The Brierchat Podcast: The Incredible Career of Robert Harris
The following interview was recorded on May 19th, 2023. It has recently been edited and produced for your listening and viewing enjoyment. Welcome in to another edition of the Brier Chat podcast. I’m Cam Huffman, director of public relations here at the Greenbryer. And if you’re a regular viewer or listener of the podcast, you might recognize this voice or this face. Robert Harris is with us today. He joined us earlier for our Sam Sneed podcast. I hope you had a chance to check that out. But, uh, Robert’s back with us. Thrilled to have him back and he’s had an incredible career here at the Greenbrer. He was the director of golf, director of activities, the vice president of golf, did a little bit of everything here at the Greenburn, an incredible career and an incredible life. And we just want to get Robert on to kind of tell us a little bit about his story. So, Robert, thanks for being with us. And let’s let’s start all the way back at the beginning and uh talk about where you grew up and uh your early life. Yeah, thank you, Cam. Nice to be here. uh 31 glorious years working with a just a ton of hospitality professionals of all ilks here at the Greenbryer. Jacksonville, Florida native. Um learned to play golf in a field. You know, no golf courses nearby. My dad was in the Air National Guard and and the nearest course was gosh eight or 10 miles away back toward the town center of Jacksonville. But anyway, it all served me well. I won the Jacksonville High School Championship when I was a senior. uh was lucky enough, I suppose, to earn a scholarship, a Billy Casper scholarship to Brigham Young University where I played on the golf team there for four years. I turned professional in the fall of 1974. you know, played professional golf for a couple years and then took some club pro jobs up in Lake Placid, New York and ended up coming to Glad Springs Resort in the spring of 1978 and uh working for the Capton family. Slab Fork Cole Company owned it and uh had to get a map out to see exactly how to get to West Virginia. Never had never been to the uh Mid-Atlantic, maybe over near the DC area, but never West Virginia. So my years there were great uh five and a half years, six golf seasons and was able to land the uh director of golf’s job down at the Pontita Inn right near PGA Tour headquarters, a beautiful 36hole uh 200 room resort. uh 7 and a half plus years there and uh the director of golf here, John Murphy, uh decided to retire and um through my connections of playing here in the West Virginia Open after the uh Greenbreak course was remodeled for the 1979 RDER Cup. That was sort of my uh connection and and came here as director of golf in 1991. Well, uh let’s go go back a little bit there. Um, I always think it’s interesting when you talk to golf people, a lot of golfers that that succeed as a player and as a competitor, make that transition into to management and running golf courses and everything. And usually there’s a good story behind that. So, do you have any story of of where you stopped to stopped being a player and wanted to make it a career? I I I sure do. At one of the college tournaments, I was in a group in front of Ben Krenshaw and and that’s my era of golfer. Craig Stadler, Ben Krenshaw, and and I’m watching back and one of my teammates, John Foot, who had won later won the US amateur. It was an all-American, was playing with Ben. And we get in that day and I’m watching Krenshaw. He’s hitting the rough, you know, hitting over trees and I mean, what I ask what did he shoot? Four under. I’m like, if if I hit it where he did, I it would have been 85 or something. But uh I was um it was 1977. I I was playing in a mini tour event down in CMI, Florida, just outside of Orlando. And the week prior if you finished in if you won, you know, you’re in the last tea time the next week. So I finished third. So I was in the last group and we we got to the eighth green, finished the eighth hole. And this is in the winter time. This is November. and a storm system came in, washed out play for the day. We’re going to resume the next day. Well, next day, frost or freezing temperatures, couldn’t play at all. Next day, rain. It got to be all the way to Friday. Oh, wow. And I’m in a very inexpensive hotel. I didn’t have any books with me to read or anything. I didn’t didn’t have any podcasts, you know, you know, like this is really a lousy way to make a living, you know. I was doing okay, but not great, right? And I said, I really got to do something else. Well, later that spring, I was paired with a club pro named Dave Pho. Dave is a director of golf up at the Lake Placid Club Resort in upstate New York. And he and he said, you know, what are your plans? I said, ‘Well, you know, I’m doing okay. I’ve won a couple tournaments, but man, this is a hard way to make a living. and he said, “Why don’t you come work for me for the summer and then if you feel like you can play golf in the winter?” And that’s what I did. And then I just I fell in love with, you know, serving people, just sharing my love of golf, teaching the game, and um and that and that’s where I made the change. So, you know, it definitely takes more than being a good golfer to to make that change and to to be able to work in that role. What What did you learn early on about about how to how to serve that position? Well, you you got to have a multitude of skills. So, early on, you know, club repair, just working the golf shop, knowing about the merchandise, and that evolves into how to buy the merchandise, how to budget. So, it’s sort of a progression. Same with teaching. Well, maybe you start out just teaching the junior programs. Then you start teaching clinics, then you start teaching the more advanced players and but you got to be you got to continually be have more knowledge about not just the mechanics, but how to present it. Um, and there’s other skills, you know, in my day went along with that, too. The maintenance of the golf cart fleet or a caddy staff. And then then you get into hiring, your hiring skills, your HR skills have to get better over time. Otherwise, you’ll be surrounded by by a group of assistant professionals that, you know, don’t don’t elevate your name. Right. Right. So, all right. Then, let’s bring us up to the Greenbryer. You said you were working at Glade Springs at the time. had had a little connection. What uh what brought you here to Greenberg? So, in in the in the world of club professionals at an 18hole course, I’m not talking about the Oak Hills or the Simols or the Oakmonts, but I’m your average 18-hole golf course, they’re going to pay you so much money. But if you go to a resort like the Ponavita Inn, they had two courses. So, it’s a bigger responsibility, bigger staff. Well, all through these years, you know, I’d see these bag tags, the Greenbryer, you know, Dal, you know, Tides in, you know, the famous resorts. And of course, Greenbryer had three golf courses. So, your base, let’s just say your base pay, the more courses you manage, up it comes, right? and just having played over here um in the West Virginia Open in 1978 and the young men that worked for me in in the bag room and picking the range and so forth. They were all good players. They went to Marshall in West Virginia at that time had discontinued its golf program, but still some of those young men lived and lived around Glade Springs in Beckley, West Virginia. They would come over for the West Virginia amateur. So, I knew the courses a bit. uh just from bringing them over for practice rounds, right? And well, I mean, the place just a you there’s no I mean, you just you couldn’t help but odd awed the moment you walk on the property. I know we talked about it a little bit in the Sam Sneeed con podcast, but you had two two major goals when you when you started here, right? Correct. Build a golf academy and bring Sam Sneed back. So, the golf academy had to wait because we had to build tunnels under the highway. The property was owned by CSX and soon as the risk managers in Richmond at the time uh came and looked at it, you know, driving these golf carts across the highway, uh the tunnels were an automatic thing. I don’t know, it was maybe my first or second week here. I didn’t really know the lakeside course. So late in the afternoon, I went in a golf cart and I was there at the crossing by the first green of the green brier, but I’m back away from the highway 10 a good 10 or 12 feet and there’s one single car coming down the road, but a a young man in a loud truck went around this nice lady coming down the hill and it startled her. It startled me and she ran off the road, went right in front of me. Oh wow. I mean, if I’d have been up near the edge of the road, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. And that’s that’s the story. It was just really the next couple days the risk managers from Richmond were here and like we’re building a bridge or a tunnel and it didn’t take them long to figure out the tunnel was the better way. So now our Green Ber Meadows courses have two tunnels so you don’t have to access the highway, right? And so that was job one. It was some years later, the head professional here, Hill Heric, I couldn’t figure out where to put the academy. And the original plan was to put it where the Green Bar Sporting Club is now. But it would involve if you were wanted to go to the golf academy, we’d have to transport the clubs way over there. You’d have to come here, get transportation. Really wasn’t a practical solution. There was plenty of land there because there was an airport there at the time, White Sulphur Springs Airport. Well, Hill and I are out one afternoon and he said, “What if we, you know, did this to the 16th hole of the lake? We could put it right here and hit back into the existing driving range from the other end.” And that’s exactly what we did. Uh, but it was not till 1996. And the building that’s the golf academy building is a replica of the original clubhouse that was built in 1912. Mhm. You know, obviously a ton of ton of big golf events have been here at the Greenbr. I guess your your first one was the Solheim Cup, right? Soulheim Cup and got to see Anukica Saen Stam. I watched her practice every day. The simplest swing you’ve ever seen in your life. Die Pepper, who Die Mockery at the time, she was a star. Uh I think she shot like 31 on the front nine in the singles matches and that lit everybody up. But the English player Laura Davies. So for those that have played the Greenbrer course, um they had the TE’s on the back of the uh not the back back TE’s by the pool, but the the the back of the regular men’s TE’s, let’s call it. And I’m standing behind, it’s in the fall, it’s cool, but it’s dry. And Laura Davies gets up and hits the ball. Boy, it had a crack to it. And I’m right behind her. And I’m watching, watching, watching. Everybody starts moving. I can see the ball come up on the front slope up to the green. It was a 300 yard drive. That was how much that was a memorable moment to kind of like put the green back at that time since they hosted event. Yeah. 79. And how much did did that kind of the world of women’s golf Yeah. 79 to you know 94 and it just u you know the world of women’s golf you know long overdue but it was it was already growing and to have all those great players of the US Beth Daniel came back many times in the years after that and and a great supporter. She come with her family and uh and I think pretty sure Die Pepper’s been back many times and some of the other players as well. But it was a it was a fabulous week. some of the other seminal cool fall weather. It was beautiful kind of around that time period. It was quite the celebration when it was over. We started the Samne. Yeah. So we um we started the Sam Sneed Festival and the first year I believe it was 19 that same year 1994 we had 36 we had full field 36 five player teams a pro with four amateurs and the first night we’re having the opening reception in the cameo ballroom the cameo ballroom like a reproduction of the uh you know 19th century ballroom room with the cameo on the ceiling, hard surfaces. So, it’s a noisy room for a crowd. So, it’s my turn to come to the podium to, you know, introduce Sam’s need. I’m pretty certain no one heard a word I said, even though I did my best to, you know, clink on the glasses, get everyone’s attention. And I’m thinking, this really isn’t working very well. And well, let me just get right to it. I’ll let Samne say a few words. I could hear people breathing. I mean, the room got so quiet and as he then as he got right near the uh the podium, I mean, the whole place broke out in the applause that went on for minutes. And I’m thinking, boy, bringing Sam back, that was that was really the right thing. And these were pros, gosh, from all over the country came, you know, many I knew, many from the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio regions, Cincinnati pros. And uh it was fabulous. And that that was a and it went on for many years after after Sam’s time. Then we had the Tom Watson filled those shoes as a pro. That had to be a big moment to to continue that tradition of having such a recognizable face around the course and serving that role. Wonderful. Tom was a great ambassador to to continue that tradition of having such a writer team serving that role. two wonderful players and Tom was a great ambassador for us. And Tom didn’t was on the U RDER Cup team, but his wife went into labor a couple days before the in one of our local members. It wasn’t that there was no net jets, but he had an aircraft and flew Tom home to Kansas City for the birth of his first child, his daughter. represented golf and you know Rolex the next year the year after Tom came back with his you know he represented Ram golf and you know Rolex and Polo and all those partners you know brand partners he would bring them back they’d fly in on a Sunday stay up here in Valley View Cottage whoop it up all night play golf that afternoon and then come early 7 o’clock we have catties and they’d play and they’d all go home and it was it was funny. did it every year from 1980 or 81 on and so it was nice and Trevino did the same thing for a number of years as well and that was always special and Tom Tom and Lee both really gentlemen you know personal thank you notes you’re a part of all these these major moment made everyone feel important around here what year did you move over to attack made those smiles to other guests even bigger so all these on all the grounds it just sort of evolves Right. So first six years director golf and then it took on tennis and then took on all the grounds then the landscaping. It just sort of evolved and then um even even on two separate occasions we lose a spa manager take another job or maybe your woman her husband relocated. I ran the spa twice. That was probably the most challenging because it’s it just is. And uh so really probably 989 started just taking on the gun club, you know, and and then the pools and pretty soon it became 18 departments, you know, and then then really I was out of golf for really after the first year of our PGA tour event. Uh which was a smart thing. I just I was I had to either expand my own staff or just spread too thin. So those years took off in 2018 activities. I think people don’t really have an idea unless you really dig into it. Activities at the Green Bar. Okay, there’s a little tennis, there’s this and that, but it it’s there’s a huge number of activities and that’s a that’s a major undertaking to run everything that that goes on here. Even though I had a love for golf, I have a greater love for things and reflect well. So if a family even though I had a love for golf in charge of a family, I have a greater love for things to work well and reflect well on the greener. So if a family or someone in charge of a family reunion or a meeting planner bringing a group of 100 or 200 or 500, okay, golf’s pretty straightforward. We’re going to have a shotgun start at 1:00 or 8:00 in the morning, whatever it might be. But then you have all this other stuff. So once I would read and understand and meet in person way in advance, here’s our group. Then really I could I could arrange all the other activities with one meeting. Well, we have a we have a we have one group that’s young. These are young doctors. I mean, these are extreme. They want to do rock climbing and they, you know, they want to go kayaking. We can do that. We have another group that are just golfers and tennis players, country clubbers. That’s kind of the way it was described. Then we have some that are really bookworms and you know they they just want to sit around. So I would set it for them. They’d play croquet, they would play shuffle board and do bowling. But all these activities had to take place at the same time that it takes to play a round of golf. So if the meeting would end at 12:30, we’d have box lunches for everyone. And really by 5 they’re all done so they can change for the evening’s events. So a meeting planner would rather than trying to meet with 18 or 20 people. I mean I I did all the leg work for them and customize we had a program where people would do the you know gun club right you know 25 shots or 50 shots. Jeeps would pick them up do the off-road driving and then bring them to Howard’s Creek Lodge and finish with fly fishing. They would have shuttle buses take them back to the main building or their cottages. again a four and a half aspect job is in continues meeting or a lot of family what the new popular thing is you always have to keep up with what people are are wanting to do and and I think today’s activity is pickle ball it’s really grown and I know you’ve taken it up as well right I got a set here my wife and I have a set here set in North Carolina home I think today’s activity I don’t want to go there what you know I was my wife played pickle ball a little bit haven’t gotten into it a whole lot, but what do you think there is, you know, I was I was a tennis player and I played pickle ball a little bit. Haven’t really gotten into it a whole lot, but what do you think of that tennis? It’s a lot more aerobic than you think. I mean, that’s what I found. And it’s simpler and it moves a little quicker than tennis. And a C or D player tennis. I love tennis, too. And I played for a good number of years. I still have tennis rackets. If you’ve got an A player and the other player is a C or D player, one of the two is not going to have fun. Pickle ball range of skills. The range is because of the rules, you can’t slam the ball, you know, keep up. I think it sort of tightens the the the skill set of skills. It seems like it’s it’s a little easier to become great at it, but it’s a little easier to become proficient enough at it to to have a good time and and not feel like you’re lost out there. Not to not to become great at it, but it’s a little easier to become proficient enough at it to to have a good time and not feel like you lost one or two hours into it. 98% of the people BC players or something like that. But uh yeah, the uh the escape rooms that was all new when we opened the ice rink you know the first year we actually the ice rink was beautiful as a junior hockey size and but we had the little shed with we kept the ice skates all brand. We had 400 and some pair of brand new skates, but it was outside. What I remember was being cold a lot and it was a it was a cold snowy winter before we moved into the Chesapeake Bay for eight or 10 years and a lot of fond memories there. I have to tell one myself this young family came in maybe grade school children maybe maybe middle school and nice to have you here and so forth and where you from Zanesville. I said, “Gosh, I used to probably 2015, you know, I used to know the pro from the golf pro from Zanesville Country Club all the time. He taught me how to play golf.” You got to really think a lot about his grandson. Think of grandson Justin Thomas at the time. I wasn’t I was not keeping up with golf close enough to even know. I’m like, “Boy, I feel dumb.” You know, and and Justin really hadn’t broken through in the big time, you know. He won the PGA down at Charlotte in 2017. But um I’m often asked, you know, who’s the who’s the most dynamic or who’s the most important um person? Two people come to mind. I played Did we never play golf together? 18 holes with the Margaret Thatcher’s husband, Sir Dennis. Worst golf ever played with sit down for lunch. [Laughter] And uh Mark Leechman’s your coach, right? Yeah. And uh but Liia Akoka was here as a speaker probably to the automotive industry obviously. He was already retired, but his son was probably my age. And he said, “Come give us a lesson.” Okay. And you go play about five or six holes. They come back. Gave him a lesson. Gave me a $100 bill. I was trying not to take anything, but he just wouldn’t have it. Okay. And they go play about five or six holes. They come back in front. Liakoka called everybody on my staff at the time, Ronnie, Eddie, Keith, others that were here that were kind of out front locker room, called them all by their name like he had known them their whole life. And and really just sort of met him in passing, you know, he he was the best I’ve ever seen at making a total stranger feel great. And you know it gave lessons to a lot of politicians and right here where we’re sitting it was late in the day and pro shop had a radio said you know there’s people going up to the first te I don’t think they signed in and so right here I said hello I’m Robert Harris I just did you sign in the pro shop we don’t need to sign in it was Alexander hey and up to the tea they went it was like five well I know you tell that story about Leak here I think you picked up something from that cuz you’re you’re maybe the best I’ve ever seen remembering names of people and and and making sure you you call it. Was was that a lesson that you did learn as you got into this business? I wish I had the brain maybe the best I’ve ever remembering names of people and making sure you call people. Was that a lesson that you did learn as you got into this business? I wish I had the brain to do it better, but there are people Lee called me and know people and all these other people I mean it just made people’s feelings elevate so great and thinking well if he had the skill right to call people by name whether whether you forget their name in six months or not but he’ll look him in the eye. I mean just people were clicking their heels. Absolutely. And another thing that jumped out with me at that early night you’re telling it is the number of people that you mentioned that are still here. That has to be something that sets the green bar apart from from other places is the longevity of the staff here and how much knowledge these people know about have about golf sets apart from other places the longevity of the staff here and how much these people know about all the holiday. That’s right. And I mean it’s just it’s it’s tradition. It’s the dedication. You know, you think if you work here over the long term, you work all the holidays, you you know, if someone gets injured or has a family issue, you you come and cover for them. And that tradition, it’s like the New York Yankees. I guess I’m a Yankee fan being from Florida, but you know, there’s certain tradition. I mean, college, some college football programs, they have that tradition. I mean, you know, you go to Notre Dame or you go to Alabama. I mean, you know, there’s a certain Yeah, that’s a great a great analogy there. And it hits here so many being a West Virginia fan and growing up with as a kid when when Notre Dame beat West Virginia National Championship, I was never a Notre Dame fan, but when I went to Notre Dame, the feeling that you have there of just the that you’re you’re kind of on hallowed ground and somewhere different that’s so special. And I do think that Greenbird is one of those places as well. feeling that you have there just you’re kind of on hollow ground in somewhere different so I do think that is one of those places as well and I had the pleasure to meet Martha Stewart very impressive one time and she was here with I think part of our cooking program in the golfing world for me and and I’ve been lucky enough to to meet a number of those people to be in the golfing world I’ve been lucky in my life to meet so many celebrities but he just felt different it was Just meeting him was was just such a special memory. Oh yeah. I’ve been lucky my life. It just felt different. I hope he doesn’t eat. Yeah. You always when you’re out. Let’s go back to your career. Then you’re running activities and then you come back to golf and I’d be so nervous I wouldn’t be able to eat. 2018 and soon after that you’re tabbed with running this military tribute at the Greenbryer which which had to be pretty overwhelming. It was challenging because it was soon after that running this military tribute 4th of July had a pretty overwhelming moment. It was a challenging because it was um the military tribute at the Greenbryer. It’s a great Fourth of July theme, but now the PGA tour moved moved our date to um it happened to fall over 911 and uh so it had a lot of logistical problems and in the in the fall fields of players the field of players diminishes. A lot of them just don’t they don’t play every one of them. They start going to Japan, start going overseas. But um my biggest disappointment was, you know, walking Neman, you know, he’s a superstar and he’ll he’ll continue to be a superstar. It was nice having him as a champion. My my biggest disappointment was I was born in a naval hospital. My dad was in Korea and I can’t tell you how many dozens of hours I put in to figuring out calling congressional leaders and how to get the Navy to do a fly over and dog gone, it fell on my lap. No, we’re not sending one. We’ll send four. So, here it is. We had the New York City ceremonial people here, the singer. I’d already clocked her national anthem at the banquet the night before. So, we had a GPS unit right out here. 7:00 in the morning. This is uh here they come. So, one of the admirals prom day dog gone if the fog doesn’t roll. It’s clear at 7:00 in the morning. Here they come. So one of the admirals that was here, he said, “That’s the best fly over I ever heard.” So four F-18s went flying over and they were thunderous and they could I they had a radio. They could see the mountain so they they could come on down. But the one we did pull off the trophy. I mean just dropping it from the sky being a special ceremony. But the one we did pull off was the bringing the trophy from the Yeah. If you haven’t seen that video, go findmy. It’s amazing to see that for sure. That was and those are great memories and that’s where I really got to work closely with Robert. We had a had a great time and accomplished a lot. You know, it was a was a sad day when that tournament came to the end. It was, you know, a move that almost had to happen, but some some great memories and again we talked about what the RDER Cup did for for the Greenbar and putting it back on the map. the Greenbar Classic and a military tribute at the Greenbar certainly did the same thing as well. We take him to the plane. All the pros have been waiting. They have a charter plane going down to Jackson, Mississippi. Remember walking we take him to the plane about an hour and a half. All the pros have been waiting on him. They have a charter plane going down to Jackson, Mississippi. And they of course he had obligations to take about an hour and a half. So they’ve been waiting out on the tarp. I do remember that. and we took him to this sporting club and he he kept buy you all around the drinks. He wasn’t old enough, but he’s not old enough. He was only and one of my my favorite pictures that I have in my house is of you and I took took him to over the sporting club and then to the airport and my son Carter who was I guess eight at the time was sitting in the back seat with him handing him pin flags as he signed him on the way out. So that’s a great memory of him of Carter’s as well and every time he sees we on TV he always brings that up. So yeah, some wonderful moments there and and wonderful moments in your career. Are there are there any others that that that jump out at you when you look back on your career that that you haven’t shared yet? Some wonderful moments there and wonderful moments in your career. Are there are there any others that that that jump out at you when you look back on your career that you haven’t shared yet? Gosh, I’m probably there are, but uh you know just try trying to make whatever improvements we do and make them better and better. I mean, even the tennis stadium was built and that was a a remarkable feat to get that put in the golf academy and and even the Greenbryer Sporting Club, you know, that took place, you know, that was a full-time job. I guess another big moment that happened in your career, a big moment for all of us here on top of what you were already doing happened. Uh you were act in activities at the time, not in golf, but the flood of of 2016 kind of kind of changed everything here. And I know is a memory that that lives with all of us that were here at the time. For sure. In activities time, not engend. I was teaching a class up above the indoor pool and all the new recruits, they were all kids, young people from Eastern Europe. So they spoke the Queen’s English very well and power kept going out. So my PowerPoint was going out. So we finish it up, stay dry. I go downstairs and there’s the indoor pool and water was going everywhere which confused my senses. Where’s this water coming from? And where’s it going? you know, and it was I’m thinking a busted water mane. Well, what it was the patio out where the skating rink is now in the winter months, the road terrace, the drains couldn’t carry the water, so it was coming into the indoor pool. So, I’m right at the junction of the door and there was a group of 16 ladies. They were college sorority sisters. They were having, you know, I don’t know, their 40th reunion and they were headed to the spa. Well, all the floors are marble, wet marble. You’ll have broken wrists going every which way. So, I called the spa. Some of the therapists were still there, but the steam rooms are on. So, we sort of did the hoke pokey around on the carpeted section. I’ve got umbrellas. I mean, they’re holding me by like the little engine that could I go around the back into the service entrance in the rain and get them in the spa, the back door. And so I said, “Well, when it’s time to go back to the rooms, make sure that it’s pretty amazing now back to that day.” And then you look surface, but that was a terrible day. And what’s it took a herculean effort? It’s all behind us now. Yeah. You you’d never know it today though. It’s it’s a everything back in order and it’s Bubba Watson here filming it. right up on this tea on the first tea of the old white. You haven’t done it. Robert, we thank you for uh for being with us as well. Well, I guess we better get into what you’re doing now, though. It’s been what? 18 months you’ve been retired. What are you up to these days? So, you know, Robert, we thank you for being with us. I guess we better get into what you’re doing now, though. It’s been what 18 months you’ve been retired. What are you up to? So, you know, we we my wife and I when we’re home, we we play golf most days and uh if the courses are busy, we just come practice or putt a little bit. Uh we have a second home down on Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte. So, we’re down there. You know, it’s boating, kaying and uh and having fun with our neighbors. Not all retired, but uh you know, great group of people from around the country. We’re glad you’re enjoying that retirement. Four hours back and forth. We definitely miss you around here and uh I know you have to miss it a little bit as well even though you’re enjoying retirement. You you were so connected to this place for so many years that it’s it’s part of you for sure. You have to miss it a little bit as well. One of the stories I forgot was you were so connected to this place for so many years. Well, it’s it’s nice to see some of the structures and one of the stories I forgot was Howard’s Creek Lodge. the the the original plan when the sporting club was built, we had a lodge, a hunting lodge out there, a small log cabin, and it it was going to be on the other side of the creek. And like that’ll never work. You can’t depend on low water and and so setting out the place where Howard’s Creek Lodge sits now. And now the garden that there will be focus of a future podcast. I promise because one more amenity that we never had. It’s a special place and that the uh amazing farm tot dinners they have out there are are just incredible. So we we’ll definitely talk about that in the future. So we definitely invite you to stay tuned for that. But Robert, that’s that’ll wrap us up for today. But we really appreciate you being back with us. It’s good to see you. Good to talk to you and uh always love hearing all your stories. And uh we’ll have to get back on and there I’m sure there’s plenty more topics we can talk about along the road somewhere. All right. Absolutely. Well, that’s going to wrap it up for Robert Harris. I’m K Muffin. We appreciate you watching the Brier Chat podcast. Come visit us at the Green Bar and we’ll see you soon on a future episode. Absolutely. That’s going to wrap it up for Robert Harris. I’m K Muffin. We appreciate you watching the Brier Chat podcast. Come visit us at the Green Bar and we’ll see you soon on a future episode.
– Discover the legendary career of Robert Harris — a name synonymous with golf excellence at The Greenbrier.
Join us on The Brierchat Podcast as we explore Harris’s incredible 30+ years at The Greenbrier, starting as Director of Golf in 1991.
In this episode, we dive into:
– ⛳ His early days leading golf initiatives at The Greenbrier
– Decades of leadership across multiple roles shaping the resort’s legacy
– Memorable moments, key decisions and personal anecdotes behind the scenes
– His lasting impact on golf and hospitality at one of America’s most storied resorts
Whether you’re a golf enthusiast, hospitality professional, or a fan of inspiring career stories — this conversation is a must-listen.
Timecodes :
– 0:00 – Intro & early career highlights
– 5:10 – First big projects and challenges
– 12:45 – Most impactful roles over the years
– 20:30 – Personal stories and reflections
– 30:00 – Looking ahead and lasting legacy
Don’t forget to:
– Subscribe to The Brierchat Podcast for more stories behind the legends of The Greenbrier
– Like and share this episode, especially if you’re inspired by Harris’s journey
– Comment below with your favorite Robert Harris story or memory
