About Charlie Epps
A Golf Life Well Played
A PGA Professional in Houston, Charlie has been a fixture in Texas golf since 1973. Currently a member of the teaching staff at Golf Club of Houston (formerly known as Redstone), he’s lived his amazing life with a commitment to giving back to the game of golf, especially in the development of young players. He spent 15 years as the Head Golf Professional at Houston Country Club before joining the Golf Digest Teaching Staff from 1989 to 1993. He was then the Director of Golf for Pine Forest Country Club from 1993 to 2002, when he moved to Redstone Country Club as the Director of Golf Marketing.
Epps created and directed the Golf Experience & Education Center at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic. He also served as President of The Spirit Golf Association, a unique organization that utilizes the global goodwill of amateur golf for philanthropic purposes. Along with then-University of Houston student-athletes Jim Nantz, Fred Couples, and Blaine McCallister, Charlie also conceived and created The Three Amigos Celebrity Golf Tournament.
Charlie Epps and Ángel Cabrera celebrate at 2:15 a.m. following the 2009 Masters victory.
Much of Epps’ energy as an instructor has focused on developing young players. Before the 2006 passing of Dick Harmon, his close friend and fellow instructor, the pair provided a wide range of opportunities for juniors. Epps founded the Yellowstone Academy Foundation Golf Tournament to raise money to help Houston’s inner-city youngsters gain access to golf.
A Career Defined by Excellence
Few professionals in the history of the Southern Texas Section of the PGA of America have earned the level of recognition achieved by Charlie Epps—recognition built on a foundation as a highly accomplished competitor long before becoming one of the game’s most respected instructors.
SECTION HONORS
- Professional of the Year (1983, 1998)
- Player of the Year (1982, 1983, 1988, 1989)
- Teacher of the Year (1985, 2010)
- Horton Smith Award (1982, 1984, 1987)
- Dick Forrester Quarter Century Award (2011)
- Texas Golf Hall of Fame Induction (2012)
PLAYING CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- First Round of Golf (1954), played with his mom, Dorothy Epps at San Isidro Golf Club in Buenos Aires
- Argentina National Junior Amateur (1962), finished runner-up
- Turned Professional (1968)
- PGA Tour Canada (1968)
- PGA Caribbean Tour (1968)
- Drafted into the U.S. Army (1969), halted career as a tour professional
- 4th U.S. Army Championship (1970), Captain of the victorious Fort Still Golf Club team
- U.S. Open (1976, 1978)
- STPGA Section Champion (1979, 1985, 1989)
- National Club Professional Championship (1985), finished in sixth place (out of 360 club pros)
- PGA Cup Matches (1986), recorded the winning point for the U.S. Team
- PGA Championship (1986, 1990)
- National Club Professional Championships, 16 Appearances
- PGA Tour Chrysler Team Championship (1989), finished in second place with Blaine McCallister
- STPGA Section Senior Champion (1998, 2000, 2002)
- Senior PGA Championship (1993, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2013, 2014)
In 2021, the STPGA launched the Charlie Epps Scholarship as part of its PGA Reach Southern Texas initiative. Through an annual fundraiser at the Golf Club of Houston, the Charlie Epps Scholarship has raised over $230,000, helping 14 junior golfers from South Texas pay for college. To donate or learn more about the Charlie Epps Scholarship, please contact Sarah Lummus at slummus@pgahq.com.