Awesome list. Here's mine from Chicago, arbitrarily cut off at ten:
1. Mike Keiser: He's gone from being an unknown to being one of the great trailblazers in the game. A humble golf Midas whose golden touch has enriched our lives in countless ways.
2. Dick Carparelli: Dick is the pro emiritus at Beverly CC. He has been at Beverly for something like 60 years and at age 93 is still at the club five days a week, still playing a few holes and giving a few lessons.
3. Bill Shean: Bill is quite simply the model for an amateur golfer. He has an unbelievably serene bearing. He loves the game. He gives back to the game, supporting the Evans Scholars and the Daniel Murphy Scholars. He is twice a national champion and forever a gentleman.
4. Jeff Rude: Rude has moved on to Orlando, where he continues to work as a Senior Writer at Golfweek. He got hooked on the game as a caddie at Glen Flora in Waukegan, Illinois, where he learned the game and many other life skills, like how to talk to adults, how to talk to girls, how to gamble, etc. Most of all, he learned that one need to be ambitious to achieve things in life and in the game of golf. He is a remarkably gifted golf writer and one of the most soulful individuals I've ever met.
5. Bruce Patterson: Bruce is the Director of Golf at Butler National, a member of the PGA of America national board and one of the Top 100 Golf Instructors in America. More than all that, he is one of the brightest people you'll ever meet in this game, one of the most engaging and one of the very best golf professionals ever, carrying on the tradition of Errie Ball.
6. John Kaczkowski: John is the Executive Director of the Western Golf Association/Evans Scholars Foundation. He ran the Western Open for many years and now runs the entire organization. A smart, organized and passionate man, he is fully committed to the missions of both organizations. An absolute gem of a man.
7. Josh Lesnik: Josh runs Kemper Sports, which manages a number of courses in Chicago and other nationally, including Bandon Dunes, Chambers Bay and the soon-to-open Cabot Links. Josh is one of the most fun guys in golf you'll ever meet. An absolute hoot of a guy to play golf with, go to a game with and go on a golf trip with. He has the right chops to run a golf club and a golf resort. He was the first GM at Bandon Dunes and has gone on to be one of the most successful course operators in the country.
8. The Murphy Brothers: These guys caddied and became Evans Scholars, then earned a ton of money in business. They decided to start a foundation that sort of mimicked the Evans program, except it works with 8th graders who need help going to the right high school. The program identifies the best and brightest kids in the toughest, most underprivileged neighborhoods in Chicago and gives them a free ride to high school while they caddie at Chicagoland clubs. These kids get the nod only if they are smart, ambitious and have the "fire in the belly" that is required to be a success in life. My wife and I volunteer as interviewers for kids who are trying to get these coveted scholarships. It is quite possibly the most life affirming volunteer work I've ever done and it is all possible because of the Murphy Brothers.
9. Tom Gorman: Tom is the longtime caddiemaster at Beverly. He's in the Hall of Fame. He has influenced thousands of kids over the years who have gone through the legendary caddie program at Beverly. He is strict, but fair. He is thoughtful, courteous and attentive. He is inspiring. He was also my high school English teacher and he encouraged me when I went through fits of diffidence as a kid. He encouraged me to work on my writing, telling me it could help me be somebody someday. A mentor to hundreds of successful adults when they needed him.
10. Len Ziehm: Len is the longtime golf writer at the Sun-Times. He doesn't just love professional and amateur golf. He loves the game of golf. He also loves life. He is a gifted writer and a great friend to everybody who loves the game in Chicago.
n.b. Any national list would have to include Ran Morrissett, whom I'm privileged to call a friend, having first met him at Olympia Fields in 2002 when we played the North and toured the South with Mike Keiser and Rick Holland in tow. His impact on the game, internationally, is something to behold.