Herrmann: Kilmer thrilled to be head pro

Two years ago, in an interview about the challenging life of an assistant pro, Jamie Kilmer sat on the patio at the Meadow Brook Club and said, "I think it is important to be patient. It will happen when it's supposed to happen."

"It" is the dream that keeps assistant pros going through years of long hours, low pay and only seasonal employment. It is the chance to be a head professional, and it happened for Kilmer this year.

"I just think that you work hard and let the chips fall," he said recently in his office off the pro shop at Wheatley Hills Golf Club in East Williston. "You just do the best you can. I know I had a lot of help through the interview process."

Kilmer realizes that he is one of the lucky ones, having been hired after 10 years as an assistant at three clubs. The wait can take a dozen summers or more, and sometimes it never pays off. With courses closing and the candidate pool expanding, the rush for head pro jobs is as competitive as tournaments are.

It is no longer just a local search. When Piping Rock had an opening before this season, it hired Sean Quinlivan from Florida. A Wheatley Hills member said there were 100 applicants for the opening at his club, with 25 making the cut as contenders.

"To be honest with you, I didn't see myself as one of the top ones," Kilmer said. "I looked at the other guys and said, 'Wow, they are such great candidates.' I didn't know it was going to happen here in the Met Section. We feel very fortunate it did."

"We" includes his wife, Jennifer, whom he met in church and who worked at Crate & Barrel to make ends meet while Kilmer was giving lessons to Meadow Brook members and working on his own game - knowing that private clubs love to have their pros getting their names in the paper for winning tournaments. Jennifer now helps run the Wheatley Hills pro shop.

The pro said that they had faith things would work. Despite their responsibilities and busy schedule, they still run a ministry for college-aged people. "One night a week never killed anybody," he said.

Kilmer, 33, has aspired to his current job since he was pre-college age, working at Braelinn Golf Club in Peachtree City, Ga. "I was cleaning the carts and I saw the life of these golf pros - day in and day out, the sun comes up and they're wearing golf attire and playing golf," he said. Of course, he has learned there is much more to it, but he still loves it.

He considers himself fortunate to have worked for generous, experienced head pros Mike Summa at Apawamis and Stanwich clubs and Rick Meskell at Meadow Brook. The latter club in Jericho proved a good launching pad for his candidacy at Wheatley Hills. Among those who strongly lobbied for him was Meadow Brook member Ed Westfall, the former Islanders captain and broadcaster.

"It was an easy sell," Westfall said. "He's a wonderful young man, he's a very attentive person, he knows the game and he has patience with people. We'd go out and play golf, and he wasn't the type who was going to teach you all the way around. Unless you asked him, he wouldn't say anything. Then, you might be down at the practice range and he'd say, 'When we played three weeks ago, I watched you do this and this. Why don't you try that?' "

Long Island PGA champion Bill Van Orman, Kilmer's replacement at Meadow Brook, who has eschewed head pro opportunities to focus on his playing career, said, "I run into Wheatley Hills people and I'm telling you, every single one is just raving about him."

Kilmer said, "I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else." He makes sure he is considerate of his assistants, Al Consoli and Dallas Pylinski, because he knows how challenging their jobs are.