After 30 years, the only head pro and club manager at this Illinois municipal golf course is retiring
ROCKFORD, Ill. — Duncan Geddes was younger than his golf course is now when he was hired as Aldeen’s head golf pro at age 25.
“Oh, my gosh, I’m not going to lie. I was beyond thrilled,” said Geddes, who is retiring 30 years later as the only head golf pro and club manager in the history of Rockford’s premier public course.
“It was very exciting. I grew up in Rockford, played at East, and went a year to Rock Valley before going to Ferris State. Growing up playing the public courses in Rockford as a junior golfer, it was amazing to head a new public course.”
Geddes has seen Aldeen host the Rockford Pro-Am once and seven state championships: two State Amateurs for the men, two for the women, one senior State Am, and two girls state Ams, with three more girls state championships on the schedule.
“I love those events. Those days were the most exciting to me,” Geddes said.
But not the most meaningful.
“I met my wife at Aldeen,” said Geddes, who married Kris Lantz in 1993. “That’s the biggest personal highlight. Aldeen has been good to me personally as well as professionally.”
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Many of the top golf teachers in town have been assistant pros under Geddes, who in turn learned for three years under Butch Pegoraro as an assistant at Forest Hills Country Club before taking over Aldeen. Don Blecker, the sales manager and golf professional at the Golf Shack, Rockford’s long-time top golf store, was one of the first.
“Working for Duncan was wonderful,” Blecker said. “I learned so much from him from the teaching end. I had always been interested in golf and he was my mentor getting me involved in the golf business again out of college.
“I can’t believe he’s been there 30 years. That’s incredible.”
Forest Hills head pro Steve Murray was an assistant at Aldeen his first 10 years out of college.
“I was brand new to the business and spent 10 years with him,” Murray said. “Many of my philosophies and work theories derive from stuff we did at Aldeen together. He is a very good friend of mine. We still talk regularly.”
In the late 1990s, Aldeen was named one of the 50 best golf courses to play for under $50 in the country.
“That was a huge honor,” Geddes said.
More than 20 years later, Aldeen still charges less than $50 for greens fees at its 4 1/2-star layout. Yet price has long been one of Aldeen’s challenges. It has been the only course in town that most season pass holders have to pay a surcharge to play.
“The biggest challenge was getting the community used to a new course,” Geddes said. “It was supposed to be the flagship course, so we had higher fees than the other courses. That took people getting used to.”
But whether golfers have an all-inclusive pass and can play Aldeen for free, pay $14 with a regular pass or pay the full weekend rate of $31 for 18 holes, Aldeen, started in part because of a $2 million donation from Norris and Margaret Aldeen, has always been a reasonably priced championship-level course.
“Rockford has always been a very economical town to play golf in,” Geddes said. “To have a course of that caliber to play at those fees is a great thing. If I was a kid, I would have loved it. It’s been a great thing for the community. Mr. Aldeen used to always say Rockford needs things to be proud of. I think it still does. And I think that’s one of the best things for Rockford to be proud of.”
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Shortly after Aldeen was built, PrairieView in Byron and Timber Pointe in Poplar Grove opened, providing two other affordable, championship-level courses. Several other popular courses also opened in the area. That made things greater than ever for local golfers, but tough on many golf courses. The Rockford Park District even closed one of its five courses last year, shutting down Elliot.
“Golf was so popular in the late 1980s and the ‘90s. It was just rocking,” Geddes said. “And upscale courses like Aldeen weren’t even a buzzword in the industry. To have Aldeen built early in that trend was fun.
“The game changed in 2007 and 2008 when we went into a recession. Too many courses had been built and there were not enough players to support them. There was a big peak and then a valley. Then COVID comes along and golf becomes popular again. No one could have seen that.
“It’s been a roller coaster on the business side of golf,” Geddes added. “Being positive again makes me feel it is in good hands. I am not going away completely. I will stay in the area and love to be able to teach, run tournaments or do whatever is needed. But it is time to pass the torch to someone else.
“There’s lots to be accomplished there. I am excited to see it happen. I am also excited not to be in the meetings to help make it happen.”
Matt Trowbridge: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com; @matttrowbridge
