Eagle Hill pro shop staffer Dr. Tom Mitchell is a Doctor of Divinity and retired pastor in his 60th year of practicing ministry. His unwavering faith and willingness to help others have translated to the golf course, as he holds the record for most charitable golf tournaments directed by an individual. 

By Chris Werner
USGA Boatwright Intern 

January 2, 2024

Eagle Hill pro shop staffer Dr. Tom Mitchell is a Doctor of Divinity and retired pastor in his 60th year of practicing ministry. His unwavering faith and willingness to help others have translated to the golf course, as he holds the world record for most charitable golf tournaments directed by an individual.

Mitchell’s 178 tournaments — it says 176 on the world-record certificate he received in May 2023 — began in 1976 in Memphis with a small tournament benefitting the St. Jude Children's Hospital when the now 77-year-old was in his late 20s.

As a side gig to his work in the church when Mitchell lived in Memphis from 1972-77, Mitchell, who told the ASGA he had “always been a good organizer” started by helping put on youth Bike-a-Thons, but realized he could raise more money if the donors could participate in the activity. Enter golf.

In the 177 events since his first back in ‘76  — all through word-of-mouth —  Mitchell has run tournaments in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.

He has hosted tens of thousands of players including notable athletes, actors, musicians, and other celebrities, and raised money for hospitals, health organizations, colleges, sports programs, and the Arkansas Hall-of-Fame among others.

In his true humble nature, Mitchell first pointed to the organizations and the volunteers as the reason for the success of his tournaments.

“Number one, I had good organizations to work with, and then I had great volunteers,” Mitchell said. “You can't put on a tournament without great volunteers, well, you can put one on, it just won't be good. But there's no telling how many volunteers in these tournaments.”

Mitchell said he leads his players and volunteers in prayer and plays the National Anthem before each tournament.

Although Mitchell maintains he wants little spotlight for his tournaments and the focus should be on the causes the events are supporting, throughout his charitable golf work, people were curious about his run as an organizer.

“People kept asking me, ‘How many tournaments have you done?’ And so we began to research it,” Mitchell said. “This was probably five years ago. And I knew that I'd had the most in America, but I had no idea I had the most in the world … I never even considered a record. You know, I wanted to do the most in Arkansas. But when I realized I've got six other states that I’ve been doing this in, I realized this could be more expansive.”

Mitchell said the man with the second-most tournaments to his knowledge has 48.

The former high school athlete said the world-record certificate reminds him of the competitive days after classes.

“You know, I was a pole vaulter and I never liked being on the third step, I liked being on the top step,”   Mitchell said with a grin. “And once you start getting new things, they become mementos. I'm not a   pole vaulter anymore, but it reminds me of when I did pole vaulting. I'll see this on the wall every so   often. I’ve got a doctorate, a diploma, and I’ve got this, and all of those bring back memories.”

Mitchell, the man sometimes called Dr. Charity Golf, has helped raise a total of approximately $1.4   million over the  last 48 years, but has not taken a dime for his efforts.

Money was not the motivator for these endeavors.

“It’s my faith,” Mitchell told the ASGA. “When you look at the life of Jesus, his was all about giving not   getting. And none of these tournaments have been about me, they’ve been about the people. When I   would do the Cancer Society tournaments, I'd go visit cancer patients so that my compassion would   be even greater. And when you look at a little four-year-old who's bald-headed, prednisone-puffed   face, it makes you want to get more money.

“So that's been the catalyst,” Mitchell continued. “There's a backronym about joy: Jesus, others, yourself, and that's pretty well been the way I've been looking at things in my life.”