Jim Topliff Award winner Bill McClearn relishes rules officiating — whether working a junior tournament, the Colorado Open or anything in between
By Gary Baines – 11/30/2025
Many golf rules officials in Colorado work tournaments at a variety of levels. One week it might be a junior event where the competitors don’t always have a firm grasp of all the Rules of Golf. Another week, it might be a tournament that attracts accomplished tour-level players.
It’s all part of the job — which often, in reality, is volunteer work.
In any case, Bill McClearn is well aware of this, having officiated at junior events and anything up to and including the Inspirato Colorado Open championships.
In fact, this year at the Colorado Senior Open in late August, he had a ruling that involved a player who has won three times on the PGA Tour, and once each on PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour. That would be Colorado resident Gary Hallberg, who at age 67 and a tour player for decades has pretty much seen it all on the golf course.
So at a very wet Colorado Senior Open at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Hallberg called over a rules official who happened to be McClearn.
“For some reason, the rule on temporary water can be kind of a tough one, if you will, as we saw with with Sam Burns and (rules official) Christie Austin in the U.S. Open this year,” McClearn said. “And at the Colorado Senior Open, Gary Hallberg requested a ruling for temporary water.
“I went over and I asked him to take his stance that he was going to if he was going to play that shot. And I explained to Gary that when he took his stance that water needed to come up and stay up on his shoes in order for him to get free relief from temporary water. And Gary, who’s in great shape, he looks at me and said, ‘I need 15 more pounds.’
“And I said, ‘If I could, I would give you 15 of mine in a heartbeat.’”
The bottom line is Hallberg was not granted relief in that case. And he didn’t squawk about the ruling.
“No, he’s such a gentleman. He’s a wonderful guy and obviously a great golfer and a great competitor,” McClearn said. “And he accepted the ruling.”
For a rules official, it’s all in a day’s work, whether interacting with a novice or a veteran tour player.
McClearn (right) receiving the Jim Topliff Award last weekend from CGA executive director Ed Mate.
And, for the way he’s handled many such situations over the 8-10 years, McClearn was recently presented the Jim Topliff Award, which has been given out annually since 1995 to a volunteer rules official who “demonstrates dedication, passion and service to the game of golf through officiating.” It typically goes to an official who works an extensive schedule and makes a particularly positive impression while conducting his or her duties.
The honor is named for Jim Topliff, a longtime tournament director for the CGA who passed away in 2007.
Not surprisingly, the winners of the Topliff Award over the 30 years are sort of a who’s who of prominent golf rules officials in Colorado during that period.
“If you look at the list of people who have received this award, they’re all outstanding officials,” said McClearn, a resident of Highlands Ranch. “And it’s been my good fortune to have been mentored by (many) of them, learn from them and become friends with them. They’re a great group. The competitive golfers in Colorado are extremely fortunate that those guys and women are out there during tournaments because they’re all very good. And most of them are nationally known and have officiated at events nationwide.
“So, what an honor (this is). And to be included in that club is very, very special.”
McClearn said he started in rules officiating 8-10 years ago, and in 2023 he achieved advanced rules status. He estimates he devoted 20-25 days this year to officiating. That includes events such as the Colorado Open, Colorado Senior Open, CGA qualifiers, Colorado PGA tournaments and the CGA State Junior.
Out of all those, what are his favorites?
“All three of the Colorado Opens are delightful, starting with, the tournament director (Julie Bryant) and all her colleagues,” McClearn said. “Those all (include) top-tier competitors, top-tier officials. That’s fun. Junior events are fun because you get more teaching moments. I view that as a as a great opportunity to help young folks learn a little bit more about the game and the rules.”
McClearn (left) tending to his craft.
Though he wasn’t born in Colorado, McClearn has certainly spent most of his 72 years in the state — with one notable exception being the 2 1/2 years he spent in the Peace Corps after college. He went to Thomas Jefferson for six years as a middle schooler and in high school. He owns a small mortgage company nowadays, but for the majority of his career he was involved in the sales and marketing side of high-tech business, including at IBM and Bell Communications Research. Golf-wise, he’s been a member at Meridian Golf Club for 38 years.
“I’ve always had an interest in the rules,” McClearn said. “I’ve got three sons, all of whom are very good golfers, and Hugh played competitively in high school. And so that kind of drew me into the rules. And I caddied for him in some of the events he went to. So I was interested in the rules. And No. 2, it’s a great way to give back to the game if you like the game, which I obviously do.”
The rules are “kind of the foundation of the game,” he added. “We’re one of the few sports where we police ourselves. That attracts the level of integrity and honesty and playing by the rules. I come from a long line of attorneys. And I don’t want to equate it exactly with the law, but the idea of playing with integrity and playing by the rules appeals to me as opposed to other other sports where you try to get away with things.”
The Jim Topliff Award plaque includes many prominent Colorado rules officials.
McClearn not only officiates at some CGA events, he tees it up in association championships once in a while. For instance, this year he did so in the Masters Division of the CGA Super Senior Amateur.
“I can assure you that that trophy is in zero danger of having my name etched on it,” he said with a laugh. “I mostly I enjoy the competition and the camaraderie with the guys that most of the rest of the summer I kind of help them with the rules. And I think it’s also good for me at least to maintain a competitor’s perspective when you have interactions with rules. So I try to keep that in mind as I interact with players when I’m wearing my rules officials hat.”
One of those competitors McClearn has interacted with is former U.S. Senator Mark Udall, who plays a fair amount of tournament golf in Colorado.
“One of the benefits of being a rules officials is you meet so many nice guys,” McClearn said. “One of the people that I’ve met and I’ve wound up playing with several times a year with is Senator Udall. And Mark encourages me. He gives me a list of (possible senior events to enter). And we share the same birthday (July 18), so we’ve got that going for us.”
When he’s not on the golf course — officiating or playing — McClearn enjoys traveling, among other things. He and his wife went on a long trip through the Mediterranean Sea this year, and plan to visit Peru in 2026.
But whether he’s working a tournament in Colorado or exploring Machu Picchu, you can bet McClearn will be playing by the rules.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com