CORVALLIS, Ore. – USGA completed a spotlight on the NAIA and CCC’s very own, Terry McEvilly. "Terry McEvilly has been instrumental in the growth of not only CCC golf but NAIA golf," stated Commissioner Robert Cashell. "He authored the first NAIA hard card and organized/led the inaugural rules officials crew to work an NAIA championship when the CCC hosted at Creekside Golf Club in Salem, Ore., in 2013. He continues to support golf at all levels and serves the sport and the collegiate players in so many ways."
How did you get into golf?
My family didn’t have a lot of resources when I was growing up, so I never really had the chance to play golf until I was in college. And even though I loved every minute of it, I quit playing after college as I had jobs that took me on the road quite a bit. When I
accepted my current job here in Salem in 1994, the owner of the company and his son, both passionate golfers, told me, almost as a condition of my employment that I had to start playing golf again, so I did. Until I started playing again, I had forgotten how much I missed the game. When I was first appointed to a USGA committee in 2009, I told the owner of our companies that the appointment was all because of him leading me back to the game and that I was very thankful. Golf is the only hobby I've ever found that no matter how poorly I'm playing (which is often), I forget about the cares and problems of the real world when I'm on the course.
How did you get into volunteering? Why is volunteering important to you?
In 2004 for some strange reason, I decided to go to a PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshop as part of a vacation. I had no idea what I was getting into in advance of the workshop, but I went ahead and took the exam and was pleased with the result. Then an accidental conversation with an Oregon Golf Association (OGA) executive a few years later led to an offer from the OGA to become one of the association’s Rules Officials. I worked my first event at the Oregon Junior Amateur in the summer of 2007 and had such a good time that I just kept going from there.
Volunteering has been one of the best decisions I ever made in my life as I found out I have a passion for the Rules and the intellectual challenge they provide. It’s fulfilling to give back to a game that has given me so much. Plus the number of great friends I’ve made around the country because of the game has been an absolute blessing.
Favorite USGA championship?
My favorite USGA championship has always been the U.S. Women’s Open, which I haven’t yet had the chance to work. But of the championships I have worked, the U.S. Senior Women’s Open was my favorite as I’ve always been an ardent supporter of women’s golf at all levels. I met many of the female pioneers of the game, such as JoAnne Carner, at LPGA tour stops when I was a young sportswriter and sportscaster in the Denver area in the 1970s and became fascinated by their stories. I have worked about 20 or so USGA championships and each one has had its special moments and appeal. I am also very delighted with the success of the U.S. Adaptive Open. Anyone I know who has worked that championship has told me it’s the most inspiring event they have ever been a part of.
What is your occupation?
I run three companies: a Shell gasoline wholesaler, a fuel transportation company and an extensive commercial warehouse operation. I have been with the companies for 30 years and feel very lucky to work for a great owner. I am getting close to retiring, which will free up quite a bit of time to expand my officiating work.
Tell me about the “rules work” you do for the OGA
I do a lot of volunteering for both the OGA and the collegiate game. In addition to on-course volunteering, I also keep my hand in the Rules Education work of the OGA. A fellow OGA official and I have been working together on Rules Education for about 12 years. We write a Rules article each month for the OGA newsletter, have jointly taught about 45 one-day Rules workshops around Oregon over the years and we have given an untold number of short private workshops for OGA member clubs. We also answer
all the Rules-related questions that come into the OGA office each year.
What was your most memorable Golf moment?
Isn’t every moment on a golf course memorable? My favorite moments on a golf course are just before sunrise as the course set-up for that day’s tournament is close to being completed. There is a certain beauty, calmness and anticipation to that time of day.
What is your favorite hobby outside of golf?
Film and theater rank at the top of the list. Because my two degrees are in Journalism and English, I still have a compulsion to write. So, I end up writing and posting about 70 film and theater reviews each year. The arts are great hobbies, especially in the dark and damp days of the Oregon winter and early spring. I always tell people they need to see films at the cinema and not at home. The same for theater, which is meant to be seen live. After all, where else can you huddle in the darkness with perfect strangers, all of whom are hoping to find a better world?