Cumming's Mangum Selected to Georgia Golf Hall of Fame

By Stan Awtrey

Ken Mangum, the Director of Golf Courses and Grounds of the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, has been selected for induction the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

Mangum, a leader in turfgrass and golf course industries who serves as an ambassador for the game in Georgia, nationally and internationally, is one of four in the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.

He will be joined in the induction banquet on Jan. 17, 2015, by: Ray Cutright of Macon, the PGA director of golf at the Idle Hour Club in Macon; Gene McClure of Atlanta, a lifelong volunteer and contributor; and Carter Mize of Columbus, a two-time Georgia Amateur champion. These four inductees will bring the total number in the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame to 102.

“It is really quite humbling to be inducted with that group,” Mangum said. “I’ve been going to the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for quite a few years and to be included in that group is very gratifying.”

Mangum becomes only the third golf course superintendent to be inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. He joins Mark Esoda of the Atlanta Country Club and turfgrass pioneer Palmer Maples, who was one of Mangum’s mentors.

“I’ve been blessed to work with a lot of great people in my life,” Mangum said. “I feel like that turtle who you find sitting on a fence post. He didn’t get there by himself. I didn’t get here by myself, either. I had a lot of help.”

Mangum was born in Anniston, Ala., and attended Alexandria High School and later Lake City Community College in Lake City, Fla., graduating in 1975 from the School of Golf Course Operations. Mangum moved to Georgia and served as Assistant Superintendent at Mystery Valley Golf Course in Atlanta from 1976 to 1978. He returned to his home state of Alabama in 1978, taking on the role of Golf Course Superintendent at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.

Mangum then served as Golf Course Superintendent at Idle Hour Club in Macon, Ga., from 1981 to 1988. At Idle Hour, Mangum installed the first computerized irrigation system east of the Mississippi River, and established a golf course management program that included the change to bentgrass greens and hosted seven Peach Blossom Invitational tournaments. He designed and managed construction of a golf course operations center and implemented a master landscape program for the course.

In 1988, Mangum joined the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., where he currently serves as Director of Golf Courses & Grounds. During his tenure, Mangum prepared the course for the 1990 U.S. Women's Open Championship, 2001 PGA Championship, 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, 2011 PGA Championship, and will host the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship later this summer. He was Project Manager for six major golf course renovations and designed and built the Par 3 course in 1993. He also developed a management program that has produced many successful superintendents around the country.

An active member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Mangum served on its Board of Directors from 1996 to 2001. He served as President of its Georgia Chapter in 1987-88. He is a current member of the Rain Bird Irrigation Select Superintendent Advisory Board and sits on the USGA Green Section Committee.  In 2004, Mangum was appointed by Governor Perdue to the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Board of Directors where he served until 2009.  Mangum has served as an instruction at the John Deere/Bayer Green Start Academy since it started in 2006.

Mangum was inducted into the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association Hall of Fame in 2013, and was the recipient of the USGA's Fred Grainger Award and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award that same year. He was named Georgia Superintendent of the Year in 2002 and the Georgia Turf Professional of the Year in 1996.

Mangum and his wife, Pam, are parents of two daughters, one son and three grandchildren and reside in Cumming.