Page 12 - National Championship
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popular Columbus, Ohio PPA Course;
the course of which many major
tournaments would be held and the
course of which the second ever
perfect score of 18 would be achieved.
Aboid took a bit of time off from his
collegiate studies to visit the PPA
course site
and happened
upon Don Clayton and Larry Lloyd as they were working
on the foundation of the course. It was a casual
conversation since Clayton (the President of Putt-Putt
Golf) was good friends with Phil Aboid. Unbeknownst to
Joe Aboid, it was actually an interview to be the first
manager of the PPA course. From that administrative
beginning, he would go on to be the Director of Home
Office Operations for Putt-Putt Golf and Director of the
Professional Putters Association. He would also design a computer program to
incorporate a computerized scoreboard and provide scoresheets with printed
labels, replacing the time-consuming hand-written scoresheets. Joe Aboid would
eventually become the Commissioner of the PPA and be the instrumental force
behind the continuation of the popular tour and was inducted into the Hall of
Fame in 2001 … like father, like son. There is a bit more to this cute idiom. As Joe
Aboid was establishing his position within the Putt-Putt organization, he was
constantly being referred to as Phil’s
son. At some point during a
conversation with his dad, he made
the humorous remark that he was not
Phil’s son, but that his dad was Joe’s
father. Phil Aboid took the comment
to heart and created a sign that could attach to a shirt, and it proudly conveyed…”
I am Joe’s father.” Just as Phil Aboid was always caring for others and wanting to
make life more enjoyable for families – thus is the action of Joe Aboid today. Like
father, like son or like son, like father – it is an idiom providing a caressing
compliment to both. If you are fortunate to visit or play in the 2021 PPA National