Battling cancer makes time precious for Maple Hill Golf Club superintendent
Lawrence, Kan. (Jan. 20, 2015) – Bobby Goerlich really means it when he says each day is special.
“Life has to come first,” says Goerlich, a golf course superintendent, husband and a father to four children. “I am not going to let one day go by doing something I don’t enjoy.”
For Goerlich, who was told seven years ago he had cancer, each and every day is a gift. His story is one of perseverance and survival. He has seen heartache. A neighbor murdered his father and mother in 2006 in their Florida suburban home.
“I am amazed at what he can do after everything he has been through,” says Moe Kinner, staff member with Goerlich at Maple Hill Golf Club in Marathon, N.Y. “It could beat down a lot of people. But every morning I see that smile on his face; and he’s out there trying to make this course as good as he can.”
Goerlich didn’t plan on being a golf course superintendent. In fact, for the longest time, he wasn’t sure where life would take him.
He earned a dual bachelor’s degree in public relations and Spanish, and then continued on to earn a master’s degree in Latin American literature in 1992. But what he learned from books could not replace Goerlich’s passion for golf; so he pursued it, becoming the golf club professional at Cortland (N.Y.) Country Club.
But on a cold October afternoon, during a pro-am event, Goerlich’s future changed forever. He faced an awkward, uphill lie and launched a wedge shot that triggered more pain than he ever could imagine.
“I felt something snap in my back,” Goerlich says. “It was horrible. I thought I broke my back.” The diagnosis was a spinal injury that needed a spinal fusion, so his golf career was put on hold. He decided to enter the business world, landing a job as a high-paying sales representative for an asphalt supply corporation.
Then, two months after he lost his parents in 2006, Goerlich noticed a job opening at Maple Hill Golf Club. The position called for heavy labor and using a weed trimmer, but it didn’t really matter to Goerlich. He had acquired a taste for golf and wanted to again do what he loved.
Later that year, he joined the Central New York Golf Course Superintendents Association. But just as Goerlich was getting a handle on the profession, life threw him another curveball. In February 2007, he struggled to get out of bed and “felt lousy.” His doctor discovered a lump on the back of his head.
“When the doctor says, ‘I don’t know how to tell you this . . . .’, your mind races,” Goerlich says. “He told me I had melanoma. Nodular melanoma. They removed lymph nodes, and my thyroid. I took self-injected medication. I lost 60 pounds.”
“After he had gotten sick, I never thought I’d see him again. I never thought I’d see him alive again, to be honest with you,” said Dave Barton, the Maple Hill GC owner, who calls Goerlich an unbelievably hard worker who constantly has his nose in turf-related books. “He was sick.”
Goerlich often spent 18 hours a day in bed. Dry heaves and vomiting were common daily occurrences. A side effect of one of the drugs was depression, which, Goerlich admits, led him to have thoughts of how he might die. But he has climbed above those inner battles that raged inside him.
“It (cancer) is never going away,” says Goerlich, whose scars are a constant reminder of his fight. “We just hope it doesn’t flare up again.”
Maple Hill GC is a hilly, hardpan golf course in a picturesque setting that can play difficult. But Goerlich and his veteran assistant, John Peck, make it playable and presentable.
And few can play Maple Hill better than Goerlich, who has won 10 club championships. His first duty, however, is being the best superintendent he can be. He often acknowledges GCSAA for making that possible.
“The most important resource I have is the Golf Course Superintendents Asscociation of America (GCSAA),” says Goerlich, a Class A member of the association, who plans to keep reaching for the stars for as long as he can. “My membership in GCSAA is one of my proudest achievements. I treasure it,” said Goerlich, who, in his spare time, visits SUNY Upstate Medical University and speaks with others who have walked in his shoes.
“I don’t know if next year is going to be here for me. For me, the future is today. I am going to do the best I can for my wife and my kids. And I am a GCSAA superintendent. The association that I love has given me the ability to be able to make a difference.”
To learn more about Goerlich’s story, read Howard Richman’s article, “The time of his life” at http://gcmdigital.gcsaa.org/i/421338/66, in the December 2014 issue of Golf Course Management.
About GCSAA and the EIFG
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) is a leading golf organization in the United States. Its focus is on golf course management, and since 1926 GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the U.S. and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to nearly 18,000 members in more than 78 countries. The association’s mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
The Environmental Institute for Golf is the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA. Its mission is to foster sustainability through research, awareness, education, programs and scholarships for the benefit of golf course management professionals, golf facilities and the game. Visit EIFG at www.eifg.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.
Contact:
Craig Smith, Director, Communications and Media Relations
Phone: 800-472-7878, ext. 4431 or 785-691-9197 (cell)
csmith@gcsaa.org
