(By Brad Myers) WILMINGTON, DE – Earl Cooper looked out at a dozen eager youngsters and said, “What do you guys want to learn today? I’m going to let you run this clinic.”
The students wanted help with driving, chipping and putting. Cooper moved from player to player, dispensing wisdom that can only come from a professional golfer.
He was home again, at Ed Oliver Golf Club. He grew up on West Sixth Street, just a few steps from the green on the sixth hole. But while he allowed his young pupils to dictate the pace during a recent golf clinic, Earl Cooper didn’t make a triumphant return by letting others lead.
Cooper is the first African-American golf professional in the 114-year history of Wilmington Country Club. He is one of three assistants on the staff of head professional Joe Guillebeau.
And Cooper is so much more. A Morehouse College graduate, a published author, a national champion, a motivational speaker, a dreamer. All at the age of 25.
“Now that I’m back home, I want to lead by example,” Cooper said. “I want to be that guy that kids can touch, they can feel, and I can show them, ‘Hey, you can make it.'”
Cooper got his start in golf at the age of 6 through the LPGA Urban Youth Program, now The First Tee of Delaware. Last month, when Golf Channel asked him to be part of a feature on minority PGA professionals, he knew where he wanted to be filmed. Teaching current First Tee students at the course affectionately known as “Porky Oliver.”
“It’s overwhelming,” Cooper said. “I almost get emotional even thinking about it. It means so much to me.
“When I got the call from the Golf Channel and they wanted to see what a day in the life was, this was the first thing that popped up in my mind. I had to incorporate The First Tee in it, because I’m a part of that. That’s me.”
First Tee of Delaware Program Director Charma Bell remembers when Cooper was one of the students, learning from the adults on his home course. Now, he is the teacher.
“I’m just so proud of him,” Bell said. “He’s happy. He’s doing something he loves. If you do something you love, you’re going to be great at what you do.”
A good impression
Guillebeau met Cooper when he was in high school, as A.I. du Pont played its home matches at Wilmington Country Club. He made a positive first impression.
“He was the kind of kid that would come up and shake your hand and say, ‘Thanks for letting us come out and play,'” Guillebeau said. “Not many kids would do that.”
Cooper played golf for three semesters at Wilmington University before transferring to Morehouse, where he helped the Maroon Tigers win the Division II national title in the 2010 PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship.
He graduated in 2011 with a degree in political science. During his senior year, he published a children’s book – “Hello, Maroon Tiger!” – which introduces elementary-age kids to college by following the mascot’s adventures through the Morehouse campus.
“It opens the door,” Cooper said. “Kids don’t even know that they’re learning about college, because they’re just falling in love with the mascot.”
He wrote a second, similar book – “Baby Bison’s First Homecoming” – for Howard University two years ago.
“The big thing was to inspire kids about college at a young age,” Cooper said. “It’s so important that you need to plant the seed of education early. We can’t wait until they’re in high school. We can’t wait until they’re in middle school.”
He was motivated and inspired by his parents, Earl and Katherine, and now he is focused on passing it along. Google “Earl Cooper golf” and you will find his website – www.earldreambig.com.
“It’s a concept that I truly believe in,” Cooper said. “I’m all about inspiring kids and dreaming big. The quote is, ‘Dream big, because dreams do come true.’ I put that in all of my books, and when I’m autographing things.”
Coming home
After graduating from college, Cooper spent three years as an assistant professional at two golf courses. He worked at Detroit Golf Club in Michigan during the warmer months, then spent the rest of the year at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Guillebeau was playing there in a tournament last winter when he saw Cooper. They talked, and when two of Wilmington Country Club’s assistant professionals left for jobs as head professionals, Guillebeau reached out to him this spring.
“He gave me an opportunity to come back home, and I jumped right on it,” Cooper said. “Golf was a vehicle to get me back home.”
The head pro was certain that Cooper would be a valuable addition to his staff.
“He’s got great people skills, which is the most important part of any golf professional’s job,” Guillebeau said. “You’ve got to be able to talk to people who are 50 or 60 years older than you, and you’ve got to be able to talk to kids. He’s got to be able to relate to people on all levels.”
Wilmington is a large country club, with two 18-hole courses and approximately 2,000 members. Cooper has quickly become involved in tournament operations, handicapping, merchandising, club fitting and teaching.
“He’s a part of all of the operation,” Guillebeau said. “We don’t divide it up where one guy runs all of the tournaments, or one guy does merchandising. They do all of that, which is why they become well-rounded and they become good head golf professionals.”
Serving as a mentor
Cooper moved easily from student to student at The First Tee clinic, giving tips that often improved their performance on the next swing. He already knew a couple of the students, including Kaden Kinard, an A.I. du Pont freshman from New Castle.
Kaden caddies at Wilmington Country Club, and Cooper gave him tips before Kaden played in the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association state tournament on the club’s South Course in May.
“He’s my mentor,” Kaden said. “… We started talking and he walked me through some things. He helped me prep for the state tournament, helped me know the course better than I did before.”
Cooper said Kaden, who tied for 40th in the two-day tournament, is “following in my footsteps.”
“One of the key things I told him is, ‘Everything I’m doing for you, I expect you to do for someone else,'” Cooper said. “That’s what was instilled in me, and that’s what it’s all about. Giving back, but going forward.”
Tim McGuigan, who recently completed his freshman year on the Mount Pleasant High School golf team, also benefited from Cooper’s advice.
“I learned that the most important part of putting is your speed, not just reading the line and aiming it,” McGuigan said. “Your speed can determine whether you make a putt or not.”
More importantly, like most people who meet Cooper, he came away inspired.
“It kind of shows us a path to get to where he is,” McGuigan said. “It gives us goals.”
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