BOYNTON BEACH — In the summer of 1964, Richard Durham was 12 years old when he started caddying at his local golf course in Connecticut.
Many teens do. But, for Durham, it would launch his lifelong dedication to the sport — one filled with teaching thousands of people how to pick up a club, running golf camps for children and organizing charity tournaments.
"It was always 'Rick,' never Richard, never Mr. Durham," his son Trevor Durham said. "He wouldn't let a single person on earth call him anything but Rick. He always wanted to be friends."
Durham died March 31 after a two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 72, but even up until two months before his cancer progressed, he'd wake up at 4 a.m. every day to open the Delray Beach Golf Club shortly after.
He lived in Boynton Beach and a celebration of life will be held from 4-6 p.m., Saturday at Delray Beach Golf Club.
A passion for golf as a child led to a spot on the FAU golf team in the 1970s
As a boy, Rick loved the feeling of being on a golf course. He'd hold bags for his job as a caddy, but also sift through the ponds trying to find old Coca-Cola bottles.
After graduating high school in Connecticut, he attended Florida Atlantic University on the recommendation of someone for whom he'd caddied. At the time, the school didn't yet offer bachelor's degrees, so he graduated with an associate of arts in 1976. He played on the school's golf team, which was a NAIA section champion that same year.
As an undergraduate at FAU, Durham started working at the Cypress Creek Country Club in Boynton Beach. He became a PGA Professional in 1986, then served as head professional at Cypress Creek for 26 years, until the club shut down in 2018.
He went on to join JCD Sports Group, based in Delray Beach, where he worked as a PGA Professional for more than 20 years. Before starting as the pro at Delray Beach Golf Club about seven years ago, he worked at West Palm Beach Golf Course (recently reopened as The Park), helping in its renovation and a visit from Arnold Palmer to celebrate the new course.
"He never spent a minute not thinking about the game," Trevor Durham said.
A transition to a golf instructor: Lessons, golf camps and tournaments
He specialized in all phases of junior instruction and assisted local schools with their golf programs, too.
"He ...
