Stafford, VA – The MAPGA will honor its Hall of Fame Class of 2012 on Saturday March 3, 2012 at the historic Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. J. Wayne Holley, PGA of Big Lick Learning Center and Driving Range in Roanoke, Virginia and the late Carroll T. MacMaster, PGA former head professional at Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, Maryland are the honorees.
Wayne Holley, PGA – Big Lick Learning Center & Driving Range, Roanoke, Virginia
Born in Roanoke, Virginia to Richard and Virginia Holley, Wayne’s first taste for golf was at the age of 12 when his older brother Ray allowed Wayne to caddie for him at Monterey Golf Course in Roanoke. He loved this experience so much that he went on to caddie at Hidden Valley Country Club in Salem, Virginia. Wayne would become a fixture at Hidden Valley as he worked the outside operations throughout high school and then became Caddie Master. Following High School graduation, Wayne turned professional and accepted an Assistant Professional position under Clyde Johnson, PGA also at Hidden Valley.
Fate would give Wayne the break of a lifetime in 1963 when he went to work for PGA Head Professional Max Elbin at Burning Tree Club in Bethesda, Maryland. Wayne comments on his experience at Burning Tree, “any success that I have had and have now, I attribute to three things: Max, Max and Max. Max Elbin taught me the importance of maintaining a professional attitude concerning every aspect of my life and to always do my best.” These words of wisdom would carry on with Wayne as he would become PGA Head Professional at Roanoke Country Club in Roanoke, Virginia in 1967 and remain there for 25 years.
Wayne has won several awards during his career, including the Middle Atlantic Section’s top award, Professional of the Year, in 1993. He also won the Bill Strausbaugh Award (for Employment efforts) in 1981 and the Horton Smith Award (for Education) in 1984. In 1988, the Southern Chapter recognized Wayne as its Chapter Professional of the Year. Additionally, he was inducted into the Roanoke Valley Golf Hall of Fame and the Dewars Hall of Fame for Virginia Golf Professionals in 1990. As President of the Section (1992-1993), Wayne was instrumental in the growth of the Section’s Handicap Program by supporting, promoting and overseeing the administrative development between the MAPGA and the state golf associations of both Maryland and Virginia.
Wayne and his wife Barbara of 49 years reside in Roanoke, Virginia where Wayne was able to make his vision of a complete golf learning center a reality. This vision became Big Lick Golf Learning Center and Driving Range where he is he owner/operator and offers full service golf instruction.
Carroll T. MacMaster, PGA (1897-1961) – Formerly of Woodholme Country Club, Pikesville, Maryland
Carroll T. MacMaster’s rise to prominence in the MAPGA and The PGA of America included the Presidency of the MAPGA in 1948 and 1949 and the Presidency of The PGA of America Seniors’ Association in 1956 and 1957. In his book The PGA, Herb Graffis gives credit to Carroll and a number of others, including the late Ralph Beach of Baltimore, for reviving the PGA of America Seniors’ Association in the early 1950s. As Carroll’s tenure at the head of the Seniors’ Association concluded, the MAPGA recognized him as the Section’s 1958 Professional of the Year.
Originally from White Plains, New York, Carroll started as a caddie in 1909 at Scarsdale Golf and Country Club in Westchester County and then moved on to caddie at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York in 1915. When the United States entered into World War I, Carroll enlisted in the New York National Guard’s Tenth Regiment which became part of the Fourth Army Corps, 51st Pioneer Infantry.
After the War, Carroll returned to Century Country Club as an assistant professional under Dan Mackie, PGA for several years (1919-1922). At the time, Mackie, one of the thirty-five Charter Members of The PGA in 1916, held the distinction of being a masterful teacher. In 1923, Carroll came to the Catoctin Club in Frederick, Maryland, as both Head PGA Professional and Greenkeeper. One local golf writer in 1948 credited Carroll with laying out the Catoctin course. Three years later he accepted the Head PGA Professional position at Rolling Road Golf Club in Catonsville, Maryland, then on to Hillendale Country Club in Baltimore, Maryland in 1932, and finally to Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, Maryland in 1935, where remained until his unexpected death in 1961.
Carroll first appeared in golf related newspaper articles in 1923 when he played in the 3rd Annual Maryland Open at Baltimore Country Club – Roland Park and also in the 2nd Annual Maryland State Professional Championship held at the same venue. Between 1924 and 1927 he regularly competed in the Maryland State Professional Golfers’ Association events, the PGA Championship qualifiers and the Middle Atlantic Opens. Successful qualification for national events came in 1932 when he made the field for both the US Open and the PGA Championship. And, he qualified for the US Open a second time in 1937. Carroll won the MAPGA Senior title in 1951 and the Section Teacher’s Trophy title in 1953.
Merrell Whittlesey and Jim Wild, preeminent local golf scribes, praised Carroll for his steady leadership of the Section for many years after golf got underway following World War II. He managed to bring the Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. area constituency groups into a more workable and cohesive body.
About the Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA of America
The Middle Atlantic Section of the PGA (MAPGA), located in Stafford, Virginia, is one of 41 Sections of The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA), headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. As a part of The PGA since 1925, the MAPGA consists of over 1,100 members and apprentices in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Together, the MAPGA golf professionals, volunteers and staff support the mission of The PGA to promote enjoyment and involvement in the game of golf and to contribute to the game’s growth by providing services to PGA Professionals and the golf industry.
Contact:
Stephanie Jennings, PGA
sjennings@pgahq.com
(540) 720-7420 ext. 116
