Many golfers wait their whole life to shoot their age. Corey Eastwood, CGCS, did not have to wait very long to accomplish that feat. In fact, that was an achievement that came often for Eastwood, a longtime superintendent in California who died April 19.
A native of Southern California, Eastwood was 87.
“He played a lot of golf,” said Eastwood’s son, Mike. “He probably beat his age 1,000 times.”
Eastwood was diagnosed with cancer shortly after playing his final round of golf last December, a day on which he also beat his age, his son said.
“I talked to a couple of the guys he played with three or four times a year,” he said. “And one said ‘He still beat me, and I’m 62.’ That was his passion. He just loved everything about the game.”
Shortly after playing golf Dec. 3, Eastwood complained to his other son Brett about pain in his feet. Two weeks later, he was having difficulty walking. Soon after, doctors found cancer.
“They did surgery, and then he just never left the hospital,” Mike said. “He was in there for two to three months.”
Survivors include wife Susi and sons Mike and Brett.
Although he served golfers throughout California for many years, Eastwood’s career did not begin in turf maintenance.
“He was in construction with his father. It was called Eastwood and Sons,” Mike Eastwood said. “It said ‘Sons’ on the side of the truck, but there was only one son. It was only my dad and my grandfather.”
It was in the 1980s, when he already was in his 40s, that Eastwood’s career in turf management began. He sold the family construction company and bought Churn Creek Golf Course in Redding, launching a second career as a superintendent.
Eventually, his newfound career as an agronomist led to superintendent opportunities at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae, California, and helping build Marbella Country Club in San Juan Capistrano before moving on to Stockdale Country Club and finally Stockton Golf and Country Club, where he worked until his retirement in 2004.
Throughout his career as a superintendent, Eastwood always was willing to share information with and help fellow superintendents. Often, Green Hills was the site of product demonstrations and instructional videos by a local equipment distributor.
“He had a passion for golf and helping people,” Mike said.
“He loved talking to people and helping them.”
