Ken Crowder and Mike Green announced as 2023 Distinguished Career Award Honorees

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - The Tennessee Section PGA announced Ken Crowder, PGA, and Mike Green, PGA as its 2023 Distinguished Career Award Honorees.

The Distinguished Career Award recognizes current, or former, Tennessee PGA Section members who have had outstanding careers as PGA Professionals based on service to their club, course, employer, service and leadership to the Association, community service, professional playing record and teaching ability.

The Distinguished Career Award acknowledges these Tennessee PGA Professionals as vital and significant contributors to the game of golf.

Crowder shares over 27 years of history with the Tennessee Section. He currently serves as the General Manager of Indian Hills Country Club in the Kentucky Section.

He built his career as a mentor and role model to numerous PGA Professionals in the Tri-Cities Chapter and Tennessee Section. Crowder’s passion for helping other PGA Professionals throughout the section has led him to help create the Section Employment & Club Relations Committee.

Crowder has also created the Apprentice Scholarship Project to help ease the expenses of the PGM program for top-quality apprentices on their way to becoming PGA Professionals.

The award of Distinguished Career Award Honoree now joins the long list of other awards Crowder has won such as the Tennessee PGA Section Bill Strausbaugh Award, Tennessee Section PGA Golf Professional of the Year, Tri-Cities TN Chapter Bill Strausbaugh Award, Golf Professional of the Year and Junior Golf Award for the Tri-Cities Tennessee chapter.

“When I received the news, I was stunned and humbled. Like most, I never got into this business for notoriety, awards, or plaudits. I always wanted to position myself as part of a team charged with a goal. To be singled out for the efforts I believe we achieved as a group is somewhat awkward for me to grasp,” said Crowder.

“I spent 29 glorious years in the Tennessee PGA, which afforded me the opportunity to forge lifelong friendships I will cherish my entire life. I cannot adequately articulate my gratitude to the DCA committee for this honor. To become a part of a group that includes friends and mentors is overwhelming. I can make a bigger argument for why I don’t belong than I can for why I do belong with the legends of the Tennessee PGA.”

Fellow PGA Professional Green has also made major contributions to the game of golf in Tennessee. In his 11 years as a PGA Professional career, he has helped with numerous things at Richland Country Club. When he became Head Professional Green, he was responsible for moving the club from West Nashville to its current location in October 1988. In 1992 Green became the Director of Golf at Legends Club of Tennessee.

In the role, Green was responsible for the development of the club and establishing membership through 1994. In 1995 Green made tremendous progress as the General Manager of Old Natchez Country Club and Country Club of Franklin.

Also having formed Greenlinks Construction and as President/Managing Partner of Greenlinks Management, Green was responsible for the total renovation of both clubs. In his time at Old Natchez Country Club, the membership grew from 160 members to over 500 and from 130 members to over 450 at the Country Club of Franklin.

He then transitioned to Owner/President of Tennessee Golf Cars Inc. in 2002 where they served as a Club Car dealership that included sales, rental, repairs, and warranty work through 2022. Most recently since 2012, Green serves as the Project General Manager of The Grove, an 1100-acre real estate golf development with a Greg Norman-designed golf course in College Grove, Tennessee.

Green has overseen the construction of the golf course and all amenities including three restaurants, a spa, a general store and a fitness center. He is currently responsible for club operations, the design review board and the property owners association at The Grove.

In his playing career, Green competed in numerous Pro-Ams across the Section and also competed on four Tennessee Challenge Cup Match teams. In those four appearances, Green carried an undefeated record in singles matches and lost only one point over those years.

Throughout his career, Green served on numerous charity committees and boards outside of golf, including the March of Dimes, the Heimerdinger Foundation, and One Generation Food Bank. Green served the Section by being on multiple committees throughout his career. Green was a representative on the National Education Committee for two years and served as the Tennessee PGA Section Education Committee Chairman for four years.

Along with being the recipient of the DCA, he was won Tennessee PGA Section PGA Professional Development Award and named the Tennessee Golf Foundation’s Lew Frank Award recipient in 2013.

“When I received the call last week about the award I was both surprised and excited. I took a quick look at the past recipients and realized I was in a group that included many of the individuals who played a huge role in my career, such as Willie Gibbons, Harold, Mike Eller, and several more. I also saw the names of some of the best players in history who had become dear friends over the years; Lou Graham, Mason Rudolph, Cary Middlecoff, and Bobby Nichols. All of these Professionals certainly had distinguished careers and I am truly honored and grateful to be included in the group, ” said Green in a press release.

Both Crowder and Green will be honored at a later date in front of their fellow Tennessee PGA Professionals and special guests.

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