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2009 Hall Fame inductees
April 30, 2009 Martha Lang, Bob Wise and Ian Thompson were
inducted into the Birmingham Golf Association’s Hall of Fame at a
banquet at Riverchase Country Club.
It is is truly an honor for all three to join the 53 people who have
gone before. The BGA Hall of Fame inducted Charley Boswell, William
McWane, Sam Perry and Elbert Jemison into its inaugural class in 1965,
while their most recent inductee was Kathy Hartwiger in 2005.
Lang is one of the most storied amateur golfers ever to play the game
from Alabama. She was born in Decatur, growing up playing the game at
Decatur Country Club. In 2006 she moved back to the state and plays
golf at Shoal Creek.
A career amateur, she is integrally involved in the United States Golf
Association. She is vice chairman of the women’s committee and travels
the country helping and officiating at USGA championships. And she
plays in a few still too.
Her parents Bessie and Soney Jones got her started in the game and she
won the State Junior four years in a row. She played in the U.S. Girls
Junior three times, losing to eventual winner Hollis Stacy in the
semifinals one year.
She then went on to play on the first golf team at the University of
Alabama from 1971-75. In the AIAW, the precursors of the NCAA’s, she
placed in the top four for three straight years, but never won it.
She then started work as an accountant for Shell Oil and moved to
Houston. She was later transferred to Chicago, continuing to play a few
national amateur tournaments. Her crowning moment competitively was her
win in the 1988 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. She came close in the
U.S. Amateur finishing runner-up to Sara LeBrun Ingram in 1991. This
led to her selection for the 1992 Curtis Cup team, which she also
captained in 1996.
She still competes in the U.S. Senior Amateur, losing in the
semifinals as recently as 2004. And just last week she captured her
second Women’s Alabama Golf Association Senior Amateur in three years.
She has worked in a rules capacity at over 20 USGA national
championships, including the Women’s Open 10 times.
“What a great thrill this (her induction) is. When I look at the list
of people already in it, it’s so special to be just considered, let
alone inducted.”
Bob Wise Wise grew up in Sharon, Pa., learning the game from his father Russ. He spent two years on the Pitt golf team before getting married and beginning a career in business. In 1965 he joined Latrobe Country Club, home of the legendary Arnold Palmer. He got to know Palmer and his wife Winnie and his Dad Deacon. His friendship remains to this day with Palmer, who is three years older than Wise. Wise was transferred to Birmingham in 1972 and joined Green Valley Country Club. He remained a member there until 1986 when he joined Shoal Creek. He played in lots of area invitationals, but did not start playing his most competitive golf until later in life when he turned 55. At this time he qualified for four U.S. Senior Amateurs in a five-year span. He also got far more involved in the administrative side of golf, a role he continues to this day. He helped with the Legendary Seniors event that was played at Pine Tree for many years, and is still on the board of the U.S. Senior Challenge, a group that conducts two national championships a year. He was also responsible for getting the Shoal Creek Senior Amateur Invitational up and running in 1998 and ran this prestigious championship, regarded as The Masters of senior amateur tournaments, until it stopped being played in 2007. “I’m extremely honored to be inducted into the Birmingham Golf Association Hall of Fame, especially as I’m a Yankee.” Both Wise and Lang noted that they have very much enjoyed giving back to a game they love. “I’ve gotten back tenfold all that I’ve put into the game,” Wise said.
Ian Thompson
Thompson grew up in Wimborne in Dorset in England.
He came to the United States in 1989 on a partial golf
scholarship to Samford University and played collegiate golf for four
years, obtaining his Print Journalism degree in 1993. He has lived in
Birmingham ever since, and has two children: Brittany, 14, and Colin,
10.
His only sibling is my brother Neil, who also lives in
Birmingham and is the Director of Golf Instruction at Oxmoor Valley.
His professional qualifications include:
* Editor of GolfSouth Magazine, based in Birmingham, since April 1994.
* Golf columnist for The Birmingham News since June 1995. Written over
500 columns.
* Freelanced for various national golf publications.
* Wrote Shoal Creek: A Pictorial History, The First 20 Years, which was
published in 1998.
* Currently writing a book about the 50-year history of Green Valley
(Hoover) Country Club, which will be published December 2010.
* Tournament Coordinator and cofounder of the GolfSouth Magazine Golf
Tour, which has been in existence for six years.
* Former golf coach at Samford University, including head women’s coach
for seven years. Coaching role ended June 2008.
* Media Relations Coordinator for the Dixie Section of the PGA, 2003-05.
* Member of the Golf Writers Association of America for 12 years.
* Advisory Board member, Lady Legacy Foundation.
* Former Board member, First Tee, Birmingham Chapter.
* Former Board member, Samford University Bulldog Club.
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Martha Lang
Bob Wise
Ian Thompson, Neil Thompson