SCGA Hall of Fame Welcomes 14th Class of Inductees
October 28, 2021
The SCGA Hall of Fame inducted its 14th class today at El Niguel CC in Laguna Niguel. The legendary father-son duo of John and Kemp Richardson were inducted during a ceremony at their home club, along with golf legend and past SCGA president Lynn Smith.
John Richardson
A native of Long Beach, John Richardson was an outstanding golfer and luminary contributor to Southern California golf, though many of his most notable on-course accomplishments happened later in his life.
In 1961, Richardson was crowned the California Amateur Champion and in 1973, at the age of 52, he won the SCGA Amateur Championship, joining just 13 others to win both prestigious titles.
As he entered the senior ranks, Richardson's dominating golf game led him to become a two-time winner of the SCGA Senior Amateur Championship, earning crowns in 1979 and 1986.
In 1987, Richardson received national recognition when he won the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at the age of 66, the event's third-oldest winner at the time.
Beyond his accolades as a player, Richardson also made a significant contribution to golf in Southern California. One of the founding members and driving forces in the design and construction of his home course, El Niguel Country Club, he laid claim to one club championship and lost another year in the finals to his son, Kemp.
While he passed away a year after his U.S. Senior Amateur win, Richardson’s accomplishments and contributions were honored in 2006, when he was inducted into the Long Beach Golf Hall of Fame, joining his son, who was inducted two years' prior.
Kemp Richardson
After his father John introduced him to the game, Kemp Richardson followed in his footsteps, although on a more traditional path.
Kemp Richardson’s golf career took off in college when he became a three-year member of the University of Southern California’s golf team, earning All-American status in 1967 and 1968.
With his booming drives and impeccable short game, Richardson went on to play in 20 USGA events, winning Low Amateur Medalist honors in the U.S. Senior Open in 1999 and again in 2000. He echoed his father’s USGA success, winning the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship in 2001, making history as the first father-son championship duo. He would win another U.S. Senior Amateur in 2003.
Richardson’s accolades extend beyond borders, with two British Senior Amateur Championships on his C.V., along with a win at the 2006 Canadian Senior Amateur Championship.
More recently, Richardson added two more championship victories to his resume, as he took consecutive crowns at the SCGA Super Senior Championship in 2016 and 2017.
To this day he continues his passion for the game at his home club, El Niguel CC, where he and his father’s legacies are forever ingrained in history.
Locally, Richardson was inducted into the Long Beach Hall of Fame in 2004.
Lynn Smith
Lynn Smith dedicated his life to serving the golf community. After growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa., and graduating from Yale in 1924, his move to California in 1955 kickstarted his leadership and involvement in the golf industry. An avid golfer, Smith was a member of Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena, where he became president from 1955-56. Concurrent to his membership at Annandale, Smith belonged to some of the world’s most prestigious and exclusive clubs, including Cypress Point, Augusta National Golf Club, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and Pine Valley Country Club.
Smith became a prominent figure in the SCGA, serving on almost every SCGA committee en route to becoming the organization's president in 1965. During this presidency, he played an instrumental role in the USGA Handicap System by negotiating changes to create national uniformity, such as taking the best 10 of a player’s last 20 scores and including decimals in course rating. The installation of the slope system for evaluating course difficulty and a player’s handicap was also pioneered by Smith and is a continuing practice to this day.
Smith’s leadership continued in 1966 when he became the president of the California Golf Association; that same year, he became a USGA Executive Committee member where he chaired on multiple committees, including: Handicap, Amateur Status, Senior Championship, Green Section, Finance, Rules of Golf, Championship and Implements and Balls.
He later went on to become Vice President of the USGA Executive Committee in 1974.
His vast experience and knowledge of the game brought him to renowned golf events the world over, where he assumed a role on the Masters Rules Committee and dedicated his time as a Rules Official for the U.S. Open and myriad PGA TOUR tournaments. In the late 70s, he was recognized as a California Golf Writers honoree and, a decade later, had the SCGA’s highest honor named for him – The Lynn Smith Award -- acknowledging the time and expertise he tirelessly and ceaselessly devoted to the game.