Three Tips for a Successful Golf Career From the Legendary Ken Morton, PGA

PGA of America Hall of Fame Member Ken Morton Sr. received the PGA of America Master Professional Lifetime Achievement Award Sunday at the Home of the PGA of America. Morton was recognized for his award-winning career and extensive contributions to the Association.

Morton — an instrumental figure in curriculum development for PGA of America education and also known for his award-winning merchandising efforts — is the longtime Head Professional at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California, and CEO of Morton Golf Management, a golf course management company that oversees all management aspects of four Sacramento Municipal Golf Facilities.

He got his start in the golf industry in 1951 as an 11-year-old caddy at Del Paso Country Club in Sacramento. He worked his way up as a shop assistant and, in 1958, secured a job at Haggin Oaks as Assistant Golf Professional. He’s been there for over 66 years. He became a PGA of America Golf Professional in 1964 and a PGA Master Professional in 2004. 

An award-winning merchandiser, Morton had an instinct like no other on what would sell well and what wouldn’t. In the 1980s, he took a chance on a salesman selling hickory stick wedges and putters. A few years later at the PGA Show, he bought a hundred drivers from the same salesman, to the chagrin of his son Ken Morton Jr.

The salesman was Ely Callaway and the drivers were the first renditions of the world renowned Big Berthas.

With generations of knowledge and expertise, we asked Mr. Morton to provide some advice to PGA of America Golf Professionals to ensure a successful career:

"Whatever success I've had has come from other PGA of America Golf Professionals. Learn how to rub elbows with the best in the business," says Morton. "With over 40 years of working with the best of the best through education seminars and conferences, I could bring those ideas back home and put them to work.

"We tend to be in our own place, in our own community and our own golf course too much. We need to get out in the world and see what we don’t know, because there’s a lot of very talented, gifted people. When I saw successful people, I would call them up and go visit them, find out what they did and how they did it."

"A lot of people think that once they get their PGA Membership that they've arrived, their learning is done. The truth is when you get your PGA Membership, your learning just begins. Continuous education, continuous training and learning is absolutely essential for anybody to stay relevant in the golf industry.

“I can wholeheartedly state that without PGA of America Education, my business career would not be what it has become today. Becoming a PGA Master Professional really did have a dramatic impact on my career.”

“We need to have the talent to be able to follow up what we’ve learned. It’s said that a good general manager at a golf course runs 21 different businesses. It’s like the guy spinning the plates, you need to be spinning them all at the same time. That’s what it feels like to be in the golf business, you’re spinning all the plates all the time.”

Morton is a member of several hall of fames including the PGA of America Hall of Fame (2005), the California Golf Hall of Fame (2015) and the Northern California PGA Section Hall of Fame (2019).

Notable awards Morton has received include the National Golf Foundation Herb Graffis Award (2022); PGA of America Youth Player Development Award (2002); PGA of America Golf Professional of the Year (1998); PGA of America Merchandiser of the Year, Public (1998, 1990); PGA of America Professional Development Award (1995); and many more industry awards from International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Digest, Golfweek and Sports Illustrated for his merchandising efforts at Haggin Oaks GC.

To learn more about Morton’s career, click here.