| .Carolina Golf News Line |  |
Chip King Elected to Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame |
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Greensboro, NC (September 3, 2014) – The Carolinas PGA Section’s Hall of Fame is an exclusive group of the finest PGA Professionals and other leaders in golf who have called the Carolinas home. The PGA of America lists 37 characteristics of PGA Professionals including being a motivator, community leader, business manager, accomplished player, trained instructor, counselor, and friend. The Section’s Hall of Fame members have displayed these traits such as these over the span of their lives and careers to the benefit of their community and the game of golf at large. These individuals have positively impacted countless individuals through professional and personal relationships. Chip King, the PGA Director of Golf at Grandfather Mountain Golf & Country Club in Linville, NC will be the 45th member of the CPGA Hall of Fame.
CPGA President Chad Newton, PGA, states, “Chip King is the quintessential PGA Professional in my eyes. He is the perfect example of what all CPGA Members should strive to emulate. I personally congratulate my good friend along with his entire family and support group. The CPGA is extremely fortunate to have a Golf Professional of Chip’s caliber as part of our membership, and he is a welcome addition to our Hall of Fame. I look forward to sharing the special night of induction with Chip in February.”
King could not have had better mentors in the golf industry. He began his professional career under Buck Adams, PGA at the Country Club of North Carolina. King later took the positions of Head Professional, Director of Golf, and General Manager at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club / Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club under Peggy Kirk Bell. Both Adams and Kirk Bell are members of the CPGA Hall of Fame having been elected in 1996 and 2013 respectively. King credits both individuals as being highly influential in molding him both as a person and a PGA Professional.
Upon being informed of the CPGA Hall of Fame Committee’s decision, King offered, “What a tremendous honor to be elected to the CPGA Hall of Fame. When President Newton called to congratulate me, I immediately thought of those who have been important to me in my career. Buck Adams who gave a young man from Canada an opportunity…Peggy Kirk Bell and her family who taught me so much during my time at Mid Pines and Pine Needles…and the members at Grandfather who have been so supportive since I arrived here 8 years ago. I also thought of my family who did without me a lot of the time. They sacrificed so I could do what I love to do. I am grateful and humbled and look forward to sharing this special honor with them.”
This distinction is not the first of King’s distinguished career. He has been honored as the 2001 CPGA and 2002 PGA of America Resort Merchandiser of the Year and the recipient of the 1991 CPGA Professional of the Year award, the 1999 and ‘94 CPGA Bill Strausbaugh Awards (given for mentoring fellow PGA Professionals), and the 1996 and ‘89 CPGA Horton Smith Awards (given for commitment to PGA Professional education).
King has served the Section in the positions of Board of Directors Member (1988-94), Secretary (1994-95), Vice President (1996-97), President (1998-99), and Honorary President (2000-01). He has also volunteered his time on various committees. On the national level, he sat on the PGA President’s Council and Education Committee. For the Section, he assisted or led the CPGA Hall of Fame Committee, Constitution Committee, Education Committee, Hall of Fame Committee, Membership Committee, Assistants’ Committee, and Junior Golf Committee.
All of his accolades and accomplishments are noteworthy. However, King takes just as much pride in his history of mentoring and training the Golf Professionals of tomorrow. He has assisted dozens of interns land full time employment in the golf industry following graduation and has seen 12 (and counting) Assistant Professionals find their next step as Head Professionals. Such devotion to others earned King the enduring respect of countless employees, club members, and various other contacts. King recalls his former coworkers, “Of course, there are all of the young men and women who have worked alongside me through these 36 years as a Golf Professional in the Carolinas. They were the ones that did all the hard work. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
King will be inducted into the CPGA Hall of Fame on Sunday, February 22, 2015 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex Special Events Center. This ceremony will take place during the Club Car CPGA Awards & Honors Dinner where the Section annually celebrates the accomplishments of outstanding CPGA Professionals.
About the Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame The Carolinas PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame was established to enshrine PGA Professionals and other leaders in golf and recognize their significant, enduring, accomplishments and contributions to the game and the Association, which are judged to be of historical significance. The nominations are reviewed by the selection committee that is comprised of three board members, the prior class of Hall of Fame inductees, two at-large appointments by the CPGA Section President, two past CPGA Presidents, and media representatives from North and South Carolina. The candidates must appear on two-thirds of all ballots cast to be selected into the Hall of Fame. Other Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame members include: 2013 – Peggy Kirk Bell 2012 – Grover Bullin 2011 – John Derr 2010 – Mike Harmon 2009 – Jim Westbrook 2008 – Terry Florence 2007 – Bob Boyd and Rod Myers 2002 – Bill Clemmer and Will Mann 2001 – Hamp Auld and Gene Hamm 2000 – D. Sherrill Austin and Norman Flynn 1999 – Henry Poe and Bruce Sudderth 1998 – Jim Ferree and Don Padgett 1997 – Joe Davis and Roger Watson 1996 – Buck Adams and E. Harvie Ward 1995 – Gary Schaal and Luke Veasey 1994 – Tommy Card, Joe Cheves, and Palmer Maples 1993 – Ed Bullock, Charles Farlow, Al Goodrich, Melvin Hemphill, and Randy Glover 1992 – Aubrey Apple, Sr. 1991 – Joe Ellis Maples 1985 – Grant Bennett, J. Fairley Clark, and Orville White 1984 – Jimmy D’Angelo 1983 – Purvis Ferree and Clayton Heafner 1982 – Johnny Palmer 1981 – Dugan Aycock, Henry Picard, and Donald Ross
About the Carolinas PGA Section
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