Mike Nixon

Mike Nixon of Nashville has a long, distinguished career, both as a competitor and as an industry professional. Nixon has the rare distinction of being the first, and currently only one of two, golfers who have competed in the U.S. Junior, the U.S Amateur, the U.S. Mid-Amateur, the U.S. Pub-Links, and the U.S. Senior Amateur. He completed this feat over the span of 52 years, attesting to the longevity of his superb playing ability. He played in the U.S. Junior in 1963 and last qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2015. He also competed in the 2012 U.S. Senior Open and has qualified for a total of 17 USGA, R&A, and Canadian national championships.

Nixon graduated from Memphis State University and turned professional in 1972. He played on the European Tour in 1975 and twice made it onto the PGA Tour (1975-77, 1981-82). Nixon was also a National Long Drive champion in 1976 and won over 25 local, state, and regional professional events over the next decade, before settling into a career as a real estate developer in 1983.

Nixon won the Tennessee PGA Professional Championship in 1980 and 1981 and the Tennessee Super Senior State Open in 2017. He eventually regained his amateur status and has had a very successful run in state amateur events. He has won every Super Senior title the Tennessee Golf Association offers, including the 2014, 2020, and 2021 Super Senior Four-Ball, the 2015 and 2023 Super Senior Amateur, and the 2020 Super Senior Match Play. He also won the SOS National SSR Championship in 2015 and was ranked in Golfweek’s Top Ten Senior Amateurs from 2003-2005. He was also the top ranked player over the age of 65 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) in 2015-16.

From 2011-2022, Nixon held the title of Director of Golf Operations for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Tennessee State Parks, which tasked him with overseeing the nine state park golf courses. During his tenure, he returned the courses to profitability and spearheaded several significant improvements to the courses – most recently new greens at Henry Horton and Paris Landing. Under Nixon’s watch, one of the state park courses, Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, received the prestigious Golf Digest Green Star Award for its use of TVA Clean Energy Grants to switch all gas-powered equipment to electric. Another project saw all nine courses convert to electric greens mowers.

Nixon was preceded in death by his first wife, Lisa Kennedy (1955-1998). He is now married to Melinda Waller Nixon, and they have three children – Jordan, Grace (married to Sammy), and Joe.