Stephen A. Hamblin, Executive Director of the American Junior Golf Association, was honored as the 2022 Golf Executive of the Year by the Georgia Section of the PGA of America on February 11, 2023 at their 16th Annual Georgia PGA Special Awards and Weir Scholarship Banquet sponsored by the Shirley & Billy Weir Foundation and Club Car.
The Golf Executive of the Year Award "bestows special recognition for performing outstanding services in an executive management position, while possessing qualities of leadership, vision, courage, moral character and a substantial record of service to the Association and the game," according to the Georgia PGA.
Our Golf Executive of the Year Award goes to @AJGAGolf's Stephen Hamblin, PGA! He has taken the AJGA from an operating budget of $200K in 1984 to over $14 million today! His efforts to champion junior golf were recognized with his induction into the GA Golf Hall of Fame in 2018. pic.twitter.com/h3gjegBXCd
— Georgia PGA (@GeorgiaPGA) November 11, 2022
Hamblin earned a degree in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University in 1980. While in school, he spent his summers at Pinehurst Resort working under Head Golf Professional, Jay Overton. After graduation, he began working as the resident golf professional at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club until 1983. In 1984, Hamblin started his role as the Executive Director of the American Junior Golf Association at 28-years-old.
When he started in his role as the Executive Director of the AJGA, there were only five employees, no internship program, less than 1,000 junior members, 15 tournaments and no qualifiers. Today, the AJGA has 72 full-time employees, 100 interns per year, over 130 events annually and a membership that includes nearly 8,000 juniors from all 50 states and 60 countries.
Scott Geary, Executive Director of the Georgia PGA, had the opportunity to present Hamblin with the Golf Executive of the Year Award. Geary shared that this opportunity was a full-circle moment for him, as he began his career as an intern at the AJGA.
He embodies building a culture, which he does at the AJGA, a desire to get better and a willingness to let you swim but never sink.
Hamblin shares that the mission of the AJGA has been the same since he started at the organization. He says, "The challenge to continue to try and provide the best exposure opportunities that we can for our juniors is what has been driving the AJGA since day one."
Throughout his tenure at the AJGA, Stephen Hamblin has implemented many programs that fully embodies the mission of the organization. A few of these programs include an industry-leading pace of play system, a high quality junior golf tournament experience and the ACE Grant program.
"I'm just proud of what we've accomplished in my term at the AJGA," Stephen mentioned during his speech at the Georgia PGA banquet. Hamblin has devoted nearly 40 years to the development of golf's next generation and continues to make a lasting impact within the golf industry.