In fact, more than 25 per cent of the workforce associated themselves in the travel industry. Business was booming for agents and Collette was anxious to be a part of it. During that time, if you wanted to take a vacation, you visited your local travel agent. I knew a little about Collette as a guided travel provider in the United States and was excited about the opportunity to work for a company that changed lives.Īs we near the official 25th anniversary of the Canadian office's opening, I recently stopped to reflect on the aspects that have changed and those that have stayed the same in travel. Seventy-one years later, I became the first employee of Collette’s Canadian office (located at 100 Front Street in Toronto) where the Royal York Hotel still stands today. This three-week adventure cost just $61.50! Mulvoy and the Wednesday Warriors already created a fund to help the club’s PGA Professionals pay for expenses when they qualify for PGA Tour events such as when Collet played in Puerto Rico earlier this year.įortunately, the PGA of America offers a stipend of $3,200 to every player in the PGA Championship field (if they miss the cut) and the trio also has equipment deals that pay them small endorsements.The first Collette tour to ever run was made up of a jitney bus of travellers that left Boston headed for Florida. It shouldn’t be hard for Hudson to lure future top players to join his staff. “Come to John’s Island. “Every time I play them, I want to beat their brains in, just like they want to take it to me.” “It’s always great to play against guys who are just as good as you, if not better,” Collet said. No doubt they will share a practice round at Kiawah, just like they did before the PPC. “We have the pleasure of playing well, then reality sets back in pretty much immediately.”īecause of their hectic winter schedules, it’s rare Cook, Collet and Walker - sounds like a law firm - play together. “It wasn’t a great feeling, but it’s one of the reasons we’re in the business,” Collet said.
Collet also was the only one who had to show up for work Thursday morning, the day after the final round - at 6:30 a.m. I couldn’t be happier for them, but we play the game for ourselves and I was doing it for me than anyone else.”Ĭollet is the only one of the three who works year-round at the club - Cook and Walker work at John’s Island during the winter and spend summers elsewhere. “I think I’ve said ‘thank you’ 500 times,” Collet said this week. The trio did their jobs, then got the job done at the PPC, much to the members’ delight. Collet and Cook worked their morning shifts leading up to the PPC before ducking out to get in an afternoon practice round at PGA Golf Club. It’s not much easier for the PGA Professionals, who try to fit in practice time in whatever 20-minute windows that magically appear in a day. More: Dolch: McArthur Club's new course has ace designers More: Dolch: Treasure Coast Golf Association finds home at Club Med Lucie event will send 20 pros to PGA Championship Running a golf operation at two different facilities - John’s Island Club West Course is six miles from the two community-based courses - during a pandemic is like playing golf with one hand. To have three of his staff qualify for the PGA Championship during COVID-19 adds to the accomplishment. We’re not always aware of where they stand when compared to other PGA Professionals.” “But part of the competency of being a PGA Professional is your playing ability. “We hired these people because of who they are, not because of how well they play the game,” Hudson said. Hudson watched the final few holes from his office on his computer - he still had a job to do - but had to feel like a father who just watched his triplet sons get drafted in the first round of a professional draft. This will bring a lot of positive attention to our area.” “It’s such a wonderful thing, not only for those guys and the club, but all of golf in Vero Beach. “Every time one of them qualified, we were going ‘Hip, Hip hooray!’" said club member Mark Mulvoy, a former Sports Illustrated editor. “There was a point when things at the club came to a standstill,” Hudson said.Ĭlub member Charley Whipple’s terrace was standing-room-only as the season-ending breakup party for the Wednesday Warriors - a hearty group who live, breathe and eat the game - morphed into a pep rally for Cook, Collet and Walker.Īll that was lacking was a band, a microphone and banners.