LOUISVILLE, KY – Five Kentuckians will be inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame as its 2021 induction class. Bobby Baldwin, PGA, Walter Cisco, Marty Donlon, Margaret Jones, and Jimmy Kirchdorfer have been selected for induction and will officially become members of the most prestigious club in Kentucky golf this autumn. <\/p>\n\n
Bobby Baldwin, PGA is approaching a half-century as a PGA Professional after being elected to Membership in 1974. He began working at Winchester Country Club one year later and has served as the Head Golf Professional or Director of Golf ever since. He was the Kentucky PGA Section\u2019s Golf Professional of the Year Award in 2011 thanks to his many contributions to the state\u2019s golfers, especially its youth through the high number of lessons he has provided for children. His mentorship has been long regarded as one of his strongest traits, which is also seen in the paths his employees have taken. Many PGA Professionals and superintendents that have worked with Baldwin have become award-winning workers in their respective fields both in and outside of Kentucky. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cNeedless to say, this is an incredible honor,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cIt\u2019s so humbling. To think that those among you think that you\u2019re deserving of this is entirely gratifying and means more than I could ever express. It will be an honor to be a part of this ceremony and experience it. There are a lot of amazing people on that wall in Golf House Kentucky and I really can\u2019t believe I\u2019ll be on it. All you can say is \u2018wow.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Walter Cisco will be inducted posthumously after living from 1918-1972. He won the Clark\u2019s Pump-N-Shop Kentucky Amateur in 1940 at Ashland Country Club and once more in 1948 at Big Spring Country Club. In 1949, he reached the championship match of the Western Amateur at Bellerive Country Club just outside of St. Louis. He was edged out in that title match by Frank Stranahan, who was the top-ranked amateur in the world at the time of their match. When not playing himself, Cisco instilled a passion for the game in children at Audubon Country Club at a time when junior golf was not promoted nearly as much as it is today. Many of the club\u2019s members at the time credited Cisco for being the reason why their children formed an attachment with the game. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cHe had tremendous talents as a golfer,\u201d Steve Cisco, Walter\u2019s son stated. \u201cHe was just as successful on the national level as he was on the local level, so I\u2019m glad he\u2019s getting this recognition. He certainly deserves it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Marty Donlon coached golfers of St. Xavier High School from 1963-2008 while also working as a teacher throughout those 55 years. The Tigers\u2019 Boys Golf team won the KHSAA State Championship fourteen times under his leadership while players such as Jesse Mudd, Matt Savage, Patrick Vadden, PGA, and Mike Zimmerer won the KHSAA Individual Championship with Donlon coaching them. Donlon also was the first coach Justin Thomas had in his four years at St. Xavier. In 2009, the year after Donlon\u2019s retirement, Thomas also won the KHSAA Individual Championship. The Courier Journal nicknamed Donlon \u201cMr. High School Golf\u201d in an article commemorating his retirement in 2008. He has been enshrined in several different Hall of Fames, which includes the Kentucky Golf Coaches Association (KGCA), Bellarmine University and St. Xavier. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been very lucky throughout my life,\u201d Donlon described. \u201cI\u2019ve loved coaching, but I enjoyed teaching in the classroom just as much as coaching young athletes. It was an honor just to have the opportunity to serve as a leader, but this is the cherry on top. I\u2019m fortunate to be in several other Hall of Fames, but I think this one is the biggest.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Margaret Jones has been a prominent fixture in women\u2019s golf throughout her life as a player, coach and administrator. She is a four-time champion of the Women\u2019s Kentucky Amateur and a three-time winner of the Greater Cincinnati Women\u2019s Amateur. At the end of the 1971 season, Jones held the course record at seven courses in five different states, including local facilities Fort Mitchell Country Club and Big Elm Country Club. She competed in multiple USGA championships throughout her career, which included finishing as low amateur in the 1963 U.S. Women\u2019s Open at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati. In 1970, she began coaching Dixie Heights High School\u2019s Boys Golf team and then led Stetson University\u2019s Women\u2019s Golf team starting in 1991. Throughout this time, she served on the Board of Directors for both the Women\u2019s Western Golf Association and the Women\u2019s Western Golf Foundation. Via those roles, Jones has worked as a rules official and on the tournament committees of numerous local, regional and national competitions ever since. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely honored,\u201d Jones relayed. \u201cIt\u2019s such a unique experience because this is happening in the twilight of my life at 78 years old. It makes me think about how lucky I\u2019ve been to be introduced to the game of golf and not only participate as a competitor but give back to it as well. I feel like this is all for my parents though. They instilled this in me, and they may not be here to see this, but I always wanted to make them proud.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Jimmy Kirchdorfer has spent many years as a Board Member or Ambassador for prominent golf organizations including First Tee of Louisville, the Barbasol Championship, Western Golf Association, Kentucky Golf Foundation, Justin Thomas Foundation, and Golf Course Builders Association of America Foundation. In 2019, he was instrumental in Kentucky becoming the second state to host the Youth on Course Caddie Program. In its first year, more than $5,000 in scholarship funds were awarded to participants of the program with that number set to continue growing in the years to come. Kirchdorfer, as CEO of ISCO Industries, has also provided tremendous support for the Youth on Course Pro-Am at Valhalla Golf Club every August. In 2020 and 2021, even with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, new records in funding for Youth on Course have been achieved thanks to Kirchdorfer\u2019s commitment to continually introducing Kentucky\u2019s youth to golf. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cGolf has had an enormous impact on the path of my life,\u201d Kirchdorfer exclaimed. \u201cTo be inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame is a huge honor. I\u2019ll never forget receiving the call from Phil Armbruster when he informed me of this news. There have been so many amazing people that have gone before me and to be recognized beside them is truly an honor.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
The date and venue of this year\u2019s induction ceremony are to-be-determined and will be confirmed in the coming weeks. The class of 2020, composed of Ernie Denham and Dave Nicholas, will also be officially inducted during this ceremony after last year\u2019s induction ceremony was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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