Published: October 06, 2008 10:03 am      

What a treat

McMillan living dream at The Retreat

Robert McMillan never imagined as a child that he would end up where he is today. McMillan, 46, rose from what he calls housing schemes, or slums, to become everything he is today — a member of the Professional Golf Association and club manager of The Retreat in Cleburne.

Humble beginnings

On first meeting McMillan, one important thing about him stands out immediately. His heavy accent gives it all away; he grew up in Scotland, Glasgow, to be specific.

“I grew up in the housing schemes, houses that people can rent from the government,” he said. “My dad was a steelworker, and my mother was a cocktail waitress. We and my three sisters lived in a two-bedroom apartment.”

His dad was a former British Army boxer and semi-professional football, what Americans call soccer, player.

“I think my dad being a great athlete got me wanting to be one,” McMillan said. “I started playing football at a young age until I was about 15.

“Then I took a different route. I started hitting golf balls in soccer fields, and I liked it. I thought this could be a way out for me.”

McMillan decided to drop out of soccer and begin playing golf. He barely made his high school golf team, but he dedicated himself and practiced daily.

“I wasn’t the best player on the team, but I knew I could play and practice harder and more often than the other players,” he said. “I was shooting par before I was 17.”



Working his way up

McMillan’s first break came when he was 17. He was offered a job at West Kilbride Golf Club as an assistant golf professional. He moved into digs, or a room that someone rents out of their house, and began working.

“The greatest break of my life came when the phone rang and Turnberry Hotel Golf Courses wanted me to come and work there as an assistant golf pro,” he said.

McMillan was the No. 6 professional of six assistant professionals.

“My duties were to clean shoes, make coffee or tea, and clean and dust the store,” he said. “The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was that I knew I would make my way up.”

And move up he did. He kept dreaming of the next step. In 1983, he set a goal of competing in the Open Championship, as the British refer to their open tournament.

“Saying that was like saying I was a swimmer who wanted to compete with Michael Phelps,” he said.

He was determined to make it happen. He practiced at 3:30 every morning, worked when the store opened at 7 a.m., and practiced at night when he was finished working. The work paid off when he qualified for the 113th Open Championship, one of the youngest to ever qualify at the time.

That year he was named the best under 21 golfer in Scotland and received the James Gammick Clark award. These achievements made him wonder what else he could do.

He decided his next step would be to qualify for a European PGA tour card and go on tour.

“Everyone said I wouldn’t make it,” he said. That made him angry so he worked harder, he said.

He went to tour school in November 1983 and received his card. He toured in Europe from 1983-88, with a year on the Asia tour. In the fall 1989 he played in the world Invitational Pro Tournament on a fluke.

“I wasn’t picked to play in that tournament,” he said. “One guy who was picked hurt his back, and I got to play. I won by 14 strokes.”



From Europe to the

U.S. and back again

In winter 1989, McMillan moved to the U.S. and began playing in mini-tours. While living in Florida, he met his wife, Rochell.

“I had a very interesting path to come to America through golf,” he said. “Because I am from another country, I tend to see how people take things for granted. Everything I’ve got I’ve worked for and earned.”

After helping a man with his golf who turned out to be the owner of a golf course in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, McMillan was offered a director of golf position. So he packed his bags and headed back to Europe.

While in Lake Geneva, McMillan became friends with someone who years later would become a great football player. Tony Romo, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, came and played with McMillan at the course several times, he said.

“When he became the third-string quarterback he called me and said ‘You won’t believe where I’m going — to the Dallas Cowboys,’” McMillan said. “We just started playing together and hanging out. All of the sudden two or three years later, he is the starting quarterback for America’s favorite team.”

He said he still plays golf with Romo occasionally, usually in the off-season.

After five years in Switzerland, McMillan returned to the U.S. He took the position of director of golf and general manager at Harbor Lakes Golf Club in Granbury.

Three years later he came to Cleburne as the director of golf at The Retreat and was named general manager last year.

“It’s good to be have a pro like him around. He’s like a breath of fresh air in the business,” said Jason Chipman, director of service and assistant golf pro at The Retreat. “He’s very customer-oriented and always looking outside the box.

“Most golf pros at his age or position are usually stuck in their ways, but he’s always had an open mind.”

McMillan said he enjoys working at The Retreat, where he started a men’s golf association with eight men who played once a month. It has now grown to 70 players.

“People tend to think it’s a glamorous job,” he said. “But my number one job is to service these members.”



Everyday business

McMillan’s wife, Rochell, is an emergency room nurse, and his son, Graham, is a junior at Colleyville Heritage High School. They live in Colleyville but plan to move to the Cleburne area once Graham finishes school, he said. They attend Gateway Church in Southlake.

Graham is the president of Best Buddies, an international program where students mentor severely handicapped children. McMillan said he really admires his child’s involvement in the organization.

McMillan continues to compete in tournaments, winning many. At his most recent tournament, he finished 12th out of 100, giving him enough points to be on the Joe Black Cup team for the fourth year in a row.

The Texas Joe Black Cup Matches is an annual competition pitting teams representing the Northern Texas and Southern Texas sections of the PGA of America.

“My competitive juice is always flowing,” he said. “If I’m not competing, I’m bored. I don’t care if it’s pingpong or golf. It’s my thrill.”

The Retreat is now open to nonresidents and nonmembers. For information, call 817-556-0287 or visit www.theretreat-texas.com.