Section award winners announced

The Tennessee Section PGA announced their 2005 Section Award winners at the Club Car Awards Luncheon held today at the Montgomery Bell Resort Inn. Ten Section members were honored for excelling in their fields of expertise while demonstrating a strong dedication and commitment to the game of golf throughout the year. The awards luncehon was held in conjunction with the Section’s 39th Annual Spring Education Seminar, a two-day event attended by over 100 of the state’s club professionals. 2005 Tennessee Section Award Winners: (Based upon the member’s performance in the year 2005.) Jim Blackmore of The Virginian Golf Club, Bristol, Va., was bestowed the highest honor, being named Golf Professional of the Year. He was recognized for service to his club, community and Section during his career as a PGA Golf Professional. Blackmore presently serves the Section as Vice President and is the Junior Committee Chairman. He has also served on numerous other TPGA Committees and is a Tennessee Golf Foundation Board member. He is a previous Merchandiser of the Year (Private) and Junior Golf Leader Section Award winner as well. Tim Corrigan, Golf Image Consulting is the winner of the Horton Smith Trophy, recognizing his dedication in the area of education. He has been Chapter Education Chair for the past four years and has continued to upgrade the quality, consistency and regularity of education activities. Corrigan has presented seminars to a number of Sections and also serves on the PGA Education Committee on certification. David Gardner of Ridgefields Country Club was awarded the Bill Strausbaugh Award, recognizing his significant contributions to mentoring fellow PGA professionals. Gardner takes a personal interest in mentoring and assisting fellow professionals and is a previous Section Junior Golf Leader and Merchandiser of the Year award winner. He is also the Co-Founder/Director of the McDonald’s Tournament of Champions, a prestigious high school event. Des Mahoney of Centennial Learning Center, Oak Ridge, received the Teacher of the Year honor recognizing him as the top teacher in the Section. He has been very active in the promotion of golf to both adults and juniors and was named a Top Teacher in the Southeast by Golf Magazine in 2001, 2003, and 2005. Additionally, Golf Digest named him one of the Top Teachers in Tennessee in 2001, 2003 and 2005. He has also presented teaching seminars on the Chapter and Section level. Drew Cot, of Windyke Country Club was named the Junior Golf Leader for his contributions to junior golf programs in the Section, Chapter and local community. Cote is involved in his club’s Junior Group Learning Program that provided instruction to over 400 youngsters’ ages 6-17 in 2005. He has mentored and instructed several top juniors who have gone on to win junior, college and state amateur championships. Three Members received Merchandiser of the Year honors in separate categories. This award recognizes superior skills as merchandisers in the promotion of golf and excellence in golf shop operations. Criteria include number of rounds played versus gross merchandise sales, and merchandising philosophy. o Resort – Travis Muncy, of Woodlake Golf Club, Tazewell – Muncy’s 1200 sq. ft. golf shop saw gross merchandise sales in excess of $191,000 in 2005 and he has been a Chapter Merchandiser of the Year for the past 4 years. o Private – Greg Hynes, Windyke Country Club, Memphis – Windyke’s 2000 sq. ft. golf shop saw over $1 million in gross merchandise sales for 2005 and Hynes is a 2001and 2003 West Tennessee Chapter Merchandiser of the Year. r). o Public – Zeb Patten of Chattanooga Golf Center, Chattanooga – Patten utilizes 750 sq. ft. of shop space and generated over $240,000 in gross merchandise sales for 2005. Patten is the 2003 Chattanooga Chapter Merchandise of the Year. Mike Eller, of Hermitage Golf Course, Old Hickory, was given the Richard Eller Growth of the Game Award for his outstanding and continuing contributions to growing the game of golf. Eller is chairman of the Section’s Growth of the Game Committee and the Section’s representative for the Golf 20/20 initiative. He has presented many seminars on the Chapter, Section and National level and is a past Section Horton Smith Trophy winner and Golf Professional of the Year honoree. His course actively participants in Link Up 2 Golf, “Take Your Daughter to the Course Week” and “Women’s Golf Week” programs. Keith Burdette, Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Chattanooga, was awarded the new Section Assistant Golf Professional of the Year Award for his overall performance, service to the Chapter and Section and leadership abilities. Burdette is responsible for all merchandising at the club and is involved in keeping his fellow professionals informed of Chapter activities. He has served as President of the Assistant’s Association for two years and has assisted several Section apprentices in completing their course work.