The Southern California Golf Hall of Fame welcomed its Class of 2025 at a luncheon ceremony held at Industry Hills GC. Headlined by the renowned golf broadcaster, Gary McCord and legendary UCLA women’s golf coach, Carrie Forsyth, this class of inductees showcases a collection of trailblazers, community leaders, coaches and decorated amateurs who’ve made a significant impact on the game of golf and helped shape its landscape in Southern California.
The SoCal Golf Hall of Fame welcomed the following individuals:
Carrie Forsyth
Carrie Forsyth is synonymous with coaching excellence at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but her illustrious golf journey started back in Santa Clarita as a highly decorated junior player.
Forsyth, then Leary, won more than 30 junior tournaments and, as a sixth grader, placed third in the 1983 Junior World Championship. In high school, she lettered on the boys’ golf team and was named MVP as a senior. As an amateur, Forsyth competed in four U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships, three U.S. Amateur Championships and was an alternate qualifier for the 1992 and 1994 U.S. Women’s Open Championships.
In 1990, Forsyth walked on at UCLA and played in 11 tournaments, including the PAC-10 and NCAA Championships, and would earn a scholarship after her freshman year. In her final season as a college player, she served as student assistant coach before graduating with honors.
“I can’t explain the chills I got when I got the call from the SoCal Golf Hall of Fame,” Forsyth said. “I have great memories here at Industry Hills as I’ve spent my entire golf existence in Southern California. I am so grateful to everyone who made this honor so special. Success doesn’t occur in isolation and I wouldn’t be here without the support of my family, assistant coaches and players.”
Shortly after school, Forsyth was hired as the head coach at California State University, Northridge, and was named the 1998-99 Big Sky Coach of the Year in her third and final season. Under Forsyth, the Matadors improved their team scoring average by 31 strokes.
In 1999, Forsyth began what would become an unprecedented 24-year run at her alma mater as head coach of the UCLA women’s golf team. In her nearly quarter century at the helm, the Bruins won two NCAA Championships (2004, 2011), nine NCAA Regional Championships and five conference championships.
Forsyth is a Golfweek National Coach of the Year, four-time Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Regional Coach of the Year and a record-setting six-time PAC 10/12 Coach of the Year. She has coached numerous notable players including Lilia Vu, Melissa “Mo” Martin and Patty Tavatanakit, all of whom have won major championships on the LPGA Tour.
In 2023, Forsyth was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame, 12 years after her induction into the WGCA Hall of Fame.
Gary McCord
Born in San Gabriel, Calif, Gary McCord’s second career in golf has made him a longtime and defining voice of the game.
After moving further east in Southern California, McCord graduated from Ramona High School before attending the University of California, Riverside, just seven miles away. As a member of the Highlanders men’s golf team, McCord was a two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division II individual championship in 1970.
“It’s very humbling for me to get elected to anything. I usually get kicked out of things,” McCord laughed. “You don’t set out to be recognized for your work but it is very nice and I really appreciate it.”
In 1971, after graduating, McCord turned professional and spent nearly 15 years on the PGA Tour playing in over 400 events. He amassed 24 top-10 finishes, including second-place showings at the 1975 and 1977 Greater Milwaukee Open. Although McCord never won on the PGA Tour, he entered a single event on the Korn Ferry Tour (then called the Ben Hogan Tour), won it and never played another on that circuit.
Before McCord was eligible by age to play the PGA Tour Champions, he joined CBS as a golf broadcaster, enjoying a second career that famously lasted over 30 years. Known for his playful banter and raw sense of humor, McCord was a fan-favorite and a distinguishable voice all the way through his final season in 2020.
In 1999, McCord won twice on the then PGA Senior Tour and enjoyed a very successful run on that circuit, winning over $4.5 million in prize money.
McCord was a commentator in the best-selling Tiger Woods PGA Tour video game series by EA Sports and appeared as himself in the 1996 film, Tin Cup, where he also served as the technical director. He has also authored two books about golf, A Range Ball in a Box of Titleists and Golf for Dummies.
Bud Bradley
Though born in Wisconsin, Foster “Bud” Bradley, Jr. will forever be remembered for his incredible golf achievements in Southern California. Bradley, raised in Los Angeles from age three, first gained national attention by winning the 1954 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at age 17, just months after graduating from John Marshall High School. Held at the Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course, Bradley bested the formidable Allen Geiberger in the final match, 3 & 1, to win the national title and emerge from a field that boasted a record 749 entries. At the time of his victory, Bradley was regarded as a better baseball player than golfer, but his national title earned him a golf scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC) where he was a three-time All-American and teammate to the aforementioned Geiberger.
For over 40 years of his golfing life – from high school through his mid-60’s – Bradley was a top amateur player. At USC, he helped his beloved Trojans to a then program-best third-place finish at the 1958 NCAA Championships.
Choosing to become a stockbroker after college and remain an amateur golfer for "love of the game," Bradley would go on to earn a bevy of amateur titles including 13 Wilshire Country Club Championships, seven Riviera Country Club championships, six Los Angeles City Championships and five Pasadena City Championships. Among his proudest achievements, Bradley also won the 1991 and 1992 SCGA Senior Amateur Championship, the 1997 Senior British Amateur Championship and the 2000 Senior Canadian Amateur Championship.
He was inducted in the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, 10 years before passing peacefully at the age of 80.
Steve Horrell
Born in West Los Angeles and the son of a UCLA head football coach, Steve Horrell cemented his own unforgettable legacy just south in San Diego County. His wide-ranging leaderships roles, predominately in the local golf space, prompted the Union Tribune in 2016 to describe Horrell as “one of the most influential figures in San Diego sports history.”
Despite playing volleyball at Stanford and not taking up golf until after graduation, Horrell began to earn his eventual affectionate moniker of “Mr. Golf” when he followed his dad into the family business at Singing Hills Golf Resort. Horrell would work his way up to Co-General Manager where he helped his property win the hosting privileges for the PGA Tour’s 1956 San Diego Open.
Horrell served as tournament chairman for the San Diego Open during its first years at Torrey Pines Golf Course and lured singer Andy Williams as its celebrity host. He was also a co-founder of the Century Club, chairman of the USGA Junior Championship Committee and was the first-ever San Diegan to serve on the USGA’s Executive Committee. Horrell was a key leader in bringing the 2008 U.S. Open to Torrey Pines.
Horrell was a mainstay on nearly every sports board and committee in San Diego including Super Bowls, Holiday Bowls, San Diego Junior Golf and the Friends of Torrey Pines. American sports icon, Jim Brown said of Horrell, “He was involved in anything that was worthwhile in this town.”
A 10-year member of the SCGA Board of Directors, Horrell also served as the Association’s President in 1977. He is a Lynn Smith Award winner, an Honorary Lifetime Member of the Southern California PGA, and a member of the SDJGA Hall of Fame.
Off the golf course, Horrell was a member of the Kiwanis Club of San Diego, past Director of the Greater San Diego Sports Association (now the San Diego International Sports Council), past Director of the Holiday Bowl where he was president and chairman in 1993, past Board of Director for Grossmont Hospital, and served on the Executive Committee of San Diego Hospital Association from 1997 to 2003.
Stan Wood
Born in Syracuse, N.Y., Stan Wood moved west as a six-year-old boy and made his indelible mark on the game of golf at the University of Southern California (USC).
As an undergraduate, Wood attended USC where he played on the golf team and served as the sports editor for the Daily Trojan. After graduating, Wood became a professional journalist, writing about golf at the Los Angeles Mirror and serving as publisher for Golden West Golf News.
One year into his post-college life, he returned to USC and took the job as the head men’s golf coach, a position he would hold for 25 years from 1955 until 1980. During Wood’s tenure, the Trojans men’s golf team played in 22 NCAA Championships, finishing 16 times in the top 10 and seven times in third place. Wood won 14 conference championships across the PAC 8 and PAC 10 and was named Coach of the Year 12 different times.
Recognized as one of the four “Founding Fathers” of modern collegiate golf, Wood co-created the Golf Coaches Association of America and served as its president in two non-consecutive terms totaling six years. He also served as chairman of the NCAA Golf Committee and is credited with bringing team uniforms to college golf.
At USC, Wood coached many notable players including Al Geiberger, Dave Stockton, Craig Stadler and 57 All-Americans, one of which is his fellow Class of 2025 Southern California Golf Hall of Fame inductee, Bud Bradley.
After his quarter century of coaching, Wood continued to operate a golf public relations firm and administer tournaments. He suffered a fatal heart attack on the 16th hole at Los Robles Golf Course in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 79 years old.
Learn more about the SoCal Golf Hall of Fame program here.
