Greg Paul will finally have more time to play golf.

Considering the 45-year-old has become a Whatcom County golf icon in the past 15 years, that might seem a strange statement.

Today, though, is the first day he hasn’t been involved with the business or instructional side of golf in more than a quarter century.

Since 1992, Paul has served as head pro at Sudden Valley Golf Club, where he also has owned the merchandising business. Jeff McMahon, his top assistant for the past nine years, will succeed him.

Now he’s just Greg Paul, golf lover and a Realtor with Remax. He is well known in Sudden Valley as “The Lot Guy,” since he specializes in lots.

Paul has served and interacted with thousands of local golfers, along with many who come from King County and British Columbia to play the semi-public course once or twice a year for variety.

It’s likely that no one else knows Sudden Valley — both its residents and its land — better than Paul. He may not know literally every inch of Sudden Valley, but he’s close.

“I’ve been blessed to make a living doing what I love, in a great, great place,” he said. “It’s been wonderful. But it’s time to do other things.

“A lot of people think I’m retiring, but I’m not retiring. I’m just opening up opportunities for more freedoms.”

Paul and his wife, Marcie, are looking forward to devoting more time to the activities of their sports-oriented sons, Brandon, 14, and Taylor, 12, and their basketball-loving daughter, Jennifer, Taylor’s twin.

And to think when the Paul was first exposed to golf, he hated it.

“I really did,” he said with a laugh. “I got forced to play by my father (Jim Paul) while I was growing up in Aberdeen. He really loved golf and was a six-time club champion at Grays Harbor Country Club — a big fish in a small pond.

“But I thought golf was just too hard. I just wanted to use a 7-iron, and Dad made me use all the proper clubs. I didn’t have any passion for the game. It was just something I had to do.”

Ironic, isn’t it, for a guy who has spent more than half his life teaching how easy the game can be to enjoy.

His first golf trophy, won when he was 13, changed everything.

“It was in a junior tournament, and our family went on a trip right after that,” he said. “I had to leave that trophy behind, but that was all I thought about. That was a huge turning point in my life.”

At Aberdeen High, he was good enough to play No. 1 or No. 2 on the golf team all four years. He played one year at Western Washington University on the reserve squad, but he wasn’t able to crack the varsity.

What he turned out to be more than good enough for, however, was the business and instructional side of golf. He had found a way to make a good living in the game he had long since learned to love.

“It was definitely a big break when Ron Hass hired me as an assistant pro at Sudden Valley when two openings developed in 1983,” he said. “I had worked there since 1981. It took me until 1987 to earn my degree in business management at Western, since I got so involved in golf. I’m grateful that Marcie and Ron pretty much forced me to finish college.”

When Hass opened Avalon Golf Links in Burlington in spring 1991, Paul had shown so much initiative and knowledge that he became the first head pro. He returned to Sudden Valley in that capacity late in 1992, including ownership of the merchandise concession when he was only 30 years old.

“I just threw my name in with 77 others and got the job. It was a huge break,” he said. “I have always loved the golf environment, the pro shop, the business side, and I know I’ll miss it all. I’ll miss the relationships.”

The Sudden Valley course is so well established that it has 400 members and some 30,000 rounds a year are played there.

“We’re lucky to be situated between Seattle and Vancouver,” said Paul, who 10 years ago was named Pacific Northwest Golf Merchandiser of the Year in the resort class.

Paul strongly feels any golf pro is in “the people business.”

“We try to create comfort. When you play at Sudden Valley, we want you to be comfortable,” he said. “We realize when you come in the door that you’re excited and it’s a place you want to be. We typically see people at their best.”

Paul is proud of the improvements at Sudden Valley, including drainage on the No. 2 and No. 15 holes, turning them from the wettest fairways to the driest. He also led improvements in the practice facilities and driving range.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the course and the Sudden Valley community,” he said. “The business of golf looks glamorous on the outside, but the reality is that you’re a servant. I always looked at myself as the lead servant.”