World Golf Hall of Fame From My Seat by Gil Vieira, Publisher HOFMAG.com Exclusive St. Augustine, Florida (October 30, 2006) – On a beautiful October evening in St. Augustine, Florida, I finally figured out this whole Hall of Fame business. Since the conception of our magazine more than a year ago, I have immersed myself in the Hall of Fame industry. I have visited numerous Halls of Fame from Cooperstown to Nashville, from Canton to San Diego. I always marvel at the greatness of those memorialized in each exhibit. But it didn’t hit me until Monday night at the Golf Hall of Fame Inductions what these Halls were really about. It all came together that night. It all made sense. One man put it in perspective for me, and then during the course of a memorable evening, others brought it to life. Read more >>

Rivaling St. Andrews by Gene Frenette HOFMAG.com Exclusive It's hard to dispute the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland as the sport's most famous landmark. But a corridor of northeast Florida is making an Arnold Palmer-like charge up the leader-board. Anybody looking for the ultimate golf destination on the American side of the Atlantic would be hard pressed to find a better target than a 25-mile area nestled between Jacksonville and St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Read more >>

Home on the Range by Rich Lerner HOFMAG.com Exclusive The curled up cigarette danced with the wind across the vacant lot, my thoughts running after it toward a time when golf wrapped its arms around me in an unusual way. In the mid 1950s, my father and three friends opened a miniature golf course, driving range and a fully-lighted par three, a side business for Les Lerner, Jack Lesavoy, Sheldon Merman and Murray Saltzman. In the aftermath of World War II, the Sheldons and the Murrays, college educated sons of the Abes and the Sols who had made good from their meager immigrant lot, were free to take their swings at what must have seemed to their fathers to be such frivolous pursuits. But it made a bit of sense. Read more >>

Discovering St. Augustine by Barbara Golden HOFMAG.com Exclusive St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city, offers visitors a unique blend of Florida sunshine, Mediterranean architecture, incredible beaches, unparalleled history and some of the best golf to be found anywhere. It is a place recognized for both its history and its hospitality. Selected by CNN as one of the Top 10 historic destinations in the nation, additional honors were awarded to St. Augustine in 2006 when AAA named it one of the ten most "walkable" cities in North America. Read more >>

2006 Induction Class

More than 100 men and women who have played and contributed to the sport of golf are immortalized in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Upon making the final announcement at The Open Championship in Hoylake, England, The World Golf Hall of Fame completed its Induction Class of 2006. Joining the list of previously announced inductees is the late Mark McCormack, a golf industry pioneer who went on to develop the marketing and management agency IMG. McCormack rounds out the Class of 2006 which includes Larry Nelson, Vijay Singh, Marilynn Smith and the late Henry Picard.

The World Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is set for Monday, October 30 at 6 p.m. in St. Augustine, Fla. Arnold Palmer will be in attendance to speak on behalf of McCormack. Other presenters include Hall of Fame members Gary Player, Kathy Whitworth, Beth Daniel as well as Ted Forstmann, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IMG Worldwide, Inc. For more information, visit www.wgv.com.

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Selected in the Lifetime Achievement category, Mark McCormack's legendary handshake with Palmer in 1960 was the foundation for the sports marketing industry and evolved for McCormack into what would become IMG, the world's premier sports, entertainment and media company. In 1966, he formed IMG's media division, TWI, which became the world's largest non-network producer of televised sports. He also began an events division to create, stage and build upon the success of many golf events throughout the world. McCormack also is credited with developing the Official World Golf Rankings, a system that ranks the performance level of male professional golfers. He passed away on May 16, 2003.

Selected in the Veteran's category, Henry Picard captured 26 PGA Tour victories, including the 1938 Masters Tournament and the 1939 PGA Championship. He also participated on two U.S. Ryder Cup teams. Twenty of his 26 victories came between 1935 and 1939, including six wins in 1939, when he led the PGA Tour in earnings. Among Picard's contemporaries was Hogan, at the time an aspiring young pro, whom Picard encouraged and supported unconditionally. Hogan later dedicated his first instructional book, "Ben Hogan's Power Golf," to Picard. He was also instrumental in encouraging Snead to join the professional tour. Picard passed away on April 30, 1997.

Elected on the PGA Tour ballot, Larry Nelson has three major championships to his credit: the 1981 and 1987 PGA Championships and the 1983 U.S. Open. His record includes seven additional PGA Tour victories and 19 Champions Tour victories to date. Nelson has participated on three U.S. Ryder Cup teams with a 9-3-1 record. He began playing golf at age 21, following his time in the military in Vietnam.

Elected on the PGA Tour ballot in 2005, Vijay Singh has amassed 29 PGA Tour victories to date, including the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championships and the 2000 Masters Tournament. Singh had one of golf's greatest seasons in 2004, winning nine times and becoming the first person to win more than $10 million in a single season en route to becoming the No. 1-ranked player in the world and PGA Tour Player of the Year. Singh has competed in five Presidents Cup matches and has 22 career international victories to his credit.

Also selected in the Lifetime Achievement category, Marilynn Smith was one of the original 13 founders of the LPGA in 1950. Like many of the founders, Smith served as the LPGA President (1958-60), and during her term was instrumental in co-founding the teaching division, now known as the LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals. Her career on the course included 21 official victories, including the 1963 and 1964 Titleholders Championships, major tournaments at the time.