Class of 2019

Mike Booker

Amateur Player

Biography

One of the most accomplished amateurs in Texas golf history with a record 14 Texas Golf Association (TGA) tournament victories, Mike Booker was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2019.

His TGA wins’ list includes triumphs at the Texas Senior Amateur, Texas Mid-Amateur and Texas Mid-Amateur Match Play. Booker also holds the state standard for most Texas Golf Association Player of the Year honors with four, as he won the Senior title in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2022.

Additionally, Booker was the 2014 Southern Texas PGA Amateur of the Year as well as the 2011 Texas Golf Association South Texas Player of the Year. He earned back-to-back U.S. National Club Championship victories as a senior in 2007 and 2008.

The first and only golfer named Athlete of the Year by Houston Sports News (2002), Booker owns a record nine Houston City championships between amateur and senior events, with victories spanning five different decades from 1985 and 2023. Booker is the only player to hold the Texas Mid-Am, South Texas Match Play and Houston City Amateur titles simultaneously (2002-03).

Booker has qualified for and competed in 14 USGA events during his career, reaching the Sweet 16 at the 2014 U.S. Senior Am. He also has played in five R&A events and earned a share of 12th place at the 2017 British Seniors.

In college, Booker garnered Associated Press NCAA All-American Team honors for the 1977 University of Houston NCAA National Championship team. He also was a member of the Cougars’ 1976 and 1977 Southwest Conference championship teams, earning all-SWC honors in 1977.

As a junior golfer in California, Booker was a semifinalist at the 1972 California State Junior and won the California State Four-Ball title. He also was a two-time all-conference performer.

A multi-time cancer survivor, he and his wife established the Mike and Pat Booker Melanoma Research Endowment in 2015 for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Additionally, the Mike and Patricia Booker Foundation makes donations each year to deserving charities, and the family underwrote the University of Houston short game facility located at The Golf Club of Houston. Booker also is a published author of The Tournament Golfer's Playbook, which came out in 2022.

Legacy Video

Inductee Highlights

Junior

Semi-Finalist, California State Junior (1972)
Member California-CIF All-Conference Team (1971 & 1972)
Winner California State Four-Ball (1972)

Collegiate

Playing Member, 1977 University of Houston NCAA National Championship team (1977)
Selected Associated Press NCAA All-American Team (1977)
Selected All Southwest Conference Team (1977)
Playing Member Southwest Conference Championship Team (1976, 1977)

Amateur

Winner of a record 14 Texas Golf Association events-including Senior, Mid Am, and Mid Am Match Play
A record four-time Texas Golf Association Player of the Year (2012, 2014, 2015 and 2022 - Senior)
Two-time U. S. National Club Champion (2007 & 2008, Senior)
Southern Texas PGA Amateur of the Year (2014)
Two-time South Texas Player of the Year (STAGA)
Texas Golf Association South Texas Player of the Year, all ages (2011)
First/only golfer named Athlete of the Year, Houston Sports News (2002)
A record nine-time Houston City Amateur & Senior Amateur Champion in three different decades (four Amateur, five Senior championships between 1985 and 2023)
GOLFWEEK “Local Legends” Selection
Qualified/Competed in 14 USGA events, five R&A events
- Medalist six times (local USGA Qualifiers), “Sweet Sixteen”, U.S. Senior Am (2014), T-12 British Seniors (2017)
Only player to hold Texas Mid-Am, South Texas Match Play, and Houston City Amateur titles simultaneously (2002-2003)
Seven-time Texas Shootout team member
Two-time winner of Charlie Coe (Senior), two-time winner of the Champions Cup, and four-time winner of the Carlton Woods Invitational (Senior).

A Life-Changing PE Class

A native of Downey, Calif., Mike was introduced to golf at the age of 13 by his junior high PE teacher, Lee Myers, who brought different sports equipment to class each day. An all-around athlete interested in baseball, basketball, and football, Mike immediately told Myers he had no desire to try golf. The teacher responded by telling Mike that he was making a good decision because he wouldn’t be good at it anyway. Mike turned around to say something but instead grabbed the 7-iron that his teacher was holding out to him. Many swings, but just one week later, Mike informed his coaches that he was done playing the other sports.

Taking Off to Space City

Mike’s game developed quickly. He played in high school for Coach Myers, who had taken the golf head coach job, and ultimately became Mike’s father figure. Mike was a semifinalist at the 1972 California State Junior and won the 1972 California State Four-Ball. Before attending the University of Houston, he became an All-American in 1973 at Wharton Community College, and in 2023 was inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 1975, he was recruited by Dave Williams to play for the University of Houston, the nation’s top college golf program. Mike earned All-America honors and helped the Cougars claim the 13th of their record 16 national titles in 1977. He was inducted into the University of Houston Athletics Hall of Honor in 2023.

His Resume Got Bigger in Texas

After graduating from UH in 1977, Mike turned professional and advanced through the PGA TOUR School on his first attempt. Mike played professionally until 1982, when he left the ranks to found a financial planning company. He would later become one of the most decorated amateur golfers in Texas history. He has won a record 14 Texas Golf Association events, including the Texas Mid-Am, Mid-Am Match Play, and Senior titles, and became the first four-time Texas Golf Association Senior Player of the Year (2012, 2014, 2015, and 2022). Mike also totaled nine wins between the Houston City Amateur and the Senior Amateur Championship. He would go on to compete in more than a dozen USGA championships.

Surviving and Thriving

A multi-time cancer survivor, he and his wife established the Mike and Pat Booker Melanoma Research Endowment in 2005 for the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Mike was diagnosed with melanoma for the first time in 2005. Six years later, a malignant tumor on his back came within two millimeters of getting under his skin. Despite having 30 stitches in his back, Mike played in the 2011 Carlton Woods Invitational (an event he has won a record four times), just two weeks after a 2 ½ hour surgery removed three cancerous spots. The Bookers donate a portion of their earnings each year, and all told have raised well over $1 million toward melanoma research.

A Book Written by “Book”

Mike, who underwrote the University of Houston’s short game facility located at The Golf Club of Houston, with his wife Pat, was asked by head coach Jonathan Dismuke to speak to the team about how to improve their competitive play at tournaments. Mike felt the talk was well received and the Cougars’ finishes reflected that. Realizing that he had plenty of advice to give, Mike decided to write a book on the topic. Published in 2022, The Tournament Golfer's Playbook became a #1 Best Seller on Amazon two months after its release. In the book Mike points out the difference between being a "Tournament Golfer" or being just a "Golfer-Who-Plays-Tournaments". Mike also gives readers his “life hacks,” applying golf lessons to life off of the golf course.