Roger Clinton Watson

1943 - 2025

Roger Clinton Watson

July 15, 1943 - February 18, 2025

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - Roger Clinton Watson, 81, of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, passed away peacefully with his family by his side on February 18, 2025 in the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida.

He was the husband of Sandra Ann (Morris) Watson, whom he married June 13, 1964, married for 60 years and together since the seventh grade.

Born July 15, 1943 in High Point, North Carolina, he was a son of the late Clinton S., and Lestie M. (Smith) Watson.

Roger was a member of Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

He is a graduate of High Point University where he earned NAIA All-American honors as the school's top player and was inducted into the HPU Sports Hall of Fame. After graduating in 1966, Watson ventured out into professional golf.

His first job was a two-year stint as an assistant golf professional under Buck Adams at the Country Club of North Carolina. Later he became Head Professional at Sapona CC in Lexington, NC, for one year before taking over at MacGregor Downs, where he served for 12 years, under life-long family friend, Greg Poole, Jr.

In addition to serving as the golf pro at MacGregor Downs Country Club, he was asked to be president of the club's real estate division. The lessons he learned from selling proved invaluable, and in 1982 he formed his first partnershipthe Eaglemere Groupand built Lochmere Golf Club in Cary and Wildwood Green in Raleigh.

A year later he formed Watson Golf Services to manage courses with Lochmere as his first client.

In 1984, he joined forces with Cliff Benson Jr. of Raleigh and bought both Wildwood Green and Lochmere from Eaglemere. Later he built and managed North Shore in Topsail Beach, NC.

Professional Golf Design came along in 1986, and the company designed and managed the Nags Head Golf Links on the Outer Banks.

Carolinas Golf Group was born in 1988 with Roger Watson and Stuart Frantz as original partners. Later they invited Raleigh businessman Richard Urquhart and popular club professional Buck Adams to join them in Carolinas Golf Group. The group's first project was Devils Ridge Golf Club in Holly Springs, followed by The Neuse Golf Club in Clayton, Oak Valley Golf Club in Advance, The Currituck Club Corolla, Kiskiack Golf Club in Williamsburg, Virginia, and Skybrook Country Club in Huntersville, North Carolina. In 1998, the company was purchased for $60 million by Cobblestone Golf.

Watson gave second life to the Carolinas Golf Group in 2000 when he revived the name and concentrated mostly on providing a full-service club management. In the decade of the 21st century the firm has run more than a dozen courses; built the Traditions of Braselton in Jefferson, Georgia; oversaw construction of the Old Chatham Club near Chapel Hill, the Golf Club at Sanctuary Cove near St. Simons Island, Georgia, the Golf Club at Chapel Ridge in Pittsboro, the North River Club in Beaufort, North Carolina, the Bridges Club in Gunter, Texas. The company also sold four courses for Bluegreen Golf (working with close friend Tom Powers).

In 2007, Watson and Carolinas Golf Group signed a contract to oversee the construction and manage the Lonnie Poole Golf Course at NC State University on the school's Centennial Campus, an Arnold Palmer design. The course has opened to rave reviews and has become the centerpiece of a unique $16 million golf complex.

Some Golf Career Highlights include; Defeated Sam Snead in a playoff to win the 1974 National Club Professional Championship, Repeated as Champion of the same event in 1975, Winner of the 1969 NC Open Championship, 1974 and 1975 Carolinas PGA Championship, Player of the Year in the Carolinas 1976, Member of the 1975 and 1976 PGA Cup Team, Member of 7 Halls of Fame including the NC Sports Hall of Fame, Voted one of the 10 most influential people in the NC golf industry, and a 50 Year Member of the PGA of America.

He is also survived by two children: Chip, husband of Julie (Mancuso) Watson, of Cary, North Carolina and Molly (Watson), wife of Gregory "Jamey" Maack, of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania.

Roger was affectionately known as Pop to five grandchildren and one great-grandson: McKinley (Watson), wife of Drew Miller, of Aurora, Illinois, parents to Brooks Miller; Chandler Brooke Watson, of Cary, North Carolina; Watson Gregory, husband of Kyndall (Cowart) Maack, of Brentwood, Tennessee; Lucy Frances Maack, of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania; and Connor Michael Crenshaw, of Cary, North Carolina.

Other survivors include two siblings: Donna (Watson), wife of the late Hershal Turner, of Jamestown, North Carolina; and Richard, husband of Debbie (Carpenter) Watson, Trinity, North Carolina.

He was predeceased by a brother, Mitchell Preston Watson (1939 - 2022).

Celebration of Life services will be scheduled for a later date at Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church, in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and at Wildwood Green Golf Club, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made in memory of Mr. Roger C. Watson to Mayo Clinic for Kidney Transplant Patient Care Fund at Mayo Clinic in Florida. Donations can be made by phone, online or by mail:

Phone: Please call 1-855-852-8129 to talk with a team member who can facilitate a secure gift over the telephone.

Online: Please visit https://philanthropy.mayoclinic.org/donatemc and complete the online form. Under "Tribute Information" please indicate the gift is in memory of Mr. Roger C. Watson.

Mail: Checks can be written directly to Mayo Clinic to the address below. In the memo line of the check or in a separate note included in the mailing please indicate that the donation is in memory of Mr. Roger C. Watson.

Mayo Clinic, Department of Development , 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905.

Stitzel Family Funeral Homes & Crematory, Inc., Laureldale, PA is in charge of arrangements.

For online condolences, visit www.StitzelFamilyFuneralHomes.com.