Southern Pines, N.C. (November 2, 2018) - The Carolinas Golf Association is pleased to announce the three selections for the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame Class of 2019.  They are James B. (Jim) Hyler, Jr. of Asheville, N.C.; Robert O. (Bob) Farren of Pinehurst, N.C.; George W. Cobb of Greenville, S.C. (Deceased).

 

Full biographies will be provided at a later date.

 

The Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame Award Ceremony will be held in 2019 at a date TBA.

 

George Cobb

Born in Savannah, Ga. in 1914, Cobb attending Savanah Public Schools before graduating in 1936 from one of the first classes of the University of Georgia’s landscape architecture. He also played on the university’s golf team. In WWII he was a Marine engineering officer at Camp Lejeune. With his love of golf and background in landscaping, Cobb was assigned the task of constructing a golf course to help aid the rehabilitation of physically injured GI’s.   The end result was two golf courses, Paradise Point in Camp Lejeune, N.C. and the Marine Air Corp Station in Cherry Point, N.C. Cobb’s shortest course might be his most famous – The par 3 at Augusta National Golf Club. He was later recalled to active duty in the Korean War. Cobb designed or co-designed over 115 golf courses, including East Lake Club (Atlanta, Ga), Bald Head Island Club (Southport, N.C.), Linville Ridge (N.C.) CC and Surf Club (Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Quail Hollow Club (Charlotte, N.C.).

 

Bob Farren

A native of West Virginia, Farren earned a degree from Marshal University in 1979 in Recreating and Tourism.  He worked his way up the ranks as superintendent Kanawha County Park and Berry Hills CC in Charleston W.V. and Pinehurst CC in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.  He has been Director of Grounds at Pinehurst CC since 2001.  He has been involved in 14 USGA Championships including three USGA United States Open Championships. He was honored with the President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship from the Golf Course Superintendents of America in 2007 and Golf Digest magazine’s Green Star Award for outstanding environmental practices in 2014.

 

Jim Hyler

Jim Hyler or Raleigh, N.C. was involved in corporate banking much of his life.  It was not until the 1999 U.S. Open Championship that Hyler began showing his wares as a true champion for golf.  With unsureness of the first U.S. Open event on Pinehurst No. 2, Hyler helped create the President Council and he served as the point man and the rest is history.  A retired banking executive, Hyler is a 1970 graduate of Virginia Tech. He was also instrumental in launching a new chapter of The First Tee in Raleigh, N.C..  He was a member of the USGA Executive Committee from 2004-2011 including USGA president from 2010-2011.