The new year brought a major life change with the prospect of new adventures for Alan Abrams, golf operations director at Indian Tree Golf Club, and longtime Hiwan head professional Kyle Heyen. Kyle, 68, retired on Halloween after 45 years at the club in Evergreen and Alan, 71, followed on Jan. 5 after 45 years at Arvada’s busy municipal course.
The two Colorado Golf Hall of Famers are more than contemporaries: Schooled by the late Vic Kline, they’ve taken on leadership roles in the Colorado PGA and mentored many of the state’s directors of golf and head professionals, volunteering their time for the good of golf.
They’re also friends.
“It’s pretty cool to see each other retire closely together,” said Alan. “He’s a past president of the Colorado PGA, I’m a past president. We worked our way up through the offices and ran committees… It’s a volunteer job that we did, but it was part of our…”
“It was in our DNA,” Kyle piped up.
“Yeah, I guess,” Alan agreed.
Together, they sat down at Indian Tree to reflect on how the game, their customers and their jobs evolved over the years. Here are some of the highlights.
Shorts Got Shorter
Kyle: “On the private side, it used to be four inches above the knee, collared shirts tucked in, hats always on straight. We got pretty good at saying, ‘OK, that’s four inches.’ (Both laugh.) We had rulers, but you never want to have to go up and say, ‘Your shorts, let me measure you,’ with 50 members standing there. So you learned how to be the dress code police very, very softly. You can see how that’s changed over the years, especially on the LPGA Tour but even on the men’s tour -- those elastic banded ankle pants they’re wearing now are almost like sweatpants.”
Alan: “I think the changes come from whoever is the top golfer and what they’re wearing from the sponsor. The next thing you know, everybody’s got to have it. Back in the day, it was the Sansabelt pants without the belt. And then the crazy shirts that went on – nothing was matching. It seemed kind of out of whack.”
Kyle: “And I think we almost lost a generation of golfers because of our dress code. The younger kids in jeans and T-shirts really didn’t want to look like dad or grandpa. So at least today’s more casual dress code has brought them back in. At Hiwan, it’s collared shirts and golf shorts or skirts. Nobody goes out and says, ‘That’s too short.’ ”
More Inclusivity
Kyle: “We no longer have the men’s tees or the women’s tees or the junior tees. They’re who-knows-what-color.”
Alan: “It’s ability tees now.”
Kyle: “It’s ability tees. We have a member who I think is 93 now, still playing golf and playing from what we now call the forward tees. And he’s down the middle of the fairway and he’s out there playing golf. It’s more enjoyable to move up than playing tees where the others hit driver-8 iron to the green and I hit driver, 3-wood, 8-iron or maybe a wedge.”
Alan: “I think we’re in that group now.”
Kyle: “Yeah, we’re in that group… Speaking of tees, we used to have restricted tee times when I started at Hiwan. Women could not play between 11 o’clock and 2 o’clock Tuesday through Friday, after 2 on Saturday and after 11 on Sunday. I think we were one of the first clubs around town that got rid of the restricted tee time. Now it’s first come, first serve.”
Technology Takes Over
Kyle: “When we started, Sundays were dead because the Broncos were playing. Now, even though they’re winning, it doesn’t matter because everybody can record the game or watch it live on their phone. Everybody’s got a phone – and maybe a speaker.”
Alan: “We tried to restrict the music and the speakers when that first started, and now that everybody does it, here’s the deal: The new generation has those things and that’s what they do. If you restrict them, then whoever has the golf course that doesn’t restrict them is where everybody’s going to go. So we just try to work around those things, which becomes hard work sometimes. And, with members, you’ve got to be even more tippytoe.”
Kyle: “Yes: Keep it within your own fairway. If you police it to where there’s no music allowed, then guess what? They’re going to go somewhere else. And when you do the math on monthly dues, that gets pretty expensive.”
Alan: “Of course, at some of the real high end clubs, your phone stays in the locker. You can’t use it. If you want to use it (laughing), you might have to go in the bathroom and lock yourself in there.”
Kyle: “Technology has helped us with customer service though. I remember when we had paper tee sheets, Vic would lock himself in his office at 8 a.m. on Tuesdays for Satudays and Wednesdays for Sundays to take calls. ‘What time do you want?’ Boom, boom. The phone would ring off the hook.”
Alan: “Now we don’t have to listen to that phone ring all day long because the tee times are all online. And we now have an app, most golf courses do. So you can go on, make a tee time, see what’s open and available. Pretty amazing stuff. And it allows us to pay more attention to the people coming into the golf shop, rather than trying to help somebody across the counter and answer the phone at the same time.”
Kyle: “But I don’t think you ever want to lose that person to person touch. Because you have some players, especially seniors, who don’t like getting on the computer. They want to talk to Alan. They want to make a tee time and then see how he’s doing.”
Fittings Revolutionize Equipment
Kyle: “We started right at the transition from laminated persimmon heads to the metal heads in the mid ’80s. Then there were fittings on the driving range. Ping was so popular, you would order a dozen sets of each different color, and they’d be out the door the minute they came in. Ping was the pioneer in club fitting.”
Alan: “Today, if you’re a better golfer, you will not buy a set of clubs that you haven’t been fitted for in some fashion. You don’t just go into the store and say, ‘Oh, I like those. And I like the price.’ As a beginner you might, but a better player is going to get fitted somehow, some way. Not the way we used to do it, in the back of the golf shop.”
Kyle: “And I think we’ve been fortunate in the Colorado section to have Golftec, one of the leaders in the world in indoor lessons and club fitting. Because at one point that wasn’t a good thing to do.”
Alan: “No.”
Kyle: “It wasn’t accepted within the industry: ‘How can you learn how to play golf inside, when you can’t see where the ball flight is, what the distance is?’ That’s been a great direction of equipment and teaching, making golfers better. And that’s what we’re all about: How do we get more rounds of golf, keep people happy, keep them playing?”
Alan: “Teaching has always been a highlight of being a golfer. Just one little thing can make a big difference, but if you’re looking for that one little thing on YouTube you can get lost in the weeds real fast. Of course, back in the day, I think my golf lessons were $12 an hour. Now people are charging $120 an hour. And back then you could buy a whole bag, a set of irons, set of woods, golf balls and shoes for $500-600. You can’t get a driver now for that. As for green fees, I don’t know where the high end is with the amount of people playing golf.”
About That Pandemic
Kyle: “In the late ‘80s, early ’90s, the economy went through some things and our dues at Hiwan dropped. I think we also went through a trend where golf courses were closing. Now we’re on the other side of that.”
Alan: “Now we’ve got 10 or 15 newer courses in the area. The Vail Valley used to be just Eagle Vail and two or three country clubs, and now there are destination resorts pulling in skiers in winter and golfers in summer. The supply and demand is so heavy right now, I could have two golf courses here and fill them. The minute you open the tee sheet, you’re going from 6 in the morning until daylight’s done, and now they want to come in and have a beverage, so you have to keep your restaurant open until 10 or 11 at night. You’re running 16-hour days with two groups of staff.”
Kyle: “Then the kids on the staff go back to school and you still have the same number of golfers but with half the staff.”
Alan: “Yeah, once they’re gone, now the staff that’s behind the counter has to take an hour and go pick the range or do the trash, odds and ends you have around the course.”
Kyle: “And we’re taking down carts instead of managing the operation.”
Alan: “Another part of the change in golf is the understanding of stewardship – fixing ball marks, fixing divots, controlling yourself in a golf cart, watching yourself with alcohol. Now it’s all about electronics. Music on the carts. Everybody has a range finder now, or something on their wrist or ear or hat to tell them distances, instead of looking for the markers in the fairway or the 150 tree.”
Kyle: “I think COVID contributed to the major changes we see today, and with all the technology Alan mentioned, that one generation we missed got into the game. You know, we did a million different things to try to grow the game of golf. We were begging for golfers. Little did we know that a pandemic…”
Alan (laughing): “Yeah, just shut everything else down in the world if we could get golfers out on the course. That was the highest number of rounds we ever had at Indian Tree, in 2020. Since then it fell a little bit, but it’s on a good trend. Then the simulators have come in and enhanced the inside game, with a bar nearby and more socialization. So technology, that’s really pushed it over the edge.”
Kyle: “We have two Trackman simulators at Hiwan, and when we have weather they’re going all day long.”
Alan: “And we’re looking to build a new clubhouse with simulators in it.”
What They’d Tell Their Successors
Alan: “Customer service: Try to make a nice first impression on everybody, from restrooms to kitchen to restaurant to greens to flowers, to whatever you can to make them feel good about where they are. Good golf carts, cold beers.”
Kyle: “You’ve got to have a smile. You’ve got to take care of them. Old school – ‘Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith.’ I’ve done it forever and now I get in trouble for it – ‘That’s not my name’ – so find what makes them feel welcome. Little detail things they will remember. And for a young assistant, find somebody like Alan, hop on his coattails and learn what he’s done to be successful, the way we all followed what Vic did.”
Alan: “I think even we always have to be willing to learn. And we can learn from these young kids too. Especially with technology.”
Kyle: “Yeah. ‘Help. I need help. I’m stuck.’ ”
Both men laughed. Then we went outside and replicated their photo of 25 years ago.
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