BLAINE, Minn. — At 89-years-old, it’s hard to keep Jim Ekman off the golf course.
“Just nine holes every Monday night,” Ekman said. He plays in a league where he’s the oldest by 25 years.
“I call them kids and they call me dad,” he said. Ekman’s love for golf started in 1947.
“I’ve always loved the competitive, I want to win. I don’t care if we’re playing for quarters, ten cents, or a dollar. I just love to play golf,” Ekman said.
His love for the game led him to apply for a job at the TPC Twin Cities Golf Club where he works at least six months out of the year, including the 3M Open.
“This is my seventh year,” Ekman said. “I’m 89, I’ll be 90 in August.”
His managers said he’s the oldest person to work on the PGA Golf Tour by at least a decade.
“Jim’s a great worker, I think he’s a role model for all of these younger kids as I mentioned before. He’s on time, he’s hardworking, he’s down on his hands and knees at 89,” said Joe Rolstad, the golf course superintendent at TPC Twin Cities.
Rolstad said Ekman typically works 20 hours a week but has worked 40 hours the week of the tournament.
“During the tournament, we start at 4:30 in the morning,” Rolstad said. “During the tournament we mow the greens, fairways, tees, approaches, collars, we remove dew, we rake bunkers, we blow everything, any debris from the day before.”
Ekman arrives at work at 4 a.m., works for 3.5 hours, and then returns in the evening.
“First thing I do, I clean six bathrooms and they’re restricted to the players and the PGA family, doesn’t take too long, and then I join the mowers… and help move what they call moving boards,” Ekman said.
“Jim does not complain at all. He always wants to do more,” Rolstad said.
Ekman said he loves working so much because he’s still able to contribute.
“I’ve got good health except for a bad knee. I need to stay active,” he said.
And, his life hasn’t slowed down at 89. He’s his wife’s full-time caregiver. He doesn’t live far, so he drives home in between his shifts and tells her about his day.
“I’ve never seen him really upset. He comes in every day, we all know he takes care of his wife, and I think a lot of people look up to him,” Rolstad said.
Rolstad added that Ekman sets the tone for the rest of his team.
“Sometimes I got to kick him out of here because he loves being here so much,” Rolstad said.
Ekman isn’t sure if he’ll be back next year for health reasons, so every moment and interaction he had this year was special.
“It’s fun here. I’m working with a lot of kids there just in high school, or their out, or in college, and I just have a ball with those kids,” Ekman said.
“He cares about everybody, he listens to people, he talks to everyone,” Rolstad said.
Rolstad said if he leaves there will be a big hole left on his team, and Ekman isn’t a man easily replaced.
“He’s always working hard. I like being around him,” Rolstad said.