From the May 2017 issue of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine
by Bob Robinson

When Toby Tommaso lost a coin flip to Reynolds High School classmate Scott Braman in 1979, he realized that a career in golf might be his destiny.

"Scott and I had part-time jobs at Riverside (Golf and Country Club) and we were planning to attend an all-night graduation party," he said. "But one of us had to open the pro shop the day after the party. So we flipped for it and I lost. I went to the party, then opened at Riverside at the crack of dawn on no sleep. I guess you could call that big-time dedication."

That was one of the stories that Tommaso, 56, told after he retired in early May from a 38-year career in the golf business, the last 34 years as a club professional.

Another involved the first time he played golf when he was 12 and, admittedly, "knew very little" about the game.

The scene was the Glendoveer East Course in Portland. "I played nine holes with some friends and I shot 51," he said. "I was really depressed because they had told me that, if you didn't shoot 50 or better for nine, you wouldn't be allowed to play there again. Can you believe that I was naive enough to believe that? Of course, I felt much better when they told me it was a joke. It turned out that I had beaten all of them with my 51."

Tommaso continued to work at Riverside after his graduation and remained there for three more years after turning pro in 1984. Then he became well-traveled to say the least. He worked under head pro Byron Wood at the Rose City municipal course from 1987-90, then under Chuck Milne at the Vanco Driving Range in Vancouver, Wash., from 1990-94. That was followed by six years as head pro at Mountain View of Boring before he served as general manager at Portland's Colwood National for 14 years.

"I left Colwood in 2014 after the course was shortened and became the Colwood Golf Center," he said. "It seemed fitting that I spent my last three years as a full-time pro at Riverside, the course where I got my start."

Through it all, playing golf competitively was secondary for Tommaso to teaching the game, especially to beginners. Still, he once shot a 6-under-par 66 at Rose City. He won a Pacific Northwest Pro-Pro tournament in partnership with Milne. He had what he described as a "real blast" when he was on a team that played in the Oldsmobile Scramble Finals at Orlando, Fla.

"I just loved working with junior players," he said. "In doing that, I felt great satisfaction that I was helping to grow the game, something that golf needs now more than ever."

His jovial disposition and patience seemed to break down any shyness that his students had when they arrived.

Then there were Colwood's ever-popular Women's Golf Schools, held annually for 49 years starting in 1964, the first 44 years with The Oregonian as a co-sponsor. Tommaso's pride in them runs deep.

"The schools were going strong at the time I arrived at Colwood and I just worked hard to keep them going," he said. "When they finally ended, we calculated that more than 20,000 women had taken part, many of them repeat participants. It was amazing. I don't think any other course in the country has had a program even close to that one."

During a lull on his last day at Riverside, Tommaso found himself remembering other Oregon club pros who had become his friends and meant so much to him. He thought about Wood, Milne, Bob Duden, Bob Ellsworth, Bill Eggers and Bunny Mason. "I got all choked up," he said.

Now Tommaso will work with his wife, Janet, at buying, renovating and selling houses. "She is my boss," he said. He also plans to volunteer at helping junior golfers wherever he might be needed.

Finally, he was asked to name a current PGA Tour pro he would like to have as a partner in an alternate-shot competition. He laughed and replied: "It would be Phil Mickelson. He has the disposition and patience to carry me and not get upset about it."

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Bob Robinson started covering golf for The Oregonian in the mid-1960s. During his career, he has been named the Oregon Sportswriter of the Year, and was awarded the Dale Johnson Media Award by the Oregon Golf Association and the Distinguished Service Award by the Northwest Golf Media Association.