Soaring
On Friday, July 5th, Ed Cottrell drove up beside me in the parking lot of Orchard Trace Golf Club.
He popped the trunk of his Buick sedan, and I grabbed his custom Duke University golf bag with “Coach Ed Cottrell” stitched onto the front pocket. Housed in his bag were pristine PXG golf clubs.
He went to change his shoes in the front seat of his car, and I went to grab us a golf cart.
For Ed, this was a typical Friday: a 10:00 AM tee time on a par three course just up the road from his retirement community.
For me, though, it was the start to the coolest and most awe-inspiring round of my life.
Let me back up a little.
Right Place, Right Time
This year, I had the chance to go to the second round of the Masters with my sister, Jenna. In our family’s (very fortunate) years of attending the tournament, we’ve found that our favorite spot to watch golf is just behind the ninth green.
After a morning lap around the course, Jenna and I headed to that perfect viewing location. As we approached, we both noticed a gentleman in a wheelchair, exactly in the place where we typically stand. Not a problem, as Jenna and I took up the space immediately behind him.
Somehow or another, I ended up adjacent to the wheelchair and noticed the man was wearing a “World War II Veteran” cap. I thanked him for his service and he replied with, “it’s my honor.”
At that point, I had no clue what to say. It’s not like you meet a World War II veteran every day, especially one while you’re at the greatest golf tournament in the world.
So, I (surprisingly) did the most rational thing I could do and decided to play it cool by introducing myself.
“By the way, I’m Jake Patterson.”
“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Ed Cottrell.”
We struck up what was, in my opinion, one of the most surreal conversations I’ve ever had.
Over the next few hours, I learned some neat things about Ed:
He was a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter pilot in the Army Air Forces.
He spent 20 years as a college golf coach and professor before going to work for the National Golf Foundation in the 1980’s.
He taught golf for decades at both the Duke Golf School and in the Pinehurst area.
He is 102 years old. I repeat, he was enjoying a day at the Masters at 102 years old.
He still plays golf whenever he can and had plans to travel to England and France multiple times through the end of the year.
Perhaps the most mind-boggling, craziest thing of all that I learned is that he lives in a retirement community that’s six minutes from my house in Hendersonville, NC.
How small of a world do we live in? What are the odds of us being in that exact same place at the exact same time? How in the world is that even possible? My only explanation is divine providence, because I was simply dumbfounded.
I took his phone number down before we parted ways and assured him I would call the next time I was in Hendersonville.
A World-Class Lunch
The next month, I was wrapping my semester up and planned to be in Hendersonville for a few days before starting my internship with the American Junior Golf Association in Braselton, Ga.
I gave Ed a call and found out that he had some medical issues and was unable to play golf but was more than willing to meet me for lunch at his retirement community’s dining room.
After meeting in Augusta, I did a little research on Ed’s remarkable life but was unprepared for the depth of his stories and experiences. We had barely sat down when he told me that he had created a 40-video golf instruction series for Japanese golfers which required him to take numerous trips to Japan.
This was part of his National Golf Foundation work to grow the game of golf throughout the world. At West Chester University in Pennsylvania, where he was the golf coach for 20 years, he won over 80% of his matches and multiple Pennsylvania state championships.
With a budget of around $1,500, he could not afford to give his players more than one golf ball before their matches. To raise money during those times of stringent athletic department budgets, Cottrell and his players sold hoagies in the dorms and arranged the University’s gymnasium after basketball games for each Saturday’s campuswide dance.
Even at 102, Ed is still involved in college golf. He led the charge for Slippery Rock University, his alma mater, to re-establish their men’s golf team and create a women’s golf team. He spent hours in meetings and on Zoom calls rallying supporters of the university, and it seems to have worked as Slippery Rock is on track to bring the golf programs back in the next couple of years.
Those stories and others fascinated me as we finished lunch and then made our way to his house (he still lives alone) to watch the first round of the PGA Championship. Ed’s office was a walk through time. It had paintings and pictures of his P-47s, some Slippery Rock memorabilia (class of 1943), and a plaque commemorating his induction into the Golf Coaches of America Hall of Fame back in 1991.
As we watched golf, Ed casually informed me that he had received a call from the French government that morning and that they were presenting him with the French Legion de l’honneur Medal for his service in World War II.
Throughout our time together, I kept coming back to the term “surreal.” For Ed, it was just another day.
On the Course
Exactly 367 days before my round of golf with Ed, I hit my first tee shot at the Old Course with what felt like the entire town of St. Andrews watching me.
I thought that was the most nerve wracking shot I’d ever hit, until I had a 102-year-old hall of fame golf coach and World War II veteran watching me.
I…airmailed the green on the 90-yard opening hole on this par three course, while Ed calmly struck his shot to 15 feet away from the pin. The greens aren’t exactly grand on this course, but that adds to the charm.
During our round, Ed would typically hit his tee shot and then have me pick his ball up from wherever it landed. It was quite hot and he had to take his portable oxygen tank off anytime he wanted to hit a shot.
We zoomed around the course, playing a combination of the front and back nine. Ed’s swing was simply incredible for someone half his age:
We both hit some fantastic shots and some not-so-great shots, but time and time again I was reminded why I love golf so much and why Mr. Cottrell is such a pleasant presence to be around.
Any bad shot was followed with, “it’s ok, we’re just out here to have fun.”
Ed exhibits a joy surrounding life that I have not found in many others. Maybe it’s because he’s 102, maybe it’s because he’s spent a life mentoring others and developing incredible people, maybe it’s because of his great health and ability to travel.
I asked Ed if in 1944 he ever would’ve thought he would be playing golf in 2024.
He paused for a couple of seconds as he drove our cart towards the fourth green.
“Back in 1944…I thought I was gone.”
That could play a role in his joy today.
Regardless of reason, it was clear that Ed has been approaching life with joy for a very, very long time. He keeps up with many of his old players and is planning to head up to Pennsylvania to play golf with a few in the coming months.
He’s got trips on his schedule each month, including to Ohio and England, and is hoping he’ll be able to visit France and Belgium in December to commemorate the Battle of the Bulge. On December 17th, he’ll mark the 80th anniversary of a mission where his plane was almost shot down; as it was limping back to safety at just 120 mph, two enemy German fighter planes pulled up beside him and (in a gesture he is still unable to understand) escorted him all the way to Allied lines, flashing the “OK” symbol with their hands before peeling off.
Ed’s optimistic that through all of his travels, there will be many more rounds of golf.
No matter where he goes and who he sees, Ed will continue with a spirit of joy. While many of us won’t make it to 102, it’s clear that a positive attitude really does keep you healthy and, for the most part, pretty darn happy.
Whether it’s a boring day at work or a difficult round of golf or an argument with a spouse, we can all learn to keep things in perspective. It keeps us young.
Ed says it best: “I’ve had a lot of great experiences in my life, but I’ve still got a lot of things left to do.”
Isn’t that the truth?
To learn more about Ed, read this article from the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas.
I’m so sorry for being AWOL! I’ve been interning with the American Junior Golf Association this summer and have been writing columns for the Global Golf Post. You can find my work for the digital magazine here: Jake Patterson Global Golf Post Columns
You can find me on X @JakeWPatt or on Instagram @JakeWPatt. If you’re feeling ambitious, connect with me on LinkedIn or reach me at jakewpatterson@gmail.com.
While I’m not the most active Looper, thank you for reading. It means a lot.
A joy surrounding life is surely a beautiful thing to aspire towards
“Ed exhibits a joy surrounding life that I have not found in many others. Maybe it’s because he’s 102, maybe it’s because he’s spent a life mentoring others and developing incredible people, maybe it’s because of his great health and ability to travel.”