• Born in Georgia and lived here for a reasonable period of time, or
  

• participated in a golf activity in Georgia, or

• born a citizen of Georgia and brought honor to the state through his/her golf endeavors, and

• Participated in the sport for 20 years or have been inactive for five years.
  

To date the GGHF has inducted 72 members, including such greats as Tommy Aaron, Jim Dent, Nancy Lopez, Larry Mize, Larry Nelson, Doug Sanders, Tom Cousins, and of course, the incomparable Bob Jones.

The Georgia Golf Hall of Fame is pleased to announce Mr. David Pillsbury; COO for PGA TOUR Golf Course Properties will be the featured speaker at the 2007 GGHF Induction Ceremony.  Mr. Pillsbury will join hundreds of distinguished guests, current Hall of Fame members, board members and golf enthusiasts in honoring the 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees who have contributed significantly to golf in the state of Georgia.

Following are biographies of the three 2007 GGHF Inductees: 

2007 Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Furman Bisher

Furman Bisher was born November 4, 1918, in Denton, North Carolina.  He became sports editor of The Atlanta Journal on Feb. 3, 1957.  He had formerly served as sports editor of the Atlanta Constitution for seven years.

He has been cited 18 times by the Georgia Associated Press for sports writing and received United Press International awards four times.  His 1,000-plus magazine stories have appeared in Saturday Evening Post, Sport, True, Golf, Golf Digest, Sky, Sports Illustrated and other national magazines. 

This prolific sports writer has been selected 23 times for the “Best Sports Stories of the Year” anthology.  His article on Bobby Jones from “The Masters” was cited in “This is My Best,” a collection edited by Howard Siner of American Sports Columnists.

He was cited by Time magazine in September 1961, as one of the nation’s five best columnists.  He was elected president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association from 1974-75, and was president of the Golf Writers Association of America from 1992-93.

Bisher is author of eleven books including “Arnold Palmer – Birth of a Legend,” in 1972; “The Masters – Augusta Revisited – An Intimate View,” in 1976; and “History of Peachtree Golf Club”, in 2004.

In 1990, he was elected to the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and he was honored with the Jack Nicklaus Memorial Journalism Award in 1997.  In recognition of his 56^th Masters Tournament coverage, and his 50 years with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newspaper published a special “Fifty Years of Furman” edition in 2000.

He is married to the former Lynda Landon, and he has two sons, James Furman Jr. of Bowie, Md., and Monte Bisher of Round Rock, TX.  An elder son, Roger died in 2000.

2007 Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Wendell Couch

Wendell Couch was born February 1, 1945, in Cedartown, Georgia.  A 40-year veteran of Spalding Sports Worldwide, Top Flite and Callaway Golf, Mr. Couch has served in numerous management positions and as a consultant before retiring in 2004.  He has served on the Board of Directors for the Georgia State Golf Association since 1979 and was President from 1984-1986.  He was also President of the Georgia Junior Golf Foundation in 1987.  He has served on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Authority since 1992 and Chairman of the Authority from 2003-2005.  Wendell continues to serve on several golf and sports boards including the College Hall of Fame Foundation Chapter in Athens and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame in Atlanta. 

Since retiring, Wendell continues to learn more about the game of golf and dedicates a lot of his time volunteering for the Georgia State Golf Association.  In addition to working as a rules official, he is Chairman of the GSGA Senior Committee and serves as a member of the GSGA Championship Committee.  Wendell also serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Junior Golf Association and is a former President.

Engaged to Susan Griffith Bond, Wendell has a son, Chuck Couch who lives in Cumming, GA with his wife Julie and three children, Jack, Henry and Sarah Beth.  He also has a daughter, Becky who resides in Mt. Juliet, TN with her husband Scott Malone and daughter Rachel.

Wendell Couch resides in Athens, Georgia and is a member of Athens Country Club, Reynolds Plantation and Honey Creek Country Club.

2007 Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Tom Forkner

Tom Forkner was born June 14, 1918, in Hawkinsville, Georgia.  He attended Young Harris Junior College where he has been on the Board of Trustees for more than 20 years.  He then went to Woodrow Wilson Law School and began practicing law at age 23.  World War II cut short his law practice and he spent 4 years and 9 months in the army.  Upon his return, and the death of his father, he turned to his father’s business Forkner Realty Company and experienced a successful career in real estate.

In 1955, he co-founded Waffle House, Inc. and became its first president.  In 1959, his fast paced, seven day per week schedule ended in a sudden trip to the hospital with multiple ailments causing him to change his lifestyle dramatically.

Stepping back from his real estate work and Waffle House responsibilities Mr. Forkner adopted a good health plan, which included playing golf.  As a senior amateur, his accomplishments are as impressive as his off the field successes.  He was named the Georgia Senior Champion four times (1968, 1969, 1982, 1986), Georgia Seniors Four-Ball Champion twice (1981, 1982) and International Senior Champion twice (1974, 1980).   He was also acknowledged by Golf Digest as a Top 10 National Senior Golfer four times (1974, 1978, 1980, and 1986).  Among his many other tournament wins, he was the Age 80 and Over Division World Super Seniors Champion in 2003 and 2004.

Married for more than 60 years, he and his wife Martha have one son, Thomas F. Forkner Jr.; two daughters, Martha Jean “Marti” Vernon and Allison Johnson; five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Mr. Forkner is presently a member of the Georgia Senior Golf Association, American Seniors, Society of Seniors, Western Seniors, 3 Score & 10 and Atlanta Athletic Club.

Contact:

Robyn Jarrett, Marketing Director

Phone:  (706) 724-4443    Fax:  (706) 724-4428
rjarrett@gghf.org

Complete Media Kit Available at www.gghf.org