Talking Golf With The Golf Guy-Season 5 Episode 13 With Bill Johnston
in Blog, Podcasts by Jeff Waters

Talking Golf With The Golf Guy-Season 5 Episode 13 With Bill Johnston

The list of golfers with Utah connections who have won tournaments on the PGA Tour is long and distinguished and includes Hall of Fame members Billy Casper and Johnny Miller who are also Major Tournament winners as is Mike Weir.

Regular PGA Tournament champions from Utah include Tony Finau and Jay Don Blake.

Club Professionals Bob Betley and Bruce Summerhays found fame and success after fifty and both won on the Champions Tour when their working days at Utah courses were finished and they had time to ply their trade at the professional level.

Billy Johnston

But, in the long history of outstanding players with Utah ties who have won at the highest level of professional golf, only one man has achieved that success, won on the PGA Tour while still a Club Professional, and competing with the greatest players in the world while holding down a full-time day job too.

Utah and Arizona Hall of Fame member, Bill Johnston, in a long, successful part-time playing career, was a contestant in over 400 PGA Tour events, every Major Championship including third place at the British Open, and almost 200 Champion Tour contests while still working daily as a PGA Club Professional at Golf Courses he helped design and build throughout Utah and Arizona.

A quiet, humble man who is loath to boast of his considerable accomplishments and achievements, Bill sat down with the Golf Guy, Jeff Waters after he finished playing 18-holes at age 95 and talked about his unique career rubbing shoulders with golf’s elite while working every day behind the counter of a golf shop for 42 years.

Please listen to that spellbinding and enthralling conversation here.

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Jeff Waters, MBA, is a PGA Master Professional and the President/CEO of Rocky Mountain Golf Enterprises, a Utah-licensed and registered corporation that uses golf as a marketing tool. With over fifty years of experience in the golf industry, Jeff has worn many hats in diverse roles, including as a player, teacher, Head Professional, administrator, and small business owner. Jeff's extensive background includes ten years as a competitive player, ten years as a Head Golf Professional, overseeing the entire golf course operation, three years as the Director of Player Development for Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation, managing, directing, and supervising multiple golf course programs, and over thirty years as a golf coach and instructor at Rocky Mountain Golf Academy, teaching the game. His elite professional status as a fully trained and certified PGA Master Professional highlights his commitment to the sport. This prestigious designation is merited by a small and exclusive group of Golf Professionals worldwide. This wealth of experience in both the sport and business of golf has established Jeff as a highly skilled and knowledgeable expert and one of America's most qualified and accomplished Golf Professionals. In addition to his practical experience, Jeff has a robust academic background, including a BS in Political Science from the University of Utah, graduate studies in Economics and Commercial Recreation, at that school, and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. He has also taught undergraduate courses at the University of Utah's College of Health and served as an adjunct professor at Granite Peaks Community School. As a well-known media personality, Jeff's versatility in the golf industry is evident through his work as a celebrated broadcast journalist and radio host. He has traveled extensively nationwide, announcing major sporting events at arenas, ballparks, stadiums, and golf courses for national media outlets and syndicated on the Rocky Mountain Golf Radio Network. A member of the Golf Writers Association of America, Jeff regularly contributes editorial pieces to national print publications and has authored multiple books, essays, and short stories. His work has appeared in numerous domestic and regional periodicals and magazines, such as Utah Golf News, Rocky Mountain Golfer, Golf Today, Utah Fairways, Jackson Hole Golf News, and Utah Golf Magazine. He has also contributed to blogs, podcasts, internet forums, and his website at www.jeffgolfguy.com. Jeff's unwavering dedication and service to the golf industry continue to inspire others, underscoring his deep commitment and affection for the sport, business, and recreation of golf.