Class of 2014

Bill Penn

Lifetime Achievement

Biography

William Albert "Bill" Penn was born on November 25, 1931 in Austin where spent most of his life. He attended Austin High School, the University of Texas, and UT Law School.

At the University, Bill was active in many organizations, including Delta Tau Delta fraternity, the Cowboys Service Organization, and the UT Golf Team. After graduation he served in the army, worked as a trust officer for Austin National Bank and then as a financial advisor to E. G. Morrison.

In 1988 he became the Executive Director for the Texas Golf Association. Bills keen competitive spirit caused him to strive for excellence in every endeavor, including writing poetry, fishing, cooking and most especially golf, a sport in which he embodied the qualities of integrity, honor and civility that attracted him to the game he began at the age of ten.

His accomplishments in golf are many; the list of over twenty tournaments that he won begins in 1943 with the Dallas Junior Championship at the age of twelve and ends in 1995 with the Senior Division of the Bill Penn Cup, an annual mid-amateur tournament begun in his honor in 1994.

One of his proudest achievements was playing on the UT Golf Team coached by Harvey Penick, which won the SWC Championship in 1950 and 1951 and the NCAA Semi-Finals in 1953.

He was Austin City Champion four times, won the Firecracker Open in 1957, and was Texas Senior Champion in 1989. He captained the Texas team that won the USGA State Team Championship in 1999.

His long association with the Austin Country Club was marked by serving as President in 1973, being on the Greens Committee off and on for many years, and being awarded ACC Sportsman of the Year in 1999.

As Executive Director, Bill took the Texas Golf Association from a small volunteer association to one that effectively and successfully promotes golf activities across the state. His illustrious career was capped by being named 2002 STPGA Amateur of the Year.

Throughout his life Bill impressed his colleagues with his love of the game, expertise and knowledge of golf history, but his most fulfilling role was as a mentor to and champion of young flatbelly golfers who were interested in learning a game which, if played right, would instill a strong code of honor and ethics.

In the 60s, he lobbied Austin officials for lower junior golf fees on public courses to make the game accessible to more young people. In 2002 he was honored with the creation by the TGA of the Bill Penn Grant to benefit junior golf in Texas.

Birthplace: Austin, Texas

Born: November 25, 1931

Died: July 11, 2003

Legacy Video

Inductee Highlights

Player

University of Texas Golf Team 1950-1953
1957 Firecracker Open Champion
Four-time Austin City Champion
1989 TGA Senior Champion
Won over 20 amateur golf tournaments

Service

1973 - Austin Country Club President
1988 - 2000 Texas Golf Association, Executive Director
1999 - Austin Country Club Sportsman of the Year
1999 - Captain, Texas Team USGA State Team Championship
2002 - STPGA Amateur of the Year

Geography Discussions with the USGA

Often, Bill would take this tiny map of New Jersey and pin it around several areas of Texas to show the USGA, which has its headquarters in New Jersey, the vast territory to cover in the great state of Texas. With his office located in Austin, he was known to say it would be much more efficient for the Kansas Golf Association or the Oklahoma Golf Association to rate courses in Amarillo than for him to do so!

First Executive Director of the Texas Golf Association

Bill Penn served as the first Executive Director of the Texas Golf Association, helping to lay the foundation for the organization’s growth and professionalism. His leadership brought structure, consistency, and vision to amateur golf in Texas, setting standards that continue to guide the association today.

Joe Bob Purdy

Bill Penn, the first Executive Director of the Texas Golf Association, was a man of both administration and artistry. While he was instrumental in shaping the structure and professionalism of amateur golf in Texas, few knew of his creative side. Bill was also a poet who wrote under the pen name Joe Bob Purdy, from Clodine, Texas. Through his writing, Bill captured the humor, humility, and humanity that often define the game of golf and the people who play it. His dual legacy, as a visionary leader and a storyteller with a poet’s heart, reflects the depth of character that helped make Texas golf what it is today.

Commenting on the design of the Old Course at St. Andrews: "I think the guy who built the Road Hole must have seen number seven at Cross Plains before they built the new bypass around town."- - Joe Bob Purdy, Claudine, Texas.

Check out the showcase block in Bill's exhibit below, which features many of his poems.