacon had a voice that Arnold told Kingdom “was almost enough to freeze me in my tracks and set my bony knees quaking when I was caught doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.”

Deacon lives on in the PGA of America’s Deacon Palmer award and the USGA’s Deacon software tool for course management.

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Staff Photos 2020-14.JPG
Karl Hansell
BIGGA | Head of Marketing and Communications

Karl has been head of communications for BIGGA since March 2016. His duties include editing the monthly Greenkeeper International magazine, in addition to other communications activities for the association.

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