An Interview with Paul Romano

An Interview with 2026 Callaghan Award winner Paul Romano

Volunteers are a critical component of the Pennsylvania Golf Association (PAGA). Every aspect of the organization’s ability to provide 24 quality state championship and multiple qualifying events each season involves a significant amount of time, effort and passion from hundreds of individuals. Not many have exemplified that commitment more than the 2026 winner of the James J. Callaghan Gold Star Award winner Paul Romano of Elizabethtown.

The award, created in in honor of the past PAGA president, is designed to recognize those individuals for distinguished service and volunteerism to golf in Pennsylvania and highlights their immense dedication to PAGA. Romano joins just three prior recipients of the award including the honor’s namesake, James W. Callaghan, Gene Olinger and James Parsons. Romano was recognized by the organization’s current President Jeff Ranck at the Executive Committee’s Spring meeting in April.

An attorney and business consultant professional focused on mergers and acquisitions, Romano is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business and Dickinson School of Law Background/Education/Professional Career. As a PAGA volunteer for more than 20 years, he is also a past president and long-time executive committee member. He maintains ‘expert status’ as a USGA rules official and assists in championship course setup.

The following is a conversation with Romano about his time with Pa. Golf:

Can you tell us about any specific events or experiences that influenced your decision to become a volunteer and ultimately a USGA certified rules official?

“Dr. Pete Richter was my mentor. He is the person you should be interviewing. Unfortunately, he passed away in October of 2025. Anyway, I was playing golf with Pete and his friend Tink at Hershey Country Club in the summer of 1998. I had an unplayable lie and gave myself the correct drop and it led to the three of us discussing the various rules. Pete said he was looking for someone to help him with qualifiers and eventually take his place. He said if I got a good score on the rules test, he would work with me. Pete had hundreds of stories and situations from his time as an official. For example, he was the official with Payne Stewart’s group at The Olympic Club on Saturday at the 1998 U.S. Open round when Stewart rolled his putt up to the hole and then it rolled 30 feet back to his feet. He was friends with so many people, including with Arnie Palmer.”

So, that led to you taking the USGA rules test and becoming certified?

“I studied for that first test like it was the Bar Exam and went to Chicago to take the test. I scored 100 and Pete said he did not know anyone who ever got 100 the first time they took the test and the rest, as they say, is history. He sponsored me for the Pennsylvania Golf Association and I joined the Committee in 2005. Later I took his place on the USGA Junior Amateur Championship Committee.”

Can you elaborate on the process of testing and continuing education to become a rule official?

“The USGA gives classes and a new test every year. To stay qualified to officiate at the various levels you must achieve a targeted test score in any four-year time frame. I take the test every two years. I get the materials and spend about 40 – 50 hours studying them and do about 300 practice questions to prepare for the class and the test. My lifetime average is ~98 but my quest for the 2^nd perfect score has been Kafkaesque – I have never repeated…. a few 99s but no more 100s.” (Note: you must look up ‘Kafkaesque’ yourself!)

Golf’s self-governing philosophy is unique in sports. Briefly, talk about how you want to handle things when you are out working on the course?

“Here’s where I follow the principle that Dr. Richter espoused which is ‘be a forest ranger not a policeman.’ The great majority of the time the rules help the player and work to his or her advantage. My mind set is to approach the player and ask if they would like to hear

their options. The idea is to make sure he or she doesn’t make things worse if the situation is even a breach of the rules to start. Clearly, if there is a penalty then you must make a ruling, which is usually is straight-forward.”

 “Often, if you are attentive, you can prevent the major catastrophes that make the news or end up on social media. But my #1 piece of advice to all the players who play the game: If you are unsure of what to do – DO NOT pick up or touch the ball. Wait for an official. Or, if you are playing stroke play, a rule allows you to play a second ball – DO NOT pick up the original ball.”

What does a typical day on the course look like?

“For a Pa. Golf event the day starts early. I usually help the official-in-charge set the tee markers and check the hole locations. The golf course has been set up in advance and the notice to players and local rules are already drafted so it is an active, but calm, time of the day. You are usually by yourself enjoying the ride around the golf course. Once play begins I usually rove a few of the holes checking the pace of play but eventually settle in to a “busy” area and to try to stay ahead of any issues.”  

“Our goal is to set up the golf course so the players playing well can score and mark it clearly so that there are no ambiguous situations and or difficult rulings. The perfect day? All tee markers and hole location are confirmed 15 minutes before first tee time; leisurely rove the course until mid-morning, then visit the halfway house for a mid-morning hot dog…..love the halfway houses at Valley Brook, Butler, Hershey, Colonial and Moselem Springs! I always try to fit a pre-lunch cigar in while finishing the morning wave.” 

“Then head to the clubhouse for lunch and back on the course to keep things moving. I particularly like to watch the players on the short par 3s and drivable par 4s when I can and it usually involves a second cigar. Greeting the players and take any course feedback they have is part of it and watch for slow groups, any rulings, and hope for no weather delays. A good and long day on the course is usually capped with a drink on the club veranda admiring some of the best courses in the state.”

Do any humorous situations you have experienced come to mind?

We had a Pa. Open Qualifier at Colonial Country Club several years ago with PAGA rules ‘legend’ Dr. Joe Green. A player shot 43 on the front nine so he had no chance of making the cut. He hits it in a terrible spot behind #13 green on the hill and several of us end up coming to the hole to help find the ball which we find barely within the time limit. From there he takes a swing and whiffs and now cannot get extricated without taking multiple drops, the whole time disputing the ruling with all of us. After about a minute of back and forth, Dr. Green tossed the player a tee and said, ‘tee it up anywhere you would like and try to not hold up play the rest of the day.’ Then, Dr. Green jumped in his cart and left.”

Certainly, after these many years as an official there have been challenging rulings. Have you misinterpreted a rule or needed assistance from other officials?

“I have been very fortunate not to have had too many rulings that caused an issue. As Dr. Richter said if you have not made a mistake, you are not making any rulings. But it is very hard to make an error at these tournaments provided you stay humble and use your radio.” 

“If you follow the process of always calling in the ruling and confirming it with the rover or official in charge you can avoid mistakes. The key is just to stay humble and call in the situation even if it is obvious. What’s interesting is that the experts always call in and discuss and double check something that they are certain about because they respect this process.”

 “During my time with Pa. Golf we have always had an ‘all-star’ lineup of rules officials. For example in the four-year period from 2005 to 2009 we had four committee members who had active perfect scores of 100: David Decker, Dr. Joe Green, Dr. Pete Richter and me. When Jim Parsons joined the committee, he also had a 100 qualified score.”

Do you have thoughts you would like to share on golf equipment, the golf ball or course set up?

“I do not have an issue with equipment because the game is hard. The easier we make it for the non-expert, the better. As for all the great venues becoming obsolete, that is a’ tempest in a teapot’ and only a worry for the ‘blue blazer’ crowd that is fixated on ‘par’ as a meaningful metric. Personally, I only care that the course plays the same for all competitors. The best player using his skills wins and all others had a fair chance. Let these good players shoot good scores. Why shouldn’t they? They are savants and wildly talented and so what if they navigate Merion or Oakmont or Cypress Point in scores that were unheard of 50 years ago. We drive cars, fly planes, and perform surgery in ways that were unheard of 50 years ago too.” 

“As for Pa. Golf events, I want our players to play well and score good. I oppose tricking up the course or stretching it to its maximum yardage to protect par, that is boring. Everyone has access to the same equipment and the best players win – “play on lads.””

Any final thoughts about being a Rules official or things you would miss after 20+ years with Pa. Golf?

“When I joined Pa. Golf back in 2005, Pete Richter and John Trach took both my wife and me under their wing, they socialized with us, and we became friends. Every year the six of us would go to the Progress Grill for dinner and, of course, the guys would be in deep discussion determining things like an “insect like object” (remember a spider is an arachnid not an insect) that adheres to the ball could be removed by touching it or waiving at it, while our wives sat and listened to our arcane discourse.”

 “When I visited Pete throughout the Fall of 2025 before he passed away, we would talk about unusual rules situation and all the rule changes, and we both observed, and only half-jokingly, that being a Rules of Golf expert is a sign that you could have done something useful for the world but decided to do something useless. But then we would reminisce about all the friends and people we met and decided that there were not many better ways to meet nice people. I will miss Pete Richter.”