Taking a break from retirement
September 4, 2026
It’s not uncommon in the Cape Region for retirees to return to work for unexpected reasons.
They are not alone.
Paul Boehmer retired from the LPGA as the organization’s club fitter in late 2022. I wrote a profile about him for this column in 2019 that we both enjoyed.
Nonetheless, Boehmer looked as startled as I was to see him again last May at the club fitting trailer during the 2026 ShopRite powered by Wakefern.
Paul Boehmer
I asked him if he was back like a bad dream. Boehmer said, “I’m not back. I’m here. Big difference.” Then he giggled, as he often does.
Bammer said, “I got a phone call while I was sitting at a bar during happy hour one day and it turned out to be the LPGA asking me to come back for one more event to help them out. So naturally, I said yes.”
That response surprised me. He had been down this road with them once before. Back when I profiled him, Boehmer told me how he agreed to do the work for a short while, which somehow turned into over 20 years of service.
He said, “I got to thinking about that after the fact. This is how they sucked me in the first time.”
I suggested this meant he could be easily romanced into working for the LPGA.
He said, “No. I’m just not very bright,” and laughed some more. “This time, it’s just a temporary thing until they find somebody to do this. And I’m helping as much as I can to find somebody.”
The universe of potential candidates is small. Boehmer said, “You’d be surprised how many club guys there are in the United States, or glue jockeys depending on how you want to put it. Everybody’s a club guy nowadays because of the internet. And then you sit there and watch them as they cut a grip off as they’re cutting toward themselves. What ‘s the word I’m looking for? Pretty stupid.”
Boehmer continued, “It’s not just about the club work when you come into a situation like this. It’s about organization management, keeping up with everything, being able to fix something if it goes down. That’s all the qualities you need. You almost need a mechanic more than you need a club guy. But there’s somebody out there for it.”
“It can be less art than science. You can follow the book all the time but sometimes you gotta eat the book. It depends, and there’s so many variables. You’ve got to keep on your toes about it,” he said.
After Boehmer left the LPGA in 2022, he opened a shop at the Old American Golf Club in Dallas, TX. Now 70, he returned to the LPGA trailer a few tournaments before the 2026 ShopRite.
The transition from retirement to the trailer had its consequences.
“I had finally got my feeling back in my hands last year. Now that I’m back, my hands are really sore. I did as many grips yesterday as I did all last year,” Boehmer said.
While we chatted, Apple Tiwattanasuk came up and called out his name. They hugged and started talking.
The mother of Ariah and Moirah Jutanagarn, two highly successful Thai golfers on the LPGA Tour, was all smiles.
“We’re really happy when he came this week,” she told me. “His laugh is loud!”
Tiwattanasuk said Boehmer’s charming demeanor and ready laugh lightens the players’ moods. “The girls call him uncle.”
I had seen that happen often enough to agree.
Boehmer expected to staff the trailer for a few more weeks until the LPGA settled on a permanent replacement.
Naturally, it took longer than he expected.
Boehmer recently told me the LPGA found someone who began working at the trailer about a week ago. “I hope they found the right guy this time,” he said.
“I’m back to my little shop [in Dallas] and glad to be there,” Boehmer said. “Going back out [to the LPGA] made me realize two things: I really loved my job for all those years, and I was born for retirement!”
Local club competition results
The Kings Creek CC 9-Hole LGA League played a Stableford Quota game Aug. 27, in four flights.
Dina McCullough won the first flight, with Judy Rayner in second, Sherry Schaffer in third, and Chris Piasecki in fourth.
Ann DeBlasi won the second flight, followed by Jennifer Liner in second, Anita McMullin in third, and Kathleen Irwin in fourth.
Vicki St. Germain won the third flight, with Allison Sapka in second and Deborah Hinderer in third. Lisa Gercenstein and Carolyn Ortwein tied for fourth.
Donna Romber won the fourth flight, followed by Juanita Wilson in second. Margaret Connors and Brenda Schilli tied for third.
The Kings Creek CC 18-Hole LGA League also played a Stableford Quota game Aug. 27.
Jacqueline Everett won first place in the first flight, with Kathleen Wood in second, Judy Wetzel in third, and Erin Reid in fourth.
Leslie Ledogar won the second flight, followed by Arlyce Dubbin in second, Camille Nichols in third, and Katie Heintz in fourth.