James Mayo (Jim) Collins served as head golf professional at St. Charles Country Club for 37 years and becomes the first to be recognized in the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum as an athlete and a builder.
Born in Winnipeg March 31, 1938, Collins began his association with St. Charles as a teenager, working in the pro shop while establishing himself among the leading junior golfers in the province. He was runner-up twice to George Knudson in the Manitoba junior championship.
He turned professional at Oakdale in Toronto in 1959 and won the Ontario assistant pro championship in 1960 before returning to Winnipeg to become head professional at St. Charles in 1961. His major golfing achievements included three Manitoba PGA championships (1965, 1977 and 1979) and five Manitoba PGA senior championships (1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 and 2000). He was Manitoba PGA Player of the Year three times (1963, 1965 and 1977).
On the national scene, Collins won the Canadian PGA Club Pro championship in 1980 and the CPGA stroke play senior championship in 1990. He was named CPGA Club Pro of the Year in 1976 and in 1988.
Off the course, he was deeply involved with the development of golf in Winnipeg and across the country. He served on the CPGA rules committee from 1985-88 and was an instructor at RCGA rules seminars from 1985 to 1990. He was a director of the Manitoba PGA for nine years, including terms as president in 1964-1965 and 1970-1971. He served on the CPGA national board of directors in 1965-66 and attended various USPGA, CPGA and RCGA business and management seminars from 1965 to 1988.
Collins was instrumental in the development in 1987 of an invitational golf tournament in his name, which provided a $6,000 donation to the Manitoba Golf Scholarship Foundation. Though the tournament was renamed after his retirement it has been continued and has provided thousands of dollars for the scholarship fund.
Jim is an inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum Inc., September 24, 2007.