Part of the beauty of golf involves friendship, shared moments and the fact that no matter your skill level, you can play with or against anyone, because you’re playing against the golf course, not other golfers, based on the game’s handicap index.
Former Orange Coast College baseball shortstop Donnie Hill, a switch-hitting infielder who played nine years in the major leagues for the A’s, White Sox, Angels and Twins, transformed into a career golfer after retiring from baseball.
Hill’s golf skills could have allowed him to tee it up in PGA events, but injuries from baseball prevented him from such royalties.
So Hill, who carries an impressive plus-1.4 handicap, became a sought-after golf professional and instructor at Strawberry Farms Golf Club and No Bogeys Golf.
But mostly, Hill loves to tee it up himself. According to Hill, whether a golfer regularly makes birdies or double bogeys, it’s a pleasure to get out in the fresh air and whack around that tiny white ball for 18 holes, while enjoying camaraderie with others.
Golf becomes a thread across generations, an easy way to reconnect or stay linked to relationships that might otherwise drift. To Hill, that’s the best part.
“I played with (former OCC baseball coach) Mike Mayne about a month ago,” Hill said last week. “We’ve played three times in the past three months, and we’re going to play some more in the future. We stay in touch, and that’s all kinds of fun. We also play with his son, Brent, and Brent’s son, Noah.
Playing golf does connect people, he said, “and it’s really nice. It’s an easy way to stay in touch, whether it’s past coaches, teammates or friends. It’s pretty cool.”
Hill first picked up golf in high school (Edison). When he graduated, he got his first set of clubs, and that was it. From that point on, he was hooked, he said.
After baseball, Hill ended up dedicating 25 years to Strawberry Farms as the head teaching professional, spending most of his time on the driving range, where he wanted to teach, rather than in the golf shop.
Hill has taught golf to players at all levels. The demand for Hill’s services has always been high because of his patient and adaptive teaching style, strong reputation as a goals-oriented instructor and easygoing personality. Hill, 65, currently teaches only part-time.
“I’m kind of half-retired,” said Hill, who plays often with former major leaguers Mike Witt, Kirk McCaskill, Jim Abbott, Mike Scott, Tim Wallach and Charlie Hough. They play at different golf courses in Orange County, depending on the day.
In baseball, Hill led Orange Coast to the 1980 state championship under Mayne and was drafted and signed by the A’s in 1981 after spearheading Arizona State to the NCAA national championship.
The ’80 Pirates established 13 team records, including most wins in a season as they finished 33-7. There were also 15 individual records, including five by relief pitcher Larry Hicks, and three each by outfield Kevin Romine and third baseman Chris Johnston (team-leading eight home runs and 48 RBI). Romine (Boston Red Sox) and Hill played in the majors.
“That may have been the best junior college team ever put on a field,” said Mayne, whose squad won 17 straight games after a slow start, winning the Pirates’ first South Coast Conference title while dethroning Cerritos and sweeping six games in the postseason (four in the state tournament) to clinch the school’s first state crown in 20 years.
It was OCC’s first conference championship in 18 years.
Richard Dunn, a longtime sportswriter, writes the Dunn Deal column regularly for The Orange County Register’s weekly, The Coastal Current North.