Mike Casto, PGA Named 55th Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame Inductee

GREENSBORO, NC (September 27th, 2024) – The Carolinas PGA is honored to announce that Mike Casto, PGA will be inducted into the Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame for the Class of 2024. The Carolinas PGA Section’s Hall of Fame is an exclusive group of the finest PGA Professionals and other leaders in golf who have called the Carolinas home. The PGA of America lists 37 characteristics of PGA Professionals including being a motivator, community leader, business manager, accomplished player, trained instructor, counselor, and friend. The Section’s Hall of Fame members have displayed traits such as these over the span of their lives and careers to the benefit of their community and the game of golf at large. These individuals have positively impacted countless lives through professional and personal relationships.

A native of West Virginia, Casto began his career as an Assistant Professional at Greenhills Country Club in Ravenswood, WV in 1982. In 1984, he became the Assistant Professional and Assistant Manager of Oak Ridge Country Club in Oak Ridge, TN. He continued his career in the golf industry as the Head Professional and Co-Owner at Willowbrook Golf Club in Parkersburg, WV from 1985 to 1990 where he earned his Class-A PGA Membership in 1988. In 1990 took the position as Director of Golf and General Manager at Fort Jackson Golf Club on the U.S. Army Base in Columbia, SC where he eventually retired from in 2022. 

During his tenure at Fort Jackson Golf Club, Casto was the Chairman of several Carolinas PGA Committees including the Awards and Honors Committee, Membership Survey Committee, Education Committee, and Long Range Planning/Budget Committee. He also served on the CPGA Ethics Committee. He was actively involved within the Carolinas PGA Board and served as the Secretary from 2008-2009, Vice President from 2010-2011, and eventually as the President of the Section from 2012-2013. 

Throughout his career, he has been an advocate and promoter of junior golf and growth of the game initiatives. The Fort Jackson Golf Club staff conducted week-long junior golf camps during every summer and also hosted several CPGA Play Golf America Days. Shortly after Casto started as Director of Golf and General Manager, he established “the Army’s Best Golf” as Fort Jackson Golf Club’s Mission Statement. With the assistance of the USGA Greens Section, he was able to obtain the support of the Command at Fort Jackson and the resources through the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Fund leadership to take the necessary steps to improve the playing conditions and offer the quality of service that Active-Duty Soldiers, Retired Military, DOD Civilians, National Guardsmen, Reservists and their families desire and deserve. Though military golf facilities are not ranked or rated annually, Fort Jackson Golf Club was consistently considered one of the military’s best golf experiences. In 2010, Fort Jackson Golf Club was recognized as a Top 100 Play Golf America Facility.

One of Casto’s most successful programs to grow the game was the Get Golf Ready program (formerly Link Up to Golf). Casto and his talented team of PGA Professionals worked tirelessly with this program, Get Golf Ready was a great fit for the introduction of the game for United States Soldiers and their families, as well as the Retired Military patrons. FJGC also participated in PGA Junior League beginning in 2012, competing with other teams in the Columbia, SC area.  Since his retirement in 2022, Casto has been a PGA HOPE Instructor within the Columbia area programs. Casto is grateful that he has the opportunity to continue supporting those who serve and have served his country with PGA HOPE even in retirement.

Retired United States Army Colonel Scott Nahrwold quoted, “I believe his 32 year career is an incontrovertible testimony to his dedication to the game of golf, and the people who love the game. The scope of his contributions are undeniable, and will forever shape the future of the program at Fort Jackson, and the success of initiatives at the state and national level.” 

His desire to serve those around him, especially those who have or are currently serving in the military, as well as his dedication to the Carolinas PGA and its initiatives have granted him a permanent spot in the Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame. 

Mike will be recognized at the Carolinas PGA Special Awards and Honors Dinner presented by Club Car in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 16th, 2025.

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About the Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame

The Carolinas PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame was established to enshrine PGA Professionals and other leaders in golf and recognize their significant, enduring, accomplishments and contributions to the game and the Association, which are judged to be of historical significance. 

Other Carolinas PGA Hall of Fame members include

2023 – Cary Corbitt and William Lytton

2022 – Tim Moss 

2021 – Zack Veasey 

2020 – Rick Murphy

2019 – Jerry Hogge

2018 – Bobby Howard

2016 – Ron Schmid

2015 – Ed Ibarguen

2014 – Charles “Chip” E. King

2013 – Peggy Kirk Bell

2012 – Grover Bullin

2011 – John Derr

2010 – Mike Harmon

2009 – Jim Westbrook

2008 – Terry Florence

2007 – Bob Boyd and Rod Myers

2002 – Bill Clemmer and Will Mann

2001 – Hamp Auld and Gene Hamm

2000 – D. Sherrill Austin and Norman Flynn

1999 – Henry Poe and Bruce Sudderth

1998 – Jim Ferree and Don Padgett

1997 – Joe Davis and Roger Watson

1996 – Buck Adams and E. Harvie Ward

1995 – Gary Schaal and Luke Veasey

1994 – Tommy Card, Joe Cheves, and Palmer Maples

1993 – Ed Bullock, Charles Farlow, Al Goodrich, Melvin Hemphill, and Randy Glover

1992 – Aubrey Apple, Sr.

1991 – Joe Ellis Maples

1985 – Grant Bennett, J. Fairley Clark, and Orville White

1984 – Jimmy D’Angelo

1983 – Purvis Ferree and Clayton Heafner

1982 – Johnny Palmer

1981 – Dugan Aycock, Henry Picard, and Donald Ross

About the Carolinas PGA Section

Established in 1923, the Carolinas PGA Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association has grown to be the largest of the PGA’s forty-one sections with over 2,300 professional members. The Carolinas PGA Section encompasses North and South Carolina, as well as a small portion of southern Virginia, with more than 600 golf facilities. The Carolinas PGA is dedicated to nurturing and improving the quality of the game for the thousands of golfers using its member facilities. PGA professionals are responsible for conducting a variety of golf-related functions, which include human resource management, golf shop merchandising, golf instruction, tournament operations, junior golf programs, growth of the game initiatives, golf club repair, administering the rules, public relations and much more.  For more information, please visit carolinas.pga.com. You can also find the Carolinas PGA on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Media Contact: Jess Hanson, Carolinas PGA, 336-398-2675, jhanson@pgahq.com