Head Pro Spotlight:
Bill Campbell of the Surf Golf and Beach Club

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

  NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.c. - Bill Campbell is the unlikely hero, the unlikely head professional. How can a guy that teaches golf be equated to a hero, with the likes of Batman, Spiderman, or even Superman?

Ever had a teaching professional fix your swing - make everything about the golf swing just click for you for a day or two? Enough said.

Campbell has been the head pro at the Surf Golf and Beach Club, the Grand Strand's third oldest golf course, for fifteen years. And how did he prepare himself for the top job at one of Myrtle Beach's most respected layouts? Fishing. How else?

"I was living in Edisto Beach just south of Charleston," says Campbell. "I was dating a girl that was the buyer from the pro shop there. I was invited to play golf with the pro and assistant pro and they invited me to work part time. I thought I was just going to be doing it during the off season of fishing."

Turns out, it was a lot more than that. From charter fisherman to head golf professional at a course that is annually recognized by locals and tourists alike as one of the great traditional tracks of the mid-Atlantic.

Sometimes the career does choose the man, but sometimes you just can't complain. Freedom of choice is one thing, but when destiny slides you into the helm of a great course when golfing is your passion, to hell with choice.

"Fifteen years later and here I am," says Campbell without a hint of remorse in his voice. "I came in as an assistant and I have been here for the last fifteen years. Can you imagine that?

No Bill, many of us can't. For crying out loud, that is three vested pension plans worth of work. That is two to three mid-life crises. But for Campbell, it is not just the job, but also the people that keep him coming back, day after day and year after year.

"For me, we have a great membership," says Campbell. "We have about 350 members. It gives me the best of both worlds. It is nice to have relationships with people in golf. My family does not live in the area, so these people are my family."

In fact, "those" people and the game of golf are Campbell's life. According to this avid Clemson fan, if he is not working, then he is off golfing with any number of groups of members he plays with at least once a week.

"This is my entire life," admits Campbell. "I do a little snow skiing, but other than that, you're looking at it."