by Fred Seely
Editor
The best all-around player in the Nationwide Tour spends most of his time in an office worrying about purchase orders, paychecks and whether a lake is clean.
Let us reacquaint you with Charles Raulerson, who grew up around Hyde Park, played college golf with David Toms, worked for a railyard company, bounced on and off the PGA Tour and now is general manager of the almost built-out Country Club of Orange Park.
And, according to the latest statistics, is the best all-around Nationwide Tour player.
“Two jobs? No, three. Don’t forget the coloring book,” he said. “I’m a PGA Tour licensee.”
A brief description of Raulerson’s jobs is in order:
Golf: He’s now exempt on the Nationwide Tour and has played in two of seven events this year, though he expects to play in many more as he tries to maintain his eligibility or, better yet, finish high enough to get a PGA Tour card.
Orange Park: He’s the working GM of CCOP, which is co-owned by Colin Armstrong and Charles’ father Ray. Armstrong is an investor, Ray Raulerson is a retired Winn-Dixie executive. The younger Raulerson says, “This is my main job. Golf fits in between hours here.”
Writing: Charles and his wife, Liza, wrote a child’s coloring book that also contains information on rules and etiquette. It’s sold at PGA Tour stops and in golf stores, and they’ve sold over 8,000 in the first year of publication. A second book is underway.
Now, a brief history:
Born in Callahan (his mother’s home town,) the family moved into the Hyde Grove area when he was seven and he started playing at Hyde Park with his dad, who also was just taking up the game. They later moved to Ortega Farms and he went to Forrest High, where he was an All-City player. The next stop was Clemson, where he played for two years, transferring to Louisiana State after a coaching change. At LSU, he was No. 1 on a golf team that may be unique: all five members were on the PGA Tour at one time (The year was 2000 and the others were Emlyn Aubrey, Bob Friend, Perry Moss and Toms, who played No. 5 as a freshman.)
He went to the PGA Qualifying School and eventually made what’s now the Nationwide Tour, and four years later found himself on the PGA Tour. He became friends with a Milwaukee businessman during the Greater Milwaukee Open and that paid off later when he fell off the Tour and needed a job.
He became the sales and marketing director of ABC Rail, which manufactures speed-control hardware for rail yards.
Alas, the company reorganized and he was offered two choices: move to Chicago or take a year’s severance pay.
“I went home and told Liza that I was going to start working on my golf game,” he said. Liza wondered why.
“I told her that I didn’t have a job; I had taken the payoff. She almost fell on the floor.”
Raulerson moved back here to work on his game and Liza followed as soon as her job was over (she worked for the Greater Milwaukee Open.)
He got back on the PGA Tour in 1999 and 2000 with a best finish of seventh in the Air Canada Open but made what he says was “a near-fatal mistake.” He changed his irons.
“The money was good and I fell in the trap,” he said. “I always had played blades. I switched to perimeter-weighted clubs.”
His pals advised him against the change. His swing guru, Hyde Park co-owner Chris Blocker, was “very much against it.” But the extra money was the lure.
He fell like the proverbial rock and switched back to blades just in time to stay eligible for the Nationwide Tour, where he’s been since 2001.
Armstrong and Ray Raulerson had purchased CCOP in 2002 and eventually turned to Charles to be the leader. So, on a recent morning, the Nationwide Tour player did everything but think about playing competitive golf - talking to members on the new chipping area, discussing a water problem with his superintendent, setting clinic dates with head pro Barry Bonifield, signing several purchase orders (“I personally sign every order, every paycheck,” he said. “I know where the money is going.”) and meeting with the owners.
He’s also leading the club’s membership drive as it strains to stay totally private. He has a committee of members looking at ways to increase play - and revenue - while not interfering with member play.
“The Jacksonville area is fourth in the nation in golf courses per square mile,” he said. “The golfer here has a lot of options. We’re doing great in food and beverage, tennis, fitness and clubhouse use, but we need to increase our rounds. We’ve been at 21,000 the last two years; we need 30,000 to stay private.”
He’s back on the Nationwide Tour now and, if his start is an indicator, he’ll have a good year. He played at only two of the first seven stops but he made both cuts, finishing in the top 25 each time, and his overall statistics put him No. 1.
His equipment woes are over and his driving distance is the most improved.
“It’s the technology,” he said. ‘I’m not a big guy but I hit a drive 387 yards at Chattanooga. It was a 555-yard par-5 and I hit driver 9-iron. I’m averaging 308 off the tee.”
He’s also fun to watch - in his first 144 holes, he had 43 birdies and two eagles.
The future is determined.
“My goal is the PGA Tour,” he said, “and if I don’t qualify through the Nationwide, then I’ll go back to qualifying school. My job is being general manager of this country club and my vocation is playing professional golf at the highest level.
“Someone asked me what I’d be doing in 10 years. I answered, “Playing on the Senior PGA Tour.”