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