Hank Johnson
Henry Morgan Johnson Jr (born March 5, 1941 in Birmingham; died September 28, 2021 in Vestavia Hills) was a PGA tour golfer and golf professional who operated the Hank Johnson School of Golf at the Bent Brook Golf Course.
Hank was the son of Henry and Helen Nabors Johnson. He grew up in Siluria, where his father was an avid golfer. Hank began his formal training with Paul Stapp at the Woodward Country Club. After graduating from Thompson High School he played for the Auburn Tigers golf team, finishing second in the 1962 Southeastern Conference championship. He played professionally on the PGA Tour for two years before turning to teaching as an assistant pro at the Longue Vue Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After a year he was hired as the head pro at Youghiogheny Country Club in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Johnson married the former Sybil Hargrove in 1965 and had four children.
In 1975 Johnson returned to Alabama as the head professional at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa. From there he went to the same position with Greystone Golf Club before founding his own school in 2002.
Johnson was invited to join the advisory staff for Golf Digest magazine in 1975. The Dixie Section PGA presented him with their "Horton Smith Award" for contributions to golf education in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1983, and honored him as "Professional of the Year" in 1985 and "Teacher of the Year" in 1997. The Alabama Golf Association named him Professional of the Year in 1984. Travel South magazine named him Top Teacher of the Year in 1989. He was a finalist for the PGA's National Teacher of the Year award in 1998. Johnson was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in the class of 2001.
Johnson died at home in 2021. He was buried at Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Pelham.
Publications
- Johnson, Hank & Roger Schiffman (1993) How to Win the Three Games of Golf. Pocket Books. ISBN 9780671866839
References
- Hank Johnson obituary (September 29, 2021) at dignitymemorial.com
- Taylor, Drew (October 8, 2021) "Hank Johnson, celebrated instructor who trained countless golfers in Alabama, dies at 80." CBS42.com
External links
- Hank Johnson at ashof.org