Honoring Virginia ’ s Best
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
➤ VSGA Rules of Golf instructor .
➤ VSGA rules official for 43 years , 40 of which included the VSGA Amateur and multiple times at Mid-Amateur , Junior Stroke Play and Senior Amateur .
➤ Served on U . S . Mid-Amateur and U . S . Senior Amateur committees and was a rules official at the U . S . Open ( 10 ), U . S . Amateur ( 13 ) and U . S . Senior Open ( multiple times ).
➤ Head rules officials and responsible for course set-up for the ACC Championship ( 26 years ), NCAA Div . I Regional ( 25 years ) and NCAA Div . I men ’ s championship ( 11 years ). Also worked NCAA Division II and III Championships when run by the USGA .
➤ Portsmouth Sportsman of the Year in 2003 for more than 20 years of volunteer work with the Portsmouth Invitational basketball tournament .
➤ VSGA President ’ s Award recipient in 2004 .
“ They were all good people to work with but probably my favorite was Wallace McDowell because I started out with him , and it was just he and I ,” Hill said . “ He was such a likeable guy , and it was really a pleasure working with him . Working with Richard Smith also was very pleasant .”
Becoming a Hall of Fame inductee “ means I have accomplished the goal to make a contribution to the Virginia State Golf Association , and to make sure that golf was a lot of fun not only for myself but for the other people playing it , and that they always had an opportunity within a competition to play fairly ,” he added .
A MENTOR TO MANY “ I always enjoyed working any tournament with Galen . Regardless of what seemed to be happening , he always remained calm and was very professional in his dealings with the players . He worked tournaments at many different levels and was well respected at each and every level ,” said VSGA board member and rules official Bert Wilson .
GRACE ANNE BRAXTON
According to Rick Jeffrey , president of Special Olympics Virginia , no one who has played in a national or international Special Olympics golf event has come within 30 shots of Grace Anne Braxton . When she participates in USA and World Games events , she is paired with men , plays from the same tees and is still competitive .
“ Sometimes she wins and sometimes she finishes in the top two or three ,” Jeffrey says . “ The guys hit the ball longer but no one hits it straighter than Grace Anne .”
Grace Anne competed in swimming and bowling in her first appearance in the World Games in 1991 . She wasn ’ t a golfer , but when golf was added to the competition , she started from the lowest level and worked her way through the process .
“ I started right after high school . It was a beginner program . Then I went to nine holes and then 18 holes , which I liked doing a lot better than just playing nine holes because nine holes gets kind of boring ,” she says . “ I took my time with each different thing , and I had different pros help me out with my swing . It just took me a while to go from point A to point B to where I ’ m at now .”
She has traveled to China , Greece , Abu Dhabi and Scotland and in the United States . Abu Dhabi and China were her favorite spots . “ It ’ s an honor for me to be the first person with a disability to go into the Hall of Fame with people like Sam Snead and Curtis Strange ,” Grace Anne says .
MAKING HER MARK “ This is incredible news since our program is really about ‘ what ’ s possible ,’ and that is exactly what Grace Anne is .” — Rick Jeffrey , president of Special Olympics Virginia
“ Grace Anne has the most incredible attitude and her love for the game shows with every shot . She ’ s a blast as a partner . It is so much fun to play with her .” — Boodie McGurn , five-time VSGA championship winner .
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
➤ U . S . Disabled Golf Association women ’ s champion ( 2019 , 2021 ).
➤ Three-time Special Olympics World Games medalist ; two-time world champion .
➤ Member of Solheim Diversity Cup team at Gleneagles , Scotland , in 2019 .
➤ Gold medalist at 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in China ; recognized as the top female Special Olympics golfer in the world .
➤ Recipient of 2008 General Assembly joint resolution commending Grace Anne for her accomplishments .
➤ Gold medalist at 2005 Special Olympics National Invitational Championship .
➤ Special Olympics Virginia Athlete of the Year in 1992 .
JACK ISAACS
An issue of Golf Digest published in the late 1960s included a “ Pro Pointer ” by Willow Oaks Country Club head professional , Jack Isaacs . The feature was titled “ Homestyle Improvement ” and had a drawing of Isaacs hitting golf balls into a mattress off a mat in his garage . Isaacs says “ I won the Virginia Open the first time at age 42 and the last of five times in 1952 . I reached the semifinals of the PGA Championship at 45 and qualified for the British Open after I was 50 … You can improve your game without going near the golf course . All it takes is the desire and a do-it-yourself home kit .”
What Isaacs described in the Pro Pointer was exactly what he did when he was 42 and wanted to improve his competitive game . He spent a winter hitting a few hundred balls a day off a mat in his garage “ learning to control the ball with my hands .” He also spent hours putting on a living room rug to develop the touch that made him a stellar putter .
“ Jack was the last good putter of the Isaacs . We did not get that gene unfortunately ,” said extended family member Len Isaacs . Older brother , Steve , agreed .
TEACHER AND PLAYER “ Had he been around during the heyday of golf and just wanted to be a teacher to the professionals he would have been one of the top five teachers in the world ,” Len said . “ He could really diagnose a swing very quickly and kept things very simple for the most part .
“ Jack was a very humble man . I think he would be tickled to death [ about his induction ]. It would validate the amount of work he put into his game and that he got probably about as much out of his golf game as he could get .”
VSGA ARCHIVES
24 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M ARCH / A PRIL 2022
vsga . org