Under Wallace McDowell’ s watch, the VSGA launched both the VIP Golf Card and One-Day programs.
SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
GIB PALMER Midlothian, president of the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame
VINNY GILES Richmond, former U. S. Amateur champion, 2016 Hall inductee
MEG GILMER Charlottesville, former president of the VSGA women’ s division
DAVID KING Potomac Falls, former VSGA Senior Amateur champion
PHOTO CREDIT HERE VSGA ARCHIVES( 2)/ USGA / ASSOCIATED PRESS
when I was 13, she started taking me to play in tournaments.”
Over the years, Mrs. Joyce hasn’ t often seen her son play.
“ For some reason,” Decker said,“ I can’ t have my mother out there watching me. If she’ s out there, I get nervous. Same with my wife. I want to do good for them, maybe too much.”
McDowell, who died in 2010 at age 89, was a retired banker who pioneered the
VSGA’ s growth from a loose association of volunteers to a full-service professional organization. McDowell literally ran the VSGA out of the trunk of his car. He served as the essential link between the once all-volunteer VSGA to the organization that now has 12 full-time employees, a marketing team, two interns and six independent contractors and offers services to men, women and juniors across the Commonwealth.
Snead, a Hot Springs resident and the 76-year-old nephew of 2016 VGHF honoree Sam Snead, won eight times on the PGA Tour and four times on what is now the PGA Tour Champions, including a major championship, the 1995 Ford Senior Players Championship, where he bested Jack Nicklaus in a playoff. He said he received some tips from Uncle Sam early in his pro career, but the person he recalls as most influential was the recently-deceased Paul Siple.
“ He was the coach, and later principal, of just about everything … football, basketball, baseball … at our high school, Valley High or Bath County High,” Snead said.
“ All of us respected him so much. If he pointed at a tree over there and said for you to run into it head first, we’ d have run into the tree without asking any questions as to why.”
In addition to Sam Snead, the first class of the VGHF was comprised of Vinny Giles, Chandler Harper, volunteer rules official
“ All of us respected him so much. If he pointed at a tree over there and said for you to run into it head first, we’ d have run into the tree without asking any questions as to why.”
Clyde Luther, Curtis Strange and Lanny Wadkins. For the 2017 class, the Selection Committee followed previously-established procedure which requires that, for election, nominees for the Hall must be on the final ballot of at least seven of the nine voting members of the Committee.
“ The challenge facing the committee,” VGHF president Gib Palmer said,“ is the large number of candidates worthy of consideration for induction in any given year. We’ re fortunate to have so many distinguished players and contributors and we hope that election to the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame is meaningful and prestigious every year. The class of 2017 inductees made significant contributions to golf in Virginia, and we’ re pleased to recognize them.”
The Hall is a virtual entity and may be accessed at VirginiaGolfHallofFame. com. In the fall of 2016, the Internal Revenue Service certified the Hall as a 501( c)( 3) non-profit organization.
BOODIE MCGURN Richmond, former VSGA Women’ s Amateur champion
PAUL MICHAELIAN Virginia Beach, former MAPGA president
DAVID PARTRIDGE Manakin-Sabot, former VSGA Men’ s Amateur champion
BILL MILLSAPS Richmond, retired executive editor, Richmond Times-Dispatch
DON RYDER Hot Springs, retired Director of Golf, Omni Homestead
NON-VOTING ADVISORS TO THE COMMITTEE
JAMIE CONKLING executive director, VSGA
COL. DICK JOHNS retired executive director, MAPGA
MATT SMILEY director of rules and competitions, VSGA
vsga. org V IRGINIA G OLFER 19