By Jim West, Director of Golf
It was great fun and truly an honor to attend the Knox Chapter PGA Christmas and Awards Dinner Dec. 1 in Market Square in downtown. Those of you who aren’t in the golf business probably don’t have an appreciation of the high caliber of golf professionals in the Knoxville area. We are blessed beyond words to have such a cohesive group of dedicated golf professionals working together to grow the great game of golf in Knoxville—easily the finest group I have had the pleasure to know in my 22+ years as a PGA Professional.
Last night I was honored and incredibly humbled to receive the 2014 Knoxville Chapter PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award. This took me completely by surprise, as like most PGA Professionals, I feel like I’m just trying to do what’s right for the game of golf, do my very best and loving my job—and I’m so lucky to have a great membership at Tellico Village that does so well keeping the wind in our sails.
Our success at Tellico Village is a team effort. While my name is on this year’s award, lots of folks played an important role in our success—so many that I can’t possibly name everyone (including many of our members): Glenn Hudson, PGA Professional, and Mike White, Golf Course Superintendent at The Links at Kahite; Adam Jacob, PGA Professional, and Wells McClure, Golf Course Superintendent at Tanasi Golf Club; and Jeff Harrington, PGA Professional, and Chris Sykes, Golf Course Superintendent at Toqua Golf Club. We are so fortunate to have such a great, dedicated team that truly has fun doing their job every day.
Last but certainly not least, this award would not be possible without the support of the love of my life, Nikki. As many can attest, the life of a PGA Professional’s wife is not easy; in fact, it can be brutally hard. But she has been by my side with undying support since I was an apprentice in Pinehurst in the late 1980s.