FIPPA Newsletter - August 2006.
Welcome to the first FIPPA Newsletter.
WILLIAM PARKER (1937 -2005)
William (Willie or Bill) Parker was a native of Youghal in Cork. He was involved in Pitch and Putt through four decades. Originally a member of Collins in Cork city, Willie won the Cork Junior Strokeplay championship in the late 1960s.
Employed in the telecommunications industry, Willie moved to Dublin in the seventies. He originally joined Hammond Lane and later switched to Shandon when the southside club folded.
Always interested in the coaching and mental (as befitting a psychology graduate from University College Cork) side of our sport, Willie was National Coach of the P.P.U.I. for a time, assisting the National Executive of the day with a series of videos and pamphlets on coaching. In the late 1980s, he became Office Administrator of the P.P.U.I. for a short time (in succession to the late Bill Humphries R.I.P.) and masterminded the move from Shandon Gardens to the Union’s current home in the House of Sport. It was during his tenure at the helm of the P.P.U.I. HQ that he had the idea of developing a monthly newsletter – a thought that spawned “Backspin” – the official monthly magazine of the P.P.U.I. A keen photographer, Willie’s cameras produced many shots that graced the pages of “Backspin” through the years. As a student of sports writing (particularly American) he was a constant source of ideas for articles.
He returned to the Collins club committee in the mid 1990s to mastermind the club’s hosting of the 1995 National Men’s Strokeplay championship in its 50th year of existence.
Willie moved to Britain in 1996 to work with David Bugg and was central in the formation of the original British Pitch and Putt Union. His promptings were a major factor in the hosting of the inaugural European Team Championship at Chelmsford in 1999. His interaction with the Royal & Ancient Golf of St. Andrew’s and golfing figures such as the late Peter Dobereiner kept Pitch and Putt in the public consciousness over the years. Ardently aware of the rich history of the game, he made significant contributions to maintaining a Pitch and Putt archive.
After his stint in Britain, Willie accepted an offer to coach in Holland, where the game was just about to take off. His impact there was remarkable and his ability to impart the rudiments of the game in a simple one method manner was a key component of the game’s rapid advancement in Holland. So popular is the Corkman in The Netherlands that one of the clubhouse bars bears the title “Willie’s Pub.”
Having attended the Dublin meeting which agreed to form the European Pitch and Putt Association in 1999, Willie also visited most of the other E.P.P.A. countries where he dispensed his unique brand of Pitch and Putt wisdom, ranging across such diverse topics as handicaps, instruction and marketing.
Equally at home teaching the beginner and the accomplished player, Willie became known as something of a “Guru to the stars”. Many successful performers, in Ireland and abroad, credit their improvement and famous victories to the expert tutelage of Willie Parker.
Willie had a friendly approachable disposition. He was genuinely interested in others. He could spot potential that persons themselves overlooked and was an expert on helping people realise that promise. Willie worked for Maher Sports across Munster during the nineties, affording him the ideal opportunity to demonstrate his coaching capabilities and also utilize a long held keen interest in Pitch and Putt/golf equipment. His Instructional Articles and Motivation/Psychology features are studied avidly and are indeed essential bedtime reading in some households. Of course, Willie’s landmark opus was his seminal work on the sport – “The Short Game”
William Parker was a worthy first recipient of the Pitch and Putt International Achievement Award – presented during the European Team championship in 2003.
In permanent tribute to Willie’s outstanding contribution to the Centenary Park club in London’s Harrow, the members arranged for a giant Redwood tree to be planted alongside the ninth tee on the Centenary Park course.
The tree and commemorative plaque were dedicated on Sunday 2 October 2005 by the Mayor of Harrow, Councillor Paddy Lyne and the Mayoress, Councillor Mary Graham. Three weeks later, the inaugural Willie Parker Shield was contested at Centenary Park between Britain’s top clubs – Dagenham, Letchworth and Centenary Park. Centenary Park won by six shots, a result that would have pleased Willie.
(by John Manning)
Willie Parker Tree in Centenary Park - Paddy Lyne helps to plant the tree with Mayoress, Mary Graham.
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