The Rev. Bill Boylan didn’t play much golf before his 50th birthday. The Ipswich native was busy rescuing an underperforming church and growing its congregation.
Now, at age 84, the Senior Pastor Emeritus at Byfield Parish Church in Georgetown makes time for the game, teeing it up regularly at Rowley CC.
This day, Boylan is relaxing in the Rowley clubhouse. He’s brought along his favorite club, a vintage Acushnet Bullseye putter, and 24 shiny medals – many of them gold – he has accumulated for top-3 finishes at the Senior Games in New England and on the national stage in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Florida and Alabama.
He plans to compete throughout New England this year and hopes to play in the biennial National Senior Games next year in Des Moines, Iowa.
The National Senior Games Association exists today as a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of competitive sports, physical fitness and active aging to men and women age 50 and older.
It is the largest qualified multi-sport (20 in all) event in the world for seniors.
His golf journey began at Cape Ann GC and the now-closed 9-hole Candlewood course in Ipswich with owner Dave Whipple.
Rowley CC has been his home course for several years now. He has two holes-in-one and wouldn’t mind getting another.
Brent Balderston, head PGA professional at Rowley, often tees it up with Boylan for a few holes. “After many years in this business in several states and two countries for me, I believe Bill has a unique story and career that is the ultimate golf inspiration and a career that everyone, including myself, would marvel at.”
“He picks my brain on ways to get better. I don’t have a religious background, but let me tell you, no one tells a better story than Bill. His story and his accomplishments are beyond compare as is the human being he has always been.”
The two have become close friends. Boylan is remarkably humble given his accomplishments.
He and his wife of 57 years, Miriam, have four children and five grandchildren. A graduate of Gordon College Theological Seminary, Boylan was called to the pastorate in the winter of 1969.
His ministry began as senior pastor at Byfield Parish Church. Boylan said a good turnout in those early years saw 12 people huddled in the historic meeting room for a sermon. The first independent Congregational Church in America, Byfield Parish had experienced steady decline. Today the church accommodates 400 and nearly every seat is occupied during services. WEZE-AM broadcasts his sermons.
Holding a hardline of fiscal integrity and responsibility and a return to scripture-based teaching, his ministry began to experience exponential growth. He joined the executive committee for Billy Graham’s Crusade in New England, co-authored two seminal works on renewal, and he was elected president of the national Biblical Witness Fellowship.
“After many years in this business in several states and two countries for me, I believe Bill has a unique story and career that is the ultimate golf inspiration and a career that everyone, including myself, would marvel at.”
Boylan attended a religious briefing at the White House during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. He served on committees with Christian evangelist Ruth Carter Stapleton (sister of President Jimmy Carter) and attended the 39th president’s swearing in. He worked side-by-side with not only Graham but with Larry Nelson, a PGA hall-of-famer whose Christian faith is an integral part of his life. Boylan has been invited to and participated in numerous religious gatherings throughout the world.
“I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said.
And he often thinks back to how his life could have turned out differently. One day in the 1960s, while serving in the military, he stood on the steps of battalion headquarters at Fort Bliss in El Paso,Texas. He was unhappy. His life wasn’t progressing as he had hoped. The future looked bleak.
“God spoke to me. I felt the slap. God had a hand on my shoulder that day.”
