New to the Colorado Golf Association (CGA) Board and not-so-new to the Colorado Golf Foundation (CGF), Will F. Nicholson III is Vice President and Treasurer of the CGF and one of the CGA’s newest Board Members. Will is a fourth-generation Coloradan who spent the entirety of his four-decade career in the investment management industry; the last thirty were focused on providing foundations and endowments advice relating to the structuring and monitoring their investment portfolios. Will is a lifelong golfer, having first learned the game at the Denver Country Club as a young child and where he continues to play regularly as a member. He is also a member of Castle Pines Golf Club.
KK: I have heard that your family has quite a history surrounding the game of golf. Would you mind telling us a bit about that history?
WN: Not at all! My grandfather, Will F. Nicholson, served as a Director of the Western Golf Association (WGA) from 1933-36 and as a member of the United States Golf Association (USGA) Executive Committee from 1937-41. While serving at the USGA he was instrumental in bringing the 1938 U.S. Open to Cherry Hills and served as that tournament’s general chairman. 1938 was the first time the US Open had ever been contested west of the Mississippi.
My dad's time serving the game of golf encompasses such a long list I can’t possibly go into it all. But, some of the highlights include serving on the Board of the CGA for several decades and serving as a member of the USGA Executive Committee from 1974-1982 and as its President (1980-81). Additionally, as a member of Augusta National Golf Club, he served as Chairman of its Competition Committees from 1992-2006, having primary responsibility for conducting the Masters golf tournament. Through all of this he became highly regarded worldwide for his expertise on the Rules of Golf.
KK: How did you get involved with the CGA and what is your position now?
WN: I can't help but tie it back to my dad. He got me interested in the rules of golf as a kid and I got involved with the CGA early on by taking some rules classes and becoming an on-course official. I did a fair amount of Junior Golf tournaments as a rules official, but I also officiated at some higher-level competitions for the CGA. Also, my experience around caddies led me to be invited to join the CGA Caddie Committee and become a WGA Director, which I have been for over 20 years now. Late last year I was elected to serve on the CGA Board and am very excited to become more involved.
KK: What is your involvement with the CGF?
WN: I was asked to join the CGF board in 2016 and I pretty much dove in headfirst. I'm the kind of guy when I'm asked to serve on a board, I don’t do it for the glory; I do it to make a difference, meaning I work at it. As treasurer, I began by simplifying the financials and making them easily understood by most. When the notion of putting the money to use even if you don't give it away came up, we created the endowment. The initial endowment was $1.8 million in 2017, and at the end of 2023, we have almost $3.5 million in endowment thanks to investment growth and additional contributions.
KK: And what is the endowment used for?
WN: The endowment generates a constant stream of “income” that’s used to further the foundation's mission, which is to provide funding for Colorado-based golf organizations and programs that use golf to build important life-skills and character, with an emphasis on instilling hard work and self-reliance in young people. In the last several years, the CGA and the CGF have really come together with a common purpose to benefit youth through the game of golf. Both of us have a similar approach focusing on three areas: Caddie Programs, Youth Player Development, and Community Outreach.
KK: What was a pivotal moment in your golf journey?
WN: I must have been maybe 10 or 12 years old, and my dad said, “Hey Will, I got a present for you,” and he gave me a 3 iron. He told me, “Learn to love this club.” I took him to heart, and to this day, I can't think of anything much better than hitting a long iron flush.
KK: I can’t help but ask, but what’s the logo on your shirt?
WN: Ha ha. That’s the Laughing Man, a character who is expressing his joy at having holed out and who adorns the weather vane atop the clubhouse at the Denver Country Club.
KK: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self or younger generations?
WN: Two parts to my answer, both of which have rock and roll overtones. The first might sound corny, but it took me a long time to appreciate the Eric Clapton lyric “Love is lovely, plant your love and let it grow.” Second, is something I heard often as a youngster, “You can't always get what you want” that, thanks to the Rolling Stones, was modified in my teenage years to “You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.” So, my advice would be to remember that you can't always get what you want, but if you plant your love and let it grow, you'll probably get what you need.