She stepped into the limelight last year, becoming the first woman to chair a U.S. Open Championship.
The 2005 Open exceeded its lofty goal of topping the 1999 edition, the first one ever played at Pinehurst.
The Pilot named Kocher its 2005 Newsmaker of the Year.
Now, after recovering from the stress and pressure of staging an Open, Kocher has reached a determination that she is ready to retire.
She will step down July 1 after 22 years with Pinehurst Resort.
"I have come to a point in my life when I want to spend more time with my family and pursue other interests," said Kocher, whose daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter live in Florida. "I have had a wonderful career with ClubCorp and at Pinehurst, but it's time now for me to do the things that I have never had time for in the past."
Kocher said the timing of her decision has nothing to do with the fact that ClubCorp, the parent company of the resort, is for sale -- though any deal would exclude Pinehurst. The Dedman family, which owns ClubCorp, has said it will acquire sole ownership of Pinehurst.
"I think it is great what Bob (Dedman Jr.) is doing," Kocher said. "It can only be good for Pinehurst. This was strictly a personal decision for me."
Kocher, 62, began her career with ClubCorp more than 30 years ago, when the Dallas-based company purchased Inverrary Country Club in Florida, where Kocher was serving as manager. She came to Pinehurst as an executive vice president in 1984, after ClubCorp purchased the historic resort and announced plans to renovate it and return it to its former grandeur. She also had two brief stints thrown in as interim president.
'Debt of Gratitude'
"We owe Beth an incredible debt of gratitude for her work in helping to return Pinehurst to a leadership role in the world of golf," said Robert Dedman Jr., chairman of the board of directors of ClubCorp. "She has worked tirelessly for more than 22 years at Pinehurst, and her dedication and sense of mission have made all the difference in the rebirth of the resort and country club."
When Kocher and husband Brad arrived at Pinehurst in 1984, the resort and its golf courses, including famed Course No. 2, had fallen into disrepair under the previous owners. Brad Kocher, vice president of golf course maintenance at Pinehurst, set about restoring the golf courses, while Kocher directed the renovations of the Carolina Hotel and the entire resort property.
Those monumental efforts and the millions of dollars ClubCorp spent renovating and polishing its crown jewel culminated in the decision by the United States Golf Association to select Pinehurst to host the 1999 U.S. Open Championship. The resort set a new standard, and the USGA wasted little time tapping Pinehurst for the sequel in 2005.
"Beth's career has spanned the entire period of time involved in the rebirth and now pre-eminence of Pinehurst," said Donald Padgett II, president of Pinehurst. "She was a leader of the first team that began the essential renovations in the early days of the rebirth and continued through as Pinehurst has gained international recognition during the past decade."
Although Pat Corso, her boss for 17 years, is the man whom most people credit as the architect behind the renaissance that brought Pinehurst to the forefront, he credits Kocher with being the one carrying out the plans.
"She was like the rock," Corso said in a December interview.
He became president and CEO of the resort in 1987 after spending a year running the Holly Inn.
"By the time I got there," Corso said, "so much had already been done to improve the place. As we designed our plan, she was the link between what was and what could be. I trusted her fully. She is very intuitive and has a good gut instinct that has served her well. Beth runs full-tilt."
Kocher has taken great pleasure from witnessing and playing a part in all that has been accomplished over the years.
"Coming there, I remember the first time it rained, we had those 20-gallon garbage cans in the lobby," she says. "The butcher fell through a hole in the floor in the kitchen and hit a baker down below. We have really come a long way."
Spate of Controversies
The resort has sparked controversies over the years, and Kocher has usually found herself squarely in the middle of them.
One of her roles has been to deal with unpleasant legal issues, such as the protracted fight over a 1980 consent judgment that regulates annual dues increases for certain members and the bitter battle over protecting the parent company's trademark on the Pinehurst name.
"We couldn't give up our name," Kocher says of the name battle. "It was a tough, unpopular fight. But it will serve the resort long term. To dilute the name would take it away. It would not be as special. We did what we felt was right in defending it."
Reflecting over her 22 years with Pinehurst, Kocher says it is difficult to pick a single highlight that stands above all of the others.
"Every year has been special," she says. "Every year had its own challenges and rewards. But if I had to name one, it would be the 2005 U.S. Open Championship, the first to be chaired by a female. That was very special. It was probably the highlight, the pinnacle of my career."
In addition to her work for Pinehurst, Kocher has been active in the community. She has served on the Village Council Long-Range Planning Committee and the boards of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, Moore County Partners in Progress, Sandhills Children's Center and Habitat for Humanity.
'The Time Is Right'
Kocher says the decision to retire after the 2005 Open was actually made some time ago.
"After the 1999 Open and after the USGA announced that we would host to the 2005 Championship, I told my family that I was going to do '05 and retire," she said. "I just don't have another Open and Am (Pinehurst will host the U.S. Amateur in 2007) in me.
"I just want more of a life. I only have one daughter and one granddaughter. I have no stress in my life now. We have made two trips to Ohio (where Brad's parents live), and I have been to see my granddaughter. I am having a ball."
Her daughter, Laurie Henegar, 41, is an attorney. Laurie and her husband, Johnny, have a 2-year-old daughter, Madeleine.
"There was a time when I couldn't imagine life without work," Kocher says. "I said I would retire when I don't feel like going to work. Everything I have done, I have done 110 percent. I am now at a point where I want to have some fun. I am playing a lot of golf. Brad is not ready yet. I am. We will continue to live in Pinehurst. We love it here.
"I am planning to take a year away, doing what I want to do, then I will get back involving doing some things in the community. I still get up at 6:30 in the morning. I want to see if I can sleep in to 7:30 or 8 o'clock.
"I know that I am leaving the resort in the very capable hands of a talented management group, and I look forward to following their continued success. For me, I am excited about becoming a bigger part of my granddaughter's life as she grows up, traveling and enjoying life. I have had an incredible career. The time is right for me to retire."
David Sinclair can be reached at 693-2462 or by e-mail at dsinclair@thepilot.com.
