BRAINTREE, Massachusetts – On Thursday, the town of Braintree honored long-time head PGA Professional Bob Beach at Braintree Municipal Golf Course. The ceremony was one of the many events scheduled during “Bob Beach Week”, which is a week-long celebration of Beach, who will officially retire from his club post on June 16.
For more than three decades, Beach has been a staple at Braintree Municipal Golf Course, serving in nearly every facet of the club’s operations, including the last 28 years as the head golf professional.
Surrounded by a crowd of nearly a hundred family, friends, colleagues, and club members, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan officially unveiled a plaque at the club’s putting green to honor Beach for his countless years of dedication to the town of Braintree.
“The plaque is a level of appreciation for Bob, and I think the words are very descriptive about the way in which he conducted himself both here on the course and off the course,” said Mayor Sullivan. “Bob Beach has been a tremendous citizen for Braintree. Not only is he a pro in terms of golf, but he has been a pro throughout town and he really cares about the community. His 27 years of service will never be replicated here in the town, and he deserves this recognition. Although he is humble, and I think a bit anxious about all of the attention coming his way, he deserves every minute of it and we are glad that he is going to hang around a little bit, stay with us and do some community activities over the coming years.”
Along with Mayor Sullivan, Director of Golf Operations at Braintree Municipal Golf Course Daryn Brown, commented on what the plaque represents for the Braintree course and the significance behind placing the plaque on the practice putting green.
“What the plaque represents is Bob’s teachings and clinics at the golf course,” said Brown. “I say that because that’s the central meeting ground and the beginning of the instruction that took place with his special needs kids, adults, and the veterans. It all focused around the putting green. The plaque really signifies what Bob was able to do on that particular area of our facility. It was the central focus of everything that he did.”
After spending the past 25 years relentlessly working together to produce the best golf course possible for the town of Braintree, Brown reflected on what he would miss the most about Bob not being around the course.
“I am going to miss Bob’s sense of humor certainly. Bob has a large personality, and he also has a size 17 shoe for real,” said Brown. “Bob never really got agitated. He always had an even keel and upbeat personality who the staff enjoyed working with. So I never had to worry about any staff interactions or friction between Bob and the staff. There was always that easy going feeling that he brought to the pro shop every day. It really made a difference and made my job easier.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Beach reflected on his plaque and his time as head golf professional.
“It is a little overwhelming having a Bob Beach week in the town, but I always felt like I was the town’s golf pro and that’s one of the unique things about working at a public golf course,” said Beach. “You’re like the town’s golf pro, and I really became involved in the community. I am lucky that I landed in Braintree because it’s a special town. They really believe in inclusion, and I was glad it mentioned that on the plaque. It talks about accessibility and helping veterans, and those were the two biggest things I tried to do here.”
For anyone that could not be in attendance and would still like to honor Beach, there are two events still remaining during Bob Beach week.
On Saturday June 9th, Braintree Municipal GC will host a golf tournament for Beach, beginning with an 8:30 am shotgun start. After the conclusion of the tournament, there will be a dinner celebration from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Sons of Italy in Braintree. For a single dinner ticket, the cost will be $60 while the price of both golf and dinner is a combined $130. All proceeds will be donated to the Francis Ouimet Caddie Scholarship Fund.
