Bill has spent most of his life in the great state of Colorado. He graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Real Estate. Bill and his wife of 37 years, Laura, have two sons, George and Harry. He has been in the Commercial Real Estate industry since graduating from CSU, and is currently employed by Skye Commercial Real Estate Advisors focusing primarily on Commercial Real Estate brokerage. Bill is involved in several business and civic organizations including being past president of the Metro Denver Executive Club, a past board member of Cherry Hills Country Club, and is a mentor for The Challenge Foundation. He is passionate about golf and feels lucky to call Cherry Hills Country Club his home club.
KK: Where did you grow up?
BW: I grew up in Littleton. Just off Arapahoe and University. When I was in 9th grade, my dad got transferred to Dallas for work, so from 9th through 11th grade I went to high school there. Then we moved back to Littleton when I was a senior.
KK: When did you start playing golf and who introduced you to the game?
BW: I started playing golf when I was about 11 probably. At the time, my father had a membership at Columbine Country Club and the Head Pro, Tony Novitsky, introduced me to the game. I was involved in the junior summer programs there.
KK: Did you play in high school, then?
BW: I did. I played at Plano High School in Metro Dallas. When I moved back to Denver, I played here at Arapahoe High School as well. I then went to college, and played at Point Loma College in California my freshman year.
KK: How was that experience?
BW: I enjoyed it, but I knew that I wanted to be back in Colorado. I burnt out of playing competitive golf for a while. I played in a tournament in college at Torrey Pines and I think I shot 75. That was a pretty good round for me. It was an Invitational tournament; so UCLA, USC and San Diego State were all there. I went over to the giant scoreboard and saw Corey Pavin’s name. He happened to be a senior at UCLA that year. When I looked at the scoreboard, I saw my 75 next to his 67 and I was like, “Well, maybe I should go back to school in Colorado.” That really happened.
KK: Do you play in CGA events now?
BW: I do. I'm still working, so I don't play in as many as I'd like to, but I play in the CGA Senior Four-Ball just about every year.
KK: What is your current involvement with the CGA and what does that entail?
BW: I'm the Vice President of the CGA Board. So, I'll be President in two and a half years. And right now, I'm the chair of the CCGO and CRE committee, which is the committee that, from a board perspective, oversees CommonGround Golf Course.
KK: What is the biggest impact you have made as a Board Member of the CGA?
BW: Gosh, I don't know how to answer that question. I just have such great enthusiasm for CommonGround. It's a very simple answer, really. I spend a lot of time out there and I play there quite a bit. The biggest impact I have made on the CGA Board is just advocating for CommonGround.
KK: Can you tell me a bit about what you do?
BW: My primary job is leasing and sales of commercial real estate, but I do some asset management as well. I find people who want space and/or I handle buildings where there are vacancies and fill them up. I also sell land and buildings. I've been doing this for a long time. I am 64 years old, and I’ve been doing it longer than I've not been doing it. I've done a lot of different things in Commercial Real Estate over my career.
KK: How long have you been a member at Cherry Hills Country Club and what is your favorite part about being a member?
BW: I have been a member there for 29 years. It's been a big part of my life and I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's just wonderful. It is a wonderful golf course that's very well taken care of and has a very rich history. I love playing golf there and I’ve made a lot of great friends. I've been very involved in all of the tournaments we have put on from the 2005 U.S. Women’s Open to the 2012 U.S. Amateur to the 2014 BMW Championship to last year’s 2023 U.S. Amateur.
KK: What is your favorite golf memory?
BW: So, I told you that I moved to Texas in the 9th grade. Well, we lived on a golf course, and I wanted to play golf on the high school team. I tried out for the team, and it was just a qualifier, so they took the ten lowest scores over 2 days. I knew I wasn't going to make the team, but the golf coach saw me playing in the second day of the qualifier, and I will never forget this: I must have taken a swing and he called me over. He said, “What's your name? You’ve got a very nice swing.” I said, “Bill Woodward and thank you,” and that was that. There was a meeting after the qualifying rounds where coach said, “These are the people that made it, the rest of you guys can leave, but Bill Woodward, could you stay?” So, I stayed, and I was asked to be the manager of the golf team. That meant I got to play every day with the team and that’s how I really got into golf. That guy, Jay Stevens is his name, is still one of my very close friends and I often think about the difference he made in my life.
KK: Wow, what an impact he made in your golf journey! Now, final question: What is one piece of advice that you would give to your younger self or younger generations?
BW: What I always tell my boys is that “persistence is omnipotent”. Some days are bad, some days are good, but if you just keep showing up, you will be successful.