He became executive director of both organizations and eventually was able to put all of the state's collective golf operations under one roof.

[2] Horton was born in 1949 in Hamilton, New York, a small town that is the home of Colgate University, about 40 miles southeast of Syracuse.

He played on his high school golf team and competed in several New York State junior championships.

He attended Wake Forest University with hopes of playing college golf there, but failed to qualify as a walk-on.

[1] After obtaining a teaching certificate, he taught seventh and eighth graders and coached baseball in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In 1973, at age 24 and with a Beatles haircut,[3] Horton applied for a job in Tennessee as a golf administrator— an interview was scheduled.

[2] When hired for these positions in 1973, Horton was one of only 15 full-time PGA executive directors in the United States, but for Tennessee, he was the first paid employee.

Taggart and Gibbons gave him some hand-me-down items, a mattress, and some dishes with a local country club logo.

[3] In 1973, Horton met his future wife, Connie Prince, who was working at the pro shop at Nashville's Hillwood Country Club.

[2] In the mid-1970s computers were just becoming widely used and Horton found that the PGA (professionals) and the TGA (amateurs) were in head-to head competition for the computerized golf handicap business, each negotiating with competing vendors.

Horton helped convince the two factions to join forces, pick one vendor and divide the proceeds.

The existing TGA secretary/treasurer was told to surrender everything to Horton, including all the records and organization's bank account.

Horton was one of the first in the nation to organize youth summer golf camps which introduced many youngsters to the sport.

A 15-acre tract with an ante-bellum home was purchased adjacent to the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Course in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville.

[11] The Vanderbilt Legends course, designed by Bob Cupp and Tom Kite, served as the Tennessee Golf Foundation's temporary headquarters while the land next door was being developed.

The house and adjacent land was known as "Aspen Grove"— built in 1830s by Thomas McEwen who fought alongside Andrew Jackson in the Indian wars.

He served for 5 years[17] and said it was an unforgettable experience to sit on quarterly board meetings with Arnold Palmer and Nancy Lopez.