Ken Morton Sr. has been recognized more than Mother Teresa. He’s got more hardware than a Home Depot.
Already a PGA of America Hall of Fame member, the Sacramento native received the PGA of America Master Professional Lifetime Achievement Award on July 28 at the headquarters of the PGA of America in Frisco, Texas.
Morton, the 83-year-old longtime head professional at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex and CEO of Morton Golf Management, a golf course management company that oversees all management aspects of four Sacramento municipal golf facilities, was recognized for his award-winning career and extensive contributions to the Association.
“Every day I wake up, I get to do something I love,” Morton told NCGA Golf magazine in 2021.
Morton became just the fifth recipient of the award, which honors PGA Master Professionals who exemplify the elevated standards of the highest education designation within the Association.
A PGA of America Member since 1964, Morton got involved in the development and implementation of Association Education in 1978, initially serving as a faculty presenter. He was instrumental in the evolution and development of the Apprentice, Member, Certification and Master Professional programs.
“I can wholeheartedly state that without PGA Education, my business career would not be what it has become today,” Morton said. “Becoming a PGA Master Professional really did have a dramatic impact on my career. It’s an honor to be recognized, although I have found that the journey to earn the reward is more meaningful than the award itself. The years of being on PGA faculty and getting involved in these programs gave me the opportunity to work with some of the most talented golf professionals in the country, which was reflected in what I did when I went to work each day.”
To distill Morton’s career into awards and honors is to miss the point of his life in the sport. Growing up in Sacramento, the son of a blind father, he took a job at age 11 caddying at Del Paso Country Club. There he met head pro Frank Minch, Sr. One day, Minch asked Morton if he’d like to get better at golf. Morton said yes. Minch told him to show up every Saturday at 7:30 a.m. for lessons. Morton appreciated it but said he couldn’t afford lessons. Minch repeated his instructions.
“He changed my life,” Morton said.
Morton morphed into a golf lifer, a Northern California high school and community college golf champion who also learned how to repair, refinish and re-shaft golf clubs. Then came part two of Morton’s back story: Haggin Oaks pro Tom LoPresti told Minch he needed a club-repair guy.
Ken Morton was 18 years old in 1958 when he accepted that job from LoPresti. What followed over the next six decades has been difference-making idea after difference-making idea. Morton left his mark on player development, marketing, merchandising, junior golf, minority golf initiatives, charity, super stores, 24-hour driving ranges, civic contributions, community and family.
“He’s the Willy Wonka of golf,” said Frank LaRosa, a Sacramento radio and TV golf host.
In 1983, the Sacramento area schools made budget-fueled moves to eliminate high school golf. Morton’s response? He raised money for SAY (Sacramento Area Youth) Golf to get prep kids playing again, and form its junior partner, Little Linkers, including its core principles of honesty, integrity, discipline and respect. Recognize that concept? That’s because the First Tee, a national junior golf development program launched in 1997, consulted with Morton on how to structure its program. Morton may be proudest of the Morton Golf Foundation’s work with Black and Latino junior golfers, veterans and its college scholarship program.
“The game is so great for quality of life,” Morton said.
In 1995, Morton had a circus tent up for their annual April golf expo, but a torrential rainstorm blew through overnight and wrecked the whole thing. “My entire life’s earnings were in that tent,” Morton once said. “Gone overnight.” But he’d studied business practices in annual seminars as a faculty member of the PGA of America’s head pro program. Insurance allowed him to build the 15,000-square-foot Haggin Oaks super store.
“It’s like a Disneyland of golf,” LaRosa said.
Morton officially retired in April 2021, but he still stays involved by hosting customer-service training at Haggin Oaks. His sons, Ken Jr., and Tom, are part of the management team that run the place. Continuity is a thing. LoPresti was at Haggin Oaks 62 years. Morton bettered him by one. The next generation is in place.
“It’s a testament to my Dad’s infectiousness and passion,” Ken Jr. said. “It’s hard not to catch it.”
Morton reflected on his journey, and come to some conclusions.
“It was this thing Mr. Minch did for me that really said to me: ‘Ken, life is pretty good for you. Now you need to do for others what he did for you,’” Morton said. “That’s been my lifetime goal.”