By: Shane René, USGA P.J. Boatwright Intern
Just over a decade after its founding, Wayne Berry was appointed as the first executive director of the Idaho Golf Association in 1980, giving clear direction to an organization that has grown to serve more than 23,000 golfers and more than 80 golf courses across the IGA’s jurisdiction.
Berry’s leadership was a defining moment for amateur golf in Idaho. Those close to him say he was instrumental in establishing more cooperation between Eastern and Western Idaho for professional and amateur golfers alike. The richness of the Idaho golf community, and the cooperation today’s members enjoy from Weiser to Driggs, is the direct result of efforts Berry made in his role with the IGA. At the same time, Berry wanted the IGA to be as approachable as possible, making it a key resource for professionals and amateurs across the golf industry. This often meant making himself available around the clock, always eager to answer questions and make sure that the community of golfers around him could maintain a fulfilling relationship with the game.
Those close to Berry describe him as one of the most honorable men they knew, the kind of person with clear reverence for rules and regulations. That worldview made Berry well suited to become one if Idaho’s leading experts in the rules of golf. His authority on the rules, which was nationally recognized, gave Idaho more credibility in the national golf landscape and today Idaho hosts as many as eight USGA qualifiers every year.
After a decade at the helm of the IGA, Berry joined the PGA Tour as a rule's official in 1991. He went on to become Tour Director of the Hogan Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) before he retired in 1998, a job that made him proud to bring the Albertson’s Boise Open to his hometown every year.
“When you go to a play in a tournament, you expect the best,” said Blue Lakes CC Head Professional Mike Hamblin. “Wayne always put the best product forward. No matter what golf course we went to, he knew how to set a golf course up, he knew how it would play the best and bring out the best in the players.”
In 2008, Berry was given honorary membership into the PGA’s Rocky Mountain Section for his expertise on the rules and, most notably, his routine willingness to serve the Idaho golf community whenever called upon.
“He always seemed eager to share his time,” said PGA Member Kyle Weeks, who was a professional at Eagle Hills where Berry played much of his golf in his later years. “He was everybody’s friend.”
Berry attended La Grande High School in Oregon, earning varsity letters in Football, Baseball, Basketball and Golf. While golf would come to define his life and legacy, football paved his immediate path out of Oregon, landing a scholarship at Washington State University. After four years in Pullman, he was drafted by the New York Giants.