Honoring Excellence in Virginia Golf
JOHNSON WAGNER will serve as the emcee for the 2025 Virginia Golf Hall of Fame( VGHOF) ceremony, to be held October 21 at Salisbury Country Club in Midlothian. Arthur Utley breaks down this year’ s four-member class.
probably made my term more enjoyable. It kept my interest, where handicapping and things like that might not have.”
Career Highlights
• Elected to USGA Executive Committee in 1978
• President of USGA, 1988-89
• Among the founders of the annual Captain’ s Putter( Virginias-Carolinas) matches in 1955
• Died in Charlottesville on May 31, 2008, after suffering a stroke
Bill Battle
Before becoming president of the United States Golf Association, Bill Battle was a World War II hero, a political ally of John F. Kennedy and a founder of the annual Virginias-Carolinas golf matches.
Battle, who played out of Farmington Country Club, partnered with Tom Strange( VGHOF inductee, class of 2024) in the 1957 team competition, winning two four-ball matches. The two remained close friends until Strange’ s death in 1969.
Years later, when Curtis Strange— Tom’ s son and a member of the VGHOF inaugural class of 2016— won back-to-back U. S. Open titles in 1988 and‘ 89, Battle presented him with the winner’ s trophy.“ Both times I got choked up. We were both very excited,” Battle recounted to Jim Ducibella in Par Excellence: A Celebration of Virginia Golf.
During his USGA tenure, Battle faced two notable challenges: helping modernize the organization’ s stiff on-course image by replacing the traditional blue coats and ties with white shirts and khaki slacks, and overseeing a long-running dispute over the legality of Ping Eye 2 irons in competition play. The controversy, which involved a $ 100 million lawsuit, was settled out of court on Battle’ s final night as president in 1990. Reflecting on the experience, he told Ducibella,“ Frankly, this controversy
Don Ryder
Don Ryder, longtime director of golf at The Omni Homestead Resort, was celebrated in the September / October 2015 issue of Virginia Golfer for his remarkable 40-year career— a story that was aptly titled,“ One Wild Ride: From doorman to director of golf.” Now, a decade later, Ryder has been inducted into the VGHOF’ s class of 2025.
A steadfast ambassador for golf at The Homestead and throughout Bath County, Ryder also served on the Hall of Fame’ s inaugural selection committee in 2016— the year the first induction ceremony was heled at The Homestead.
In May of this year, Ryder received a call from VGHOF president Gib Palmer informing him of his own induction. Reflecting on the moment later, Ryder said,“ It was an honor I hadn’ t expected, but I am very grateful. I will never forget the feeling of pride that went over me in that moment.”
Ryder’ s connection to The Homestead runs deep— six generations of his family have worked there, alongside seven generations of his wife Joyce’ s family. The resort’ s courses have hosted
USGA( BATTLE AND WAGNER); VSGA ARCHIVES( RYDER)
20 V IRGINIA G OLFER | S EPTEMBER / O CTOBER 2025 vsga. org