MOUNT AIRY, Md. — For brothers Alan and Charles Harris, getting golfers to the first tee on time is serious business.
After all, some habits from the Army are hard to break.
“In the army, if you're on time, you're probably late,” Alan Harris said. “Pretty much all the same thing here if you're on time. You're late.”
Today, the brothers are familiar faces at The Links at Challedon, where they work as starters; directing golfers, assigning carts, keeping tee times moving and making sure players know the rules before beginning their rounds.
And once golfers leave the clubhouse, the brothers make one thing clear.
“Once you pay your money and they leave the inside and they come outside, we're in charge,” said Charles Harris.
That authority comes with plenty of humor, but behind it is a lifetime of leadership and service.
Alan and Charles identify themselves as Vietnam veterans, and both served as officers in the U.S. Army. Charles served from April 1970 to April 1973, while Alan served from June 1972 until January 1979.
Their paths into the military, however, were very different.
Charles was a student at the University of Maryland College Park during the Vietnam-era draft. He recalled watching the draft lottery numbers come down and realizing his low number meant the military would likely come calling.
Rather than wait, Charles decided to pursue a path toward becoming an officer. He went through basic training, advanced individual training and Officer Candidate School, eventually training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
“I figured if I'm gonna get shot at, I'm gonna be giving orders,” he joked while recalling that decision.
Alan knew much earlier that military service was likely in his future. He attended Morgan State University and went through ROTC before becoming a regular Army officer. He initially trained in infantry before moving into ordnance and logistics; work he described as “the thing you need to keep the army and all of the military going.”
That logistics background would later be followed by a career largely in defense contracting.
Decades later, the brothers have traded Army formations for foursomes.
Their job at Challedon involves more than simply pointing golfers toward the first hole. They monitor who has checked in and paid, get players into carts, direct them to the driving range or first tee and explain expectations for pace of play and taking care of the course.
That includes repairing divots, raking bunkers and, when possible, keeping golf balls out of the neighbors' yards.
The route that brought both brothers to the same golf course also came with a little sibling rivalry.
Alan, an avid golfer, recalled sending his resume to the course while looking for a job after retirement but not hearing back. Then he learned his brother had landed a job there.
“Wait a minute, that ain't right. That's my job,” he recalled thinking.
Alan eventually called the pro shop himself, got an interview and was hired too.
“You took my job,” he later told his brother.
“Yeah, he did,” came the response.
The story is even funnier considering just how much golf Alan has played. He told Voice for Veterans reporter Cyera Williams, he has played in every state in the country except “maybe seven or eight,” and had planned another trip through several Midwestern states before family obligations caused him to postpone it.
Charles admits his brother is the bigger golfer.
The two still play together, though, and neither is particularly interested in conceding bragging rights.
Charles acknowledged Alan is the better putter but quickly pointed out that his own strength is playing from the sand and that lately, he has managed to keep his overall score lower.
Alan was quick to note that was a more recent development.
The ribbing is part of a relationship that has lasted through military service, careers, retirement and now another shared chapter.
Although the brothers generally work different days at Challedon, they spend time together away from work playing golf, playing cards and taking part in family activities.
Their impact at the course also extends beyond golfers.
The brothers work alongside younger cart employees, many of them in high school or college. They said the job gives them a chance to watch those employees grow, make sure responsibilities are handled correctly and pass along experiences from lives those younger workers may know little about.
“You know you're impacting them because you're telling them stories that, you know, they've never heard before,” one brother said, adding that they try to give the younger employees “a nice positive mental attitude.”
There is still military-style accountability. Carts have to arrive on time, they need to be clean, and scorecards and pencils need to be where they belong.
But there is also plenty of room for laughter.
The brothers joke about who works harder, who has the better golf game and who is really in control. They have become known around the course not simply as starters, but as a pair.
“They know us, they know we're the brothers,” they said while reflecting on their place at Challedon. “It's kinda neat to know that two of us have that kind of impact on folks around here.”
More than five decades after their military service began, Alan and Charles Harris may no longer be wearing Army uniforms.
But at the first tee, the lessons of showing up, taking responsibility and looking out for the people around them are still very much in play.
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