Dick Taylor

Dick Taylor was best known for his relationship of nearly 30 years with Golf World Magazine, which he joined in 1962. He was named editor in 1965 and from 1970 until 1989, when the magazine was purchased by The New York Times Company; he was editor-in-chief and vice president. 

Shortly thereafter, he became a freelance writer for an assortment of golf publications. Taylor was president of the Golf Writers Association of America from 1980 to 1982 after serving nine years as the group’s executive director. 

He also was a member of the Association of Golf Writers in Europe, the LPGA Advisory Board and the World Golf Hall of Fame and Ambassador of Golf selection committees. 

He was the first recipient of the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism (1991), was inducted into the Memorial Journalism Hall of Fame, received the Donald Ross Award from the American Society of Golf Courses Architects and the Joseph C. Dey Career Excellence Award. Three times he was a first-place winner of GWAA writing awards. 

In 1977 and ‘79, he was honored for news articles, while in 1991 he was cited for a column. Regarded as a very nice person with a great sense of humor, Taylor has been described as “a walking encyclopedia” of the sport of golf. 

He was also a promoter of the game, and is credited with bringing women’s golf into the spotlight through articles in Golf World. Dick Taylor was inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame in 1996.