2017 Carolinas Golf Night and Annual Meeting

Willie McRae and John Gerring were inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame. [+] Enlarge

 

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (February 12, 2017) -- On Saturday, February 11, 2017, the Carolinas Golf Association’s annual meeting was hosted by Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. The CGA’s annual meeting was held in conjunction with Carolinas Golf Night, which recognizes the CGA’s year-end award winners, champions, and volunteers. For the first time, the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony was also part of the evening's program.

Related: Photo Gallery | Willie McRae Video | John Gerring Video

 

Annual Meeting

Re-elected Carolinas Golf Association Executive Committee members are: Michael Smith of Greenville, S.C., Teddy Stockwell of Charleston, S.C., and Tom Thorpe of Clemmons, N.C. The other CGA Executive Committee members continuing their service are: Vicki DiSantis of Pinehurst, N.C.;  Dr. Richard Dosek of Advance, N.C.; Frank Golden of Charlotte, N.C.; Joe Hackler of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Whitten Meares of Charleston, S.C.; Kelly Miller of Southern Pines, N.C.; Rion Moore of Georgetown, S.C.; and Rick Riddle of Charlotte, N.C. Joining the Executive Committee as a new member is Michael Sims of West Columbia, S.C. Sims replaces Randy Allen of Tryon, N.C., who served nine years on the committee.

The officers also continuing their service on the CGA Executive Committee are: President Lawrence Hicks of Greensboro, N.C., Vice President Gene Spencer of Blythewood, S.C.; Secretary Greg Norris of Wilmington, N.C.; Treasurer Dan O'Connell of Spartanburg, S.C.; and General Counsel Charles E. Lynch, Jr. of High Point, N.C. Jackson Hughes, Jr. of Greenville, S.C. serves as the Immediate Past-President.

Hall of Fame

John Gerring, 81, of Greenville, S.C. and Willie McRae, 83, of Pinehurst, N.C. were inducted as the 73rd and 74th members of the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.

Gerring, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference individual golf title his senior year at Wake Forest, used to log daily practice rounds with Arnold Palmer as a freshman on the golf team. A High Point native, he still teaches lessons five days a week at Eagle Zone Golf Improvement Center in Greenville, S.C.

“I am still going strong, and I try to hit 100 balls a day myself,” said Gerring, who was runner-up in the 1956 Carolinas Amateur and was the PGA Professional of the Year in 1981. A member of the PGA Hall of Fame, he has also been head professional at Biltmore Forest in Asheville, N.C., and Green Valley CC and Greenville CC in Greenville, S.C., before working at Eagle Zone.

Meanwhile, McRae has caddied for presidents Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford – and thousands of others for more than 70 years -- at famed Pinehurst No. 2. Having started caddying at Pinehurst Resort in the early 1940s, he even looped for famed golf course architect Donald Ross and Richard Tufts, the grandson of Pinehurst founder James Walker Tufts.

When asked if he was ever nervous caddying for presidents, the affable McRae laughed and shot back: “No, I have nerves of steel. When you come to think about it they ain’t no better than you. Presidents put their clothes on the same way as you; they don’t jump into them. He has to put them on and pull them up. He may have a higher job than me but that don’t mean nothing because in God’s eyes we’re all the same."

Annual Awards

The Carolinas Golf Association established the Charles E. Lynch, Jr. Distinguished Service Award at its 2016 Annual Meeting to honor an individual or group whose actions have shown a commitment to the CGA and the game of golf by going above and beyond the call to make the CGA and golf better in the Carolinas.

Charles E. Lynch, Jr. presents the Distinguished Service Award named in his honor to Ellen Shulby. [+] Enlarge

Ellen Shulby, 91, of Pinehurst, N.C. became the second recipient of the award. Shulby was recognized for her many years of service to the game, which started in 1966 while living in Delaware. She and her late husband, Bud, continued their contributions to golf when they moved to North Carolina in 1992. She has served as a USGA Course Rater and club handicap chairwoman, but enjoyed being a rules official the most. Beloved by players, the CGA named her captain of the Carolinas Junior Girls’ Team in the Mid-Atlantic Junior Girls Matches when they began in 2002.

“Ellen has unselfishly given her time, money, energy, and knowledge to assist us in so many ways,” said Jack Nance, CGA executive director. “Ellen stands out with her humility, passion, and love for golf and the people who play it.”
 

 

Scott Harvey is presented his record sixth consecutive Richard S. Tufts Men's Player of the Year award by Rick Tufts, Richard's grandson. [+] Enlarge

The top amateur golfers in the Carolinas were recognized as the Richard S. Tufts Players of the Year. Scott Harvey of Greensboro, N.C. claimed his record sixth consecutive Men's Player of the Year award. Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose Creek, S.C. won Women's honors. Kim Briele of New Bern, N.C. received the Senior Women's award. Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C. accepted his eighth Senior Men's Player of the Year. Emily Hawkins of Lexington, N.C. and Trent Phillips of Inman, S.C. claimed Junior Girls' and Junior Boys' honors, respectively. Ryan Marter of Columbia, S.C. earned the David Parrott Award for his sportsmanship, ability and academic excellence.
 

 

 

 

 

About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)

The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.

The CGA annually conducts 43 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 140 One-Day (net and gross) events and qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed more than $1,700,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.    

For more information about the CGA, visit www.carolinasgolf.org.

 

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