Shafter man showing his love for tennis on the Coast

Ralph Goehring, whose family roots go back in Shafter for generations, has been enjoying a "love" affair with tennis for decades.

Goehring is owner of the Templeton Tennis Ranch, a facility that is home to the only professional tennis tournament in Central California.

The fifth edition of the Central Coast Tennis Classic is held annually in a small northern San Luis Obispo County town, Templeton, an unlikely spot for professional tennis. Concentrating in business, Goehring decided not to go into the family farming business. According to Goehring, his and his wife's love for tennis is where the dream started. As the Templeton Tennis Ranch was being built about 10 years ago, Ralph and Judy were both battling cancer. Ralph was diagnosed with colon cancer, and Judy had breast cancer. They both beat their diseases initially, but Judy fell victim to the return of a very aggressive cancer and passed away in 2018.

"My late wife Judy and I both love tennis," said Goehring describing how the idea for the ranch came about. "Our contractor who remodeled our house in Cayucos lived in Templeton and already owned this property and had already started the permitting. He was looking for a partner, and so I bought in. Templeton is a small community, but we love tennis and thought this would be a great addition to the community overall. To really bring tennis into this area because there isn't a lot up here."

Just off the Highway 101 Main Street exit 5 miles south of Paso Robles, a right turn on Championship Lane will lead you to the tennis oasis in this rural part of Central California.

The 67-year-old Goehring said the club's first director had played on the pro circuit and that there really wasn't another tournament or even stadium court for a hundred miles. "I really knew very little about pro tennis, but I said, 'Let's give it a shot,' " Goehring said. "Let's just do it and if we're going to do it, let's go big and do it right.

"We didn't really know what we were getting into."

The event lost two years of momentum because of covid, but Goehring said it was too hard to just give it up, and the event has thrived the past two years, with WTA world-ranked No. 75 Taylor Townsend winning the singles title last September.

"Having a pro circuit event puts us on the map," said Goehring, who lives in Bakersfield and also has a home in Cayucos. "A lot of these players have never been to California, and if they have been it's to San Diego or San Francisco, and never to the Central Coast. So, it's a good kind of outreach to teach people about the more rural side of California."

A graduate of University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business, Goehring was formerly the senior vice president and chief accounting officer of Treasurer Global Clean Energy Holdings, whose main business is retooling petroleum refineries for renewable diesel.

Currently working as a consultant has given Goehring more time to focus on his club, but day-to-day duties fall under General Manager and President Chris Fouquet. The facility was honored last year by the USTA as an outstanding facility in the small-sized private club category.

"We got to fly back to New York and accept our award and attend the opening day of the US Open," Goehring said. "We were not expecting to win the award at all. But, it was such an honor and is a testament to the dedication and the passion for the community that we have succeeded like we have."