Jeff McGill, the longtime head golf professional at Bowling Green Country Club until his retirement in 2019, was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame by the Kentucky Golf Association and the Kentucky Section PGA on Thursday night.

Bowling Green’s Jeff McGill was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame by the Kentucky Golf Association and the Kentucky Section PGA on Thursday night.

McGill was inducted into the HOF Class of 2023, along with Phil Armbruster, Cullan Brown (posthumously) and Susan Stewart during an induction ceremonty and reception at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville.

McGill has dedicated his entire professional life to the game of golf. His love for the game began when he was a kid growing up in Owensboro and his father bought him his first set of clubs. His accomplishments as a competitive golfer are:

•1969 KHSAA Boys Individual State Championship

•Earned a full scholarship to play golf for Mississippi State University

•1972 Individual Champion, Mississippi Intercollegiate

•1973 First Team All-Conference, SEC

•1973 invited to play in the NCAA Men’s College Golf Championship as an individual

•Won many other tournaments as an amateur

•1974 turned professional and began playing mini-tours in Florida

•Won many tournaments as a professional

•1983 Champion, Kentucky Section PGA

•1985 Medalist, Kentucky, PGA National Club Pro Qualifier

McGill became a club professional in 1976 at Madisonville Country Club where he worked as both the head golf professional and the head greenskeeper for several years. He worked as the head golf professional at MCC for 14 years, established a huge junior golf program, organized and ran a large invitational tournament each year and regularly hosted junior golf tournaments and other state level events.

McGill became a PGA of America Class A Professional in 1979. His involvement in the PGA of America is something that he greatly valued. He became very involved in the Kentucky Section PGA and was on the board for several years, ultimately serving as president of the Kentucky Section in 1986-87.

McGill’s career as a golf instructor took off when he began teaching Brad Fabel, an aspiring PGA Tour player, in the early 1980s. Fabel went on to have a long career playing on the PGA Tour. McGill became known throughout Kentucky as an innovative instructor, incorporating video and other cutting-edge technology into his lessons. There were many days where his lesson calendar was booked from dawn until dusk. McGill taught players of all skill levels, from beginners who had never held a club to aspiring tour players. It didn’t matter to him, he just loved to teach.

In 1990, McGill became the head golf professional at Bowling Green Country Club, where he continued to build his reputation as a great instructor. He taught a number of other notable players over the years, including many that went on to play college golf, many that won state-level championships and some that became playing professionals. McGill earned the following accolades as an instructor:

• 1988 Kentucky Section PGA, Teacher of the Year

•1997, Kentucky Section PGA, Teacher of the Year

•2000, Golf Digest Best Teacher in Kentucky

•2001, Golf Digest Best Teacher in Kentucky

•2001, Kentucky Section PGA, Teacher of the Year

During his career, McGill always promoted the game of golf, especially junior golf. He built a large junior golf program at BGCC, many years attracting over 100 junior golfers. He also ensured that BGCC regularly hosted amateur and junior golf tournaments. In 2005, he led the effort to bring the KHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ State Golf Championships to Bowling Green, where it has remained ever since. He was heavily involved in running these events each year and organizing all of the local volunteers.

McGill was also inducted into the KHSAA Hall of Fame in 2019. His induction was based upon his winning the 1969 KHSAA Boys’ State Individual Championship, his involvement in hosting the KHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ State Golf Championships at BGCC for 15 years and his ardent support and promotion of junior golf in Kentucky for 40 years.

McGill retired as the head professional of BGCC in 2019, after 43-year career as a golf professional.