Sea Pines Resort Director of Golf John Farrell to be Inducted in Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame

John Farrell, Director of Golf at The Sea Pines Resort, has been named to the Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame and will be inducted in an awards ceremony at Berkeley Hall on May 8. 

 

Over a 30-year-long career, Farrell has been honored many times, including five-time PGA Golf Professional of the Year of the Hilton Head Chapter of the Carolina's PGA Section; two-time Carolina PGA Section Merchandiser of the Year; and Presidents Plaque Award winner. T oday, as Director of Golf and host golf professional of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, he oversees Atlantic Dunes, Heron Point, and Harbour Town Golf Links, plus on-course food and beverage, as well as tennis, at The Sea Pines Resort. 

Upon arriving on Hilton Head Island in 1984, Farrell first worked at Shipyard Golf Club and Oyster Reef Golf Club before joining Sea Pines in 1989.  Actively involved in the Hilton Head community, he has long focused on junior golf and cultivating interest in the game among new golfers.  For 30 years, he has been the PGA advisor to the Hilton Head Junior Golf Association, while serving on the Board of Directors of The First Tee of the Lowcountry and as an advisor to the Hilton Head High School golf team. 

The seventh of nine children, Farrell grew up across the street from the Country Club of Pittsfield in western Massachusetts, a turn-of-the-century Donald Ross-designed club where he first encountered the game. 

"My father loved and respected the game and all it stood for," Farrell explained.  "I was fortunate to inherit this from him.  From an early age I knew I would do something in golf and was fortunate to be able to walk across the street to enjoy this beautiful club where I worked picking balls at the range, in the bag room, and eventually in the Golf Shop.  The Golf Professional staffs were incredibly supportive and encouraging to me, treatment I've never forgotten." 

He played competitive golf in high school and collegiately at Springfield College, Springfield, Massachusetts.  He now lives in Sea Pines with Jane, his wife of 30 years; they have three grown children, Megan, Thomas, and Charlie.

Farrell will be inducted along with Heidi Wright-Tennyson, the former director of golf at Moss Creek and now head golf professional at Mesa Verde Country Club in southern California.