Jerry Rich Recognized with GCAA Lifetime Achievement Award
NORMAN, Okla – Jerry Rich, founder and architect of Rich Harvest Farms and founder of the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, has been selected as the eighth Lifetime Achievement honoree by the GCAA. Rich will officially be recognized at the GCAA Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet on Monday December 9th, in Las Vegas. Past GCAA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients include Karsten Solheim, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Friends of Golf (FOG), Jim Awtrey, and Jim Nantz.
Rich is the architect and owner of Rich Harvest Farms, a golf course that is consistently ranked in Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.” Rich graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1961 with a degree in mathematics and earth science. After graduation, he went to work at Rich Inc., his father’s company. In the 1970s, he created the way Wall Street trading is still done today with the development of the integrated trading terminal.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be put in the same category as the likes of [past award winners] Arnold Palmer and Karsten Solheim, but I’m just a man who loves collegiate golf,” said Rich. “It all started with supporting the golf teams at my alma mater, Northern Illinois University. I share this Lifetime Achievement Award with them, as well as my staff who have championed my vision.”
Rich is most proud of the Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois, a non-profit junior golf organization housed at Rich Harvest Farms, which he founded with lifelong friend Don Springer in 1998. Since its inception, the Foundation has introduced 250,000 kids to the sport of golf.
Aside from the Kids Golf Foundation, Rich has hosted over 50 amateur, collegiate, and professional tournaments during the past 20 years, including the 2009 Solheim Cup, the 2015 Palmer Cup, and the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships. Rich Harvest Farms will also become the first course to host the Arnold Palmer Cup twice, as the event will be held at RHF in 2021.
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