Butch Hansen is a PGA golf professional who has devoted his career to serving the game and giving back to the golf community through charitable efforts, elevating junior golf programming around the state.
Born in Miami, Fla., Hansen moved to Virginia as a junior and attended high school at Granby High School in Norfolk. He enrolled at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg and captained the golf team (1961-63), where he was the number one player in 1961.
After college Hansen served in the U.S. Navy, won 20 Navy golf tournaments, and was a member of the All-Navy Golf Team and All-Service Golf Team in 1964.
In 1965, Hansen officially began his career with a move to Atlanta as he accepted the assistant professional position at Cherokee Town & Country Club. He became a PGA member in 1966. From 1967-1969, Hansen was the head golf professional at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, and from 1969-1971, he was the head golf professional at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta.
Hansen’s responsibilities expanded when he joined Brookfield West Country Club (now Brookfield Country Club) in Roswell in 1972 as the head golf professional and general manager, where he would be for 19 years.
The next few years Hansen would be instrumental in bringing together state organizations to benefit the golf community. In 1973, he led a joint effort to bring together the Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) and the Georgia PGA to form the Georgia Junior Golf Foundation, where he would serve as its first president. Then in 1977, Hansen assisted in the founding of the Atlanta Junior Golf Association, serving as its first president as well.
Brookfield West hosted the Georgia Open Championship in 1974, which Hansen served as the general chairman and tournament director. He secured a total purse of $26,000, which was the largest this event had seen. A year later in 1975, the purse grew to $33,000 with a record attendance of 30,000 spectators. Proceeds were donated to the Georgia Junior Golf Foundation.
Hansen would garner praise from his peers and the media, often described as a spiritual philanthropist for his efforts in giving back to the community through golf.
His next endeavor came when he served as tournament chairman and host professional for the Lady Tara Classic/Lady Michelob on the LPGA circuit, from 1977 to 1985. After declining in interest in previous years, under Hansen’s leadership and guidance, the event raised thousands, all benefiting the Georgia Special Olympics, while at the same time becoming a favorite event to the LPGA players and fans alike.
His philanthropic efforts would continue for several years. In 1987, while still at Brookfield West, Hansen would take on the role of head golf professional simultaneously at Polo Golf & Country Club in Cumming. There he founded the Polo Golf Classic, a 36-hole event that included a total purse of $100,000 and a $25,000 first-place prize. Proceeds, once again, benefited the Georgia Junior Golf Foundation.
Along with mentoring many PGA professionals who would go on to achieve success of their own, Hansen has been honored and celebrated numerous times over the years. In 1996, he was the Georgia PGA North Chapter Professional of the Year. He was honored by the Georgia Athletic Hall of Fame as Georgia’s Sportsman of the Year in 1975 and is a member of the Granby High School Sports Hall of Fame.