End of the Line :: Salishan Golf Links Handicap Blog

Captain Phil R Hawkins (June 24, 1929 - August 7, 2025)

Captain, a Salishan Golf Links member since 1991, has reached the end of the line. The cause of death was congestive heart failure. Captain would have agreed with the diagnosis, but would have preferred the medical examiner write "he couldn't golf" on the death certificate. Since becoming his power of attorney (and, now, his executor), we have had many conversations about the end of his life. Captain had two wishes: if he couldn't golf, he'd rather die, and to die at home.

End of the line–a different meaning. It's where Captain would stand as the men's group lined up according to their handicap index to form teams. Because we build teams of fours and threes, oftentimes, Captain would be left over, and he would have his pick of which team he'd like to be on. And with a handicap index of 28.6, every team wanted him because he would get two strokes on ten of the most challenging holes. If he had a good round, it was likely his team would win the most Stableford points.

Captain has posted 910 rounds since June 28, 2008, according to the GHIN database. Unfortunately, the database's range doesn't go back to when he joined Salishan Golf Links. He ranks fourteenth in the total number of rounds played, all at Salishan Golf Links. Captain's best rounds were played on April 19, 2010, and October 19, 2011, when he shot 79 from the copper tees.

A fond memory of mine and a testament to Captain's love for golf occurred on August 21, 2017. It's one of those days you remember where you were when it happened, like JFK's assassination or 9/11, especially if you resided in the vicinity of Gleneden Beach. A total solar eclipse was expected to occur around 10:20 a.m. The path of totality was close to Fogerty Creek, where residents had been warned for weeks to prepare by stocking up on gas, money, food, and toilet paper, as "experts" predicted that the entire Portland metro area and their pets would gather there. They didn't. Cathy and I had been invited to a "watch party," and we drove south on Hwy 101 to enter the spit-side of Salishan at 8:30 a.m., the time the men's group tees off three times a week. There on hole #1 stood Captain leaning on his driver, ball teed up, and ready to play golf. No one else had come to play. The others had decided to watch the eclipse on TV somewhere. I asked him later why he hadn't stayed home to watch it on TV, and he replied, "I'd rather golf. I've seen enough solar eclipses in my life."

Captain taught me two things about golf in 2017. The first was when I was in the left greenside bunker on 17 (that year, there was an extra left fairway bunker), and he told me not to ground my club. I wasn't doing it on purpose; I just didn't know the rule. The second was that I was standing behind him, in line with the teed-up ball and his target. He looked back at me and waved me away with his cigarette-stained, gloved hand.

Captain was born in Olathe, Kansas, in 1929. He was one of two sons of Phillip Roswell and Mildred Lane Hawkins. His father wanted to name Captain Phillip Roswell Hawkins, Jr., but Mildred didn't. They compromised and named him Phil R Hawkins—no period after the letter R.

Captain had a connection to the Civil War – his grandfather, John Wesley Hawkins, enlisted in the Civil War at the age of sixteen and served for three years. He was shot in the right thigh and was taken prisoner on the battlefield. Thirteen days later, he was involved in a prisoner exchange and was admitted to a hospital. He died four months before Captain was born.

Captain wasn't fighting in a war at sixteen like his grandfather. Instead, he was earning $0.10 an hour digging graves. Fortunately for him, he only had to go to a depth of four feet. Unfortunately, there could be four feet or more of snow covering the frozen ground in Olathe.

Captain of the USS Iwo Jima LPH-2

Captain joined the Navy in 1951 as a Naval Aviation Cadet and logged over 6,000 flight hours, equivalent to 250 days as a pilot. In September 1974, he became the captain of the USS Juneau. Two years later, in July 1976, he took command of the USS Iwo Jima. The USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2) was the lead ship of her class of amphibious assault ships, specifically designed to carry and launch Marine helicopters for troop transport and support of Marine amphibious operations. Commissioned in 1961, the ship played a significant role in various naval operations. It was involved in notable events, including nuclear testing, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the recovery of the Apollo 13 astronauts.

As captain, he once commanded the 600-foot USS Iwo Jima through practice maneuvers and ocean storms, navigating 30-foot rogue waves. However, in his final days, his strength waned to the point where he could barely move his walker from the kitchen table to his bed. Instead of complaining about his condition, he would often ask if there was anything he could do for me and thanked me every time I left him.

Captain understood he was nearing the end of his life and chose to indulge in a diet of Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies and Gatorade. The hospice nurse approved his decision. Between bites of a cookie, he asked me, "I wonder how long a person can live on just these cookies?" I replied, "I'll let you know if we end up in the same place." He smiled.

In his final days, he peacefully rested in his own bed, watching the Golf Channel, and his two wishes were fulfilled, just as he deserved. Captain had a final wish: no memorial service, which he included in his last letter of instruction. Captain is three for three with his last wishes. However, his friends can still gather for a "Story Time." The date for this gathering will be determined at a later time.

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The lead photo, taken on June 17th, shows granddaughter Izzy after giving Captain some cookies upon his return from the hospital; this explains his gown. From now on, he would be in hospice care for 51 days.

The Salishan Golf Links Handicap Committee would like to thank Salishan Golf Links for purchasing the domain name. When I started this website years ago, it was free, but free only allows a certain amount of data. I was running out of space. SGL was very generous and upgraded the previous domain name to this one. More room and no more banner at the bottom.