Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gary Potter, shares several of his Colorado golfing experiences The Boulder native plays about 150 rounds of golf in the state each year, often at Denver Country Club, his long-time home club. His accomplishments include a handful of club championship wins, invitational wins, amateur championships, stroke and match play championships, and 10 CGA team championships with assorted partners. Golf is just a small portion of Potter’s’s busy life, though. The “Commander,” as his friends call him, is an attorney at his own law firm, Meurer & Potter and a devoted family man. A humble and life-loving man, Potter doesn’t take anything for granted.
This interview has been edited for length.
KK: When did you first become involved in golf?
GP: I got involved probably about 1960. At the time, I was playing college baseball and basketball for Regis College. Our baseball coach, Joe B. Hall, was also our basketball coach. He told us to take two or three weeks off baseball, so one of my buddies said to me, “Why don’t you go out for the golf team?” I said, “Well, that’s a stupid sport.” I did find an old set of clubs that Dad had in the garage and went out for the golf team. I hit one shot on number 14 at Willis Case that went probably twice as far as any baseball I had ever hit. I still have that old club today.
KK: What made you fall in love with the game?
GP: That same buddy of mine -said, “Well, why don’t you get a job with me at Cherry Hills?” That was in 1960 (U.S. Open, Cherry Hills Country Club). So, I started working the grounds crew at Cherry Hills during the day and I’d get off at 3 p.m. Then they would let us play the course if we didn’t let any of the members see us. I would head home to Wheatridge, where I was living with my folks, around 5:30 p.m. Then, there was a driving range over by Regis College, that a guy by the name of Ted Hart owned, and he let me hit balls till around 10:00 p.m. as long as I picked up the range. This was before daylight savings of course. Before I knew it, the U.S. Open came around. I saw Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer while I was mowing. And when you see people play at that caliber: flying the ball where they want them to, that was what hooked me. I went out for the golf team the next year at Regis and made the team. The first time I ever broke 80 I was playing against CU-Boulder with a bunch of great players who later became good friends.
KK: What was the highlight of your career?
GP: Hasn’t happened yet. I am still waiting for it. As you know, you do something, and you win or get an A+ on a test. Then the next morning you wake up and you think, “Now what am I going to do?” So, I had a lot of wins, but I am always looking for the next one. Winning the first Parent-Child Championship with my son Matt was exciting. Then qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1984 was pretty exciting. I would have to say, being inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 was a big highlight. You don’t recognize or appreciate those accomplishments as they happen, though. And I still think about all those free-throws I made during basketball games growing up. Those were my highlights.
KK: What is your current role with the CGA? How did you get involved?
GP: I am currently an Emeritus Director of the CGA. Dr. Homer McClintock and Sonny Brinkerhoff introduced me to the organization. They wanted younger people on the CGA Board in 1973. We only ran about 2 or 3 tournaments. By that time, I had young children and one of them was playing tennis in age groups. When I became Tournament Director of the CGA, I increased the number of tournaments. During that period, we also took on the handicapping business and a point list. We were also starting the course slope-rating with the USGA. I even started having my clients volunteer as spotters and rules officials for our tournaments.
KK: What other golf associations are you affiliated with?
GP: I got involved with the Trans-Miss Golf Association in 1979, by joining the board and legal counsel. Jack Vickers said to me, “We are going to have the Trans-Miss at Denver Country Club in 1980.” I started running it. I received all 600 entry applications to play in the Trans-Miss Amateur that year. We had a great field. Out of that field came 12 major champions, including Freddie Couples, Bob Tway, etc. I am also an Emeritus board member for the Pacific Coast Golf Association and have been on the board since 1974 (president in 1977 and 1988). In 1977, Denver Country Club hosted the Pac Coast Amateur, too. Will Zalatoris and Bryson DeChambeau are two of the tour players today that won our tournament. I also did some legal work for the PGA after I retired from the CGA board. The PGA made me an honorary member in 1993.
KK: How did you balance work, family, and golf?
GP: Thank goodness everyone in the family liked to play golf and sports. And I coached probably 60 youth sports teams (football, basketball, baseball, volleyball) over a span of 33 years and was the athletic director of St. Benedict’s School. There were a lot of years that I didn’t even practice golf. I would work, go home, and coach. Callaway didn’t start his business until he was 80, and I am starting my new law business at 81.
KK: What do you believe most golfers have in common?
GP: The words that come to mind are integrity, competition, or comradery. Golfers all try to help each other, instead of tearing each other down. When it comes to golf opponents, you want so badly to beat them, but at the end of the day, you’re friends. The people you meet and know through golf, even if you hardly see or hear from them, when you do, it is like no time has passed. I have made so many connections that I have been to Augusta, Pebble Beach, and Palm Valley more than once. Palmer acted like he knew you and would always say, “Yeah, I remember you,” even if he only met you once.
KK: If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self and younger generations, what would it be?
GP: Keep it simple.
“On the last hole, I birdied to win the match. And I said to Arnold Now that’s what golf’s all about” (his own saying) and he burst out laughing. To this day I still have the score card proving that he owes me $5. He was such a good guy.”