When Lynn native Paul Barkhouse first fell in love with golf, he never imagined his career would lead him to where he is today. Now, after 53 years as a caddie, head professional and player, Barkhouse is ready to move on.
Barkhouse, who currently serves as the head professional at Woburn Country Club, where he’s been for the past 17 years, is retiring after an illustrious career that also included tenures in similar roles at Ferncroft CC and Ipswich CC. He also held a similar post in Ohio.
Although he acknowledged that he still loves the atmosphere on the greens, Barkhouse, 76, said it’s simply time to move on and relax.
“I’ve been in the business for a lot of years,” Barkhouse, who currently resides in North Andover, said. “I haven’t been playing as much as I’d like to. I still love the atmosphere, but it’s getting to me and my wife. I’m not being forced out or anything like that, but me and my wife would like to take a few years to relax a little bit.”
Barkhouse began his golf career as a caddie at the former Happy Valley Country Club in Lynn. Initially, Barkhouse was a caddie for his father Harry, who once served as the club’s president and was also a club champion.
Now the course is named after the late Larry Gannon, who was one of Barkhouse’s closest friends.
“After my first year or two of caddying I started to play a lot,” Barkhouse said. “A bunch of us caddies would play 35 or 40 holes on the weekdays and then we’d caddy on the weekends. That’s how I really started to get into it.
“I started at Happy Valley,” Barkhouse added. “Larry and I were very close. He was a terrific guy. He used to love being around the atmosphere and he loved being around when I gave people a “kidding” hard time. We have 37 guys that turned pro from Lynn that used to play at Happy Valley.”
Barkhouse’s playing career includes a long list of accomplishments. He’s a two-time winner of the Wogan Award Player of the Year trophy (1969, 1977) and a two-time winner of the New England PGA Individual Match Play Championship (1981, 1984). In 1980, Barkhouse won the PGA Club Professional Series.
The connections and friendships he established on the greens, Barkhouse said, are what he’ll miss the most after he retires.
“Being affiliated with the people over the years was my favorite part,” Barkhouse said. “I played a lot of golf and I’ve met a lot of people. The playing years were great, but I really remember the players I met and the people I met.”
In 2000, he was elected into the NEPGA Hall of Fame. Although Barkhouse is known for maintaining a loose personality and cracking jokes with his fellow club members, the Hall of Fame induction was the first time in his career in which he was forced to fight nerves.
“It was the first time I was ever nervous, having to get up and recite a speech,” Barkhouse recalled. “I don’t remember much about the induction night. The room was filled with all the people from the PGA. It was great, but I don’t remember much about the night. Sometimes you get lost in your own thoughts when you’re nervous.”
Making his golf career even more special is that Barkhouse has had the aid of his wife, Nancy, every step of the way.
“I met her when I was the assistant at Happy Valley,” Barkhouse said. “Nancy has always been with me. When I didn’t have a regular caddie, she’d caddie with me.”
He hasn’t given much thought to what he’ll do after he steps away, but Barkhouse knows one thing’s for certain.
“I’m sure I’m going to miss it,” Barkhouse said. “I’m sure Nancy will miss it too. Seeing that we’ve been doing this for as long as we’ve been doing it, I’m sure we’re going to miss it. We met a lot of great people throughout the years, all throughout the country.”
And on occasion, Barkhouse, a 1957 graduate of Lynn Trade, now known as Lynn Tech, still drives through his hometown to reminisce on the memories he created growing up. His love for Lynn, Barkhouse noted, has always stayed close to him.
“Every once in awhile I’ll drive through Lynn,” Barkhouse said. “It has changed a lot from when I grew up there. I do love Lynn. I spent many years there. I was always at home when I grew up in Lynn.”
