Golf pro Scott Waddle is just one golf course away from being back where it all started.

Waddle, 57, took over as part-owner and operator of Sky Ranch Golf Course in Sterling in September after interviewing with the group of nine investors who had bought the course. It is an appointment Waddle views with irony.

In the early 1950s Scott’s father, Robert Waddle, who with his brother Irv owned Sterling Sheet Metal and Sterling Heating and Cooling, realized he couldn’t afford to play golf at Sterling’s only course, Sterling Country Club. So, the Waddles did what any enterprising guys would do – they built their own course.

“He just took a tractor and a disc out there, found a place that looked like a good place to put the first hole, and started tearing up the sandhills,” Waddle said. “He may have had a grand vision, I don’t know, but when he talked about it when I was a kid, it seemed like he designed it as he went.”

Dubbed Riverview Golf Course because of its proximity to the South Platte River, the 9-hole course was laid out over what had been a Boy Scout camp in the sandhills east of Sterling. The old “Scout house” became a clubhouse of sorts and the greens were packed sand. Green fees were paid by chucking cash into a wooden box and refreshments were served out of ice chests with payment on the honor system.

“As far as I know, nobody ever took advantage of that, taking money out of the (green fees) box or not paying for a pop,” Waddle said. “If they had, they’d have been banned for life.”

Riverview’s biggest fan was Robert’s wife, Freida. Deemed good enough to turn pro, Freida Waddle played barefoot and could beat most men she competed against. She won tournaments all over northeast Colorado but had to give up her dream of touring when she became pregnant with Scott.

“Dad always joked that I was the reason for us being ‘poor’ because Mom couldn’t turn pro,” Scott Waddle said. “Because, you know, moms stayed home and took care of the kids back in those days.”

Waddle said his mother’s skill was one big reason for him turning pro; he wanted to be good enough to beat Mom on the course. He started learning to play when he was five and turned pro when he was 21, after graduating the San Diego Golf Academy. He said he was the second-youngest pro in the U.S., and began his career at Lake Montezuma, Ariz. He spent two years on the Golden State/Hogan Tour, played in sectional PGA events and was among the top 10 golfers in the Southern Chapter PGA.

Over the years, Waddle has owned and/or managed three other golf courses, and all have been in some kind of straits when he took them over. He said he wouldn’t have come to Sky Ranch if it hadn’t been a challenge.

“If I walk into a place that’s already doing well, I’m dying on the vine,” he said. “I live for the challenge, and this one has been a challenge. But I know what works, and for the first time in years (this course) has made a profit.”

The return to his hometown is made sweeter by having his cousin, John Waddle, as the Sky Ranch course superintendent.

“Our fathers built Riverview together and now we’re running Sky Ranch together, so it’s kind of come full circle,” he said.

Sky Ranch may be Waddle’s last course, but that is yet to be seen. He has a profit-sharing agreement with the investors, and he can re-invest his share in ownership or pocket the money. His inclination now is to re-invest.

“I love the facility, I love the people, we’re investing in this community,” he said. “This is not a private club, it’s open to everyone.”