Any award that honors a Utah Golf Hall of Fame member is worth winning. Being recognized as a caring person is also a good thing. And considering how the Utah Section PGA’s Jeff Beaudry Golf Ambassador Award has come to signify a lifetime achievement in the profession, it gets even better.
There’s even another layer to Mike Bicker’s 2024 selection. In two stints with the Section Board of Directors, Bicker was influenced by the likes of Robert McArthur, Ron Branca and Beaudry himself, then the Executive Director.
Bicker labels them “a whole lot of great people.”
He’s now in the same class, officially. McArthur and Branca also have received the Golf Ambassador Award.
Named the Section’s Professional of the Year in 2001, Bicker has assembled some outstanding credentials in nearly 40 years as a head pro in Davis County. He spent about three-fourths of that time at Lakeside GC in West Bountiful, arriving just prior to the course’s expansion to 18 holes. He’s just finishing his 10th year at Sun Hills GC in Layton.
Judging by his Section awards over the years, Bicker has made an impact in youth player development, PGA Professional development and club relations. He has done it in an unassuming, understated way.
“I’ve always been a bit of an introvert,” he said. So imagine him working for five years at Nibley Park GC as an assistant to the gregarious Jeff Waters. Actually, Waters is another influence, having shown him how to work and have a little fun at the same time.
Bicker at one time was among the Section’s top players. He tied for 12th place in the inaugural Ben Hogan (now Korn Ferry Tour) Utah Classic, won by John Daly. As his career evolved, service to the Section became his professional highlight, including a term as President.
He’s also proud to have worked with longtime assistants such as Kelly Class and Chris Newson. Each was named the Assistant Professional of the Year during a Lakeside stint. Chris Johnson has become a Bicker protege at Sun Hills. Johnson directs the Kelly Class Foundation, assisting golf pros.
Bicker provides guidance to Johnson, so his influence in the profession will continue beyond his Sun Hills tenure, whenever that ends.
Feature written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photography courtesy of Sun Hills GC.