Longtime golf legend Herb Wimberly has officially made his mark within the iconic walls at the Professional Golfers’ Association Hall of Fame.
Wimberly was the head coach for men’s golf at New Mexico State University for 31 years and put golf on the map at NMSU and across the Southwest. During this time, he was named Coach of the Year six times by the Missouri Valley Conference and once by the Big West Conference.
“He is a legend. He is so humble – he did it and stayed out of the limelight,” said Pat Gavin, director of the PGA Golf Management program at NMSU. “You know the phrase ‘if you know, you know?’ Well, everyone in the golf business knows – we owe Herb for growing the game and the profession.”
“As a PGA member of 27 years, I’m thrilled to hear that Coach has been inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame,” said Martin Chuck, PGA member and former NMSU golfer from 1988 to 91. “The Hall is filled with honorable members who have made a lasting impression in the game. No one is more deserving than Herb. He’s always been a fine example of a quality human being and an example of someone who takes the high road in every situation. The game of golf has been his vessel to deliver his knowledge, kindness and friendship to many.”
One of Wimberly’s impactful career milestones was bringing the Professional Golf Management program to NMSU’s College of Business in 1987 alongside his brother Guy, who is also in the PGA of America Hall of Fame. He served as co-director until he retired in 1993.
“The rest is history. I owe my entire career to Herb. He mentored me, but more importantly, he believed in me,” Gavin said. “Now 31 years later, we get to celebrate what he helped create not only at NMSU, but in New Mexico. The faces of our Sun Country PGA members light up when they see Herb walk into a room.”
“Herb is not just the best coach and golf professional I’ve ever known – he also is the best person I’ve ever known,” said Doug Bryant, an NMSU alum who graduated in 1992. “He was incapable of ever making a negative comment or having a negative thought. He conveyed this same positivity to every team member in every situation. I owe every ounce of my respect and gratitude to Herb for getting me to the level I achieved in college, professionally and to this day.”
The recent honor is not only momentous to Wimberly, but his close family and friends, too. The accomplishment is well-deserved and – some say – overdue.
“For me, the best way I can explain or describe the person that Herb Wimberly is, is to share how every Saturday morning, no matter how cold it was, he never failed to show up to the driving range to help students with their golf games,” said Dylan Nevins, PGA member and NMSU alum who graduated in 2018. “That, along with his commitment to being at the PGA show year after year to support the program, speaks volumes of his character and dedication to the game and the people around it.”
“I have learned so much from Herb through conversation, but also by simply watching how he lives his life,” said Josh Salmon, assistant director at NMSU PGA Golf Management Program. “What he has done for the game of golf in his community as well as nationally is incredible. I could not be happier for his induction into the PGA Hall of Fame. This means the world to the Wimberly family, the golfing community of Las Cruces, the university, and the PGA Golf Management Program at NMSU. I am so proud of Herb and all that he has accomplished.”
Wimberly is still active in the golf industry and in the community as well. A ceremony honoring his Hall of Fame induction will be held Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the annual PGA Meeting in Frisco, Texas.
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/nmsu-golf-legend-herb-wimberly-inducted-to-pga-america-hall-of-fame/s/c9e1f846-bbc2-4756-a9d2-02c22c765d80