The Villages - February 2022 - 22

Krager went on to play college golf in Illinois,
earning a degree in sports management from
Millikin University in Decatur. He brought the
experience full circle when he returned to the course
where it all started.
" I went back and ran that nine-hole course, " he
said. " I'd worked bag drop and outside staff at some different
places in college, but that municipal course was
my first official job in golf. I ran Junior programs and
then coached the high school boys' and girls' teams. "
Making lateral moves in his golf career, Krager
landed in Abilene, a charming west Texas town known
for its statues of classic storybook characters.
" I enjoyed it, " he said. " Texas is a neat place to live. "
Five years later, Krager left Abilene Country Club
and interviewed for a position at a course in Dallas,
but ultimately decided to pass.
" It just didn't have the right feel, " he said. " I
turned it down; I knew it just wasn't the one. "
That flash of instinct proved to be the right one
because Krager received a call from the Villages Golf
Division the following day.
" (The director of operations) wanted me to come
down and see The Villages, but honestly, in Illinois and
Texas I had never heard of The Villages, " Krager said.
" After the phone call, of course the first thing you do is
get online and read whatever you can find. "
Krager notes that surfing the web did nothing to
prepare him for the reality he was about to experience -
the golf utopia that marks The Villages.
" I came to interview for a position at Havana; that was
the first place I worked when I got here, " he
said. " I pulled into Colony Plaza, thinking I'd eat at Beef
'O' Brady's, and there were about 80 golf carts in the parking
lot and maybe six cars. That's when I said, 'okay, I get
it. Now I get it,' and it was amazing. I remember playing
golf with some of the guys in the interview. We did a ninehole-meet-and-greet,
played Evans Prairie. "
It was a typical Florida winter day, high 70s in the
middle of January with a slow breeze pushing through the
palms and oaks. Krager was impressed.
" I'm thinking, 'Is this real,' " he said. " The interview went
well and I went back to Texas. I was driving from Dallas to
Abilene and it was like 35 degrees, wind blowing 45 miles an
hour. When I got out of my car at a gas station, the wind almost
ripped off the door. I was like, 'I'm leaving; I'm done.' "
In 2016, Krager began his career in The Villages, where
he served at Havana then spent three years as Facility
Manager and Head Golf Professional at Glenview
Champions Country Club.
Now standing beside Southern Oaks' starter shack
amid the flurry of players gearing up for their games,
Krager chats about his new role at The Villages'
13th Championship Golf Club, where sun-soaked
greens sweep and swell around sparkling bodies of
water. Southern Oaks is special for many reasons, as residents
discovered when the course opened to the community
on November 13. Prior to that, Belle Glade was the last
championship course to open in 2014, offering 27-holes
and the first and only island green. With the arrival of
Southern Oaks, the total number of Villages' golf holes
now ticks up to a staggering 711.
22
FEBRUARY 2022
The Villages - February 2022

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