Through his service, dedication, contributions and professional accomplishments in the Granite State and New England, Jim Sheerin has earned his way into the New Hampshire Golf Hall of Fame.
Sheerin’s golf career started at the age of 11 at Andover Country Club in Massachusetts as a caddie. By the age of 14, he worked his way up to caddie master and then up to managing the bag room before he enrolled in the PGA Apprentice program. He earned a business degree from the Andover Institute of Business and became a PGA member in 1972.
Three years later, in 1975, he became the Head Golf Professional at Abenaqui Country Club where he served his entire 40-year career. One of his first contributions at Abenaqui was establishing the caddie program, which still exists today thanks to Sheerin’s commitment to the program. His dedication to growing the game is evident in his Master Professional thesis titled “Junior Golf: Commitment and Purpose”. In 1995, Sheerin achieved the status of PGA Master Professional, which is the highest status to be achieved in the PGA of America.
Outside of Abenaqui Country Club, Sheerin has dedicated much of his time to the New Hampshire Chapter of the New England PGA (NHPGA) and to numerous committees associated with the New England PGA (NEPGA), along with other notable organizations around the area. He was instrumental is bringing The First Tee of New Hampshire to the Granite State and served on the first board of directors for the organization. He also spent many years serving the McDonough Scholarship Foundation, which now has an endowed scholarship in Sheerin’s name for his work with the organization and for growing junior golf in the seacoast area of New Hampshire.
Sheerin is also a talented golfer having won many Pro-Am tournaments over the years, along with winning the New Hampshire PGA Stroke Play Championship eight times and the New Hampshire PGA Senior Stroke Play Championship 15 times. He has also won the New England PGA Senior Championship three times. On a larger scale, Sheerin has qualified and competed in three U.S. Senior Open Championships, three Champions Tour events and one Senior PGA Championship.
Sheerin has won numerous awards with the New Hampshire PGA and New England PGA, including being named the NHPGA Player of the Year in 1995 and 1998. He has also been awarded Merchandiser of the Year in 1993, the Bill Strausbaugh Award in 1997 and 2005, and in 1998 was the NEPGA Professional of the Year. Sheerin was inducted into the New England PGA Hall of Fame in 2015.
The New Hampshire Golf Hall of Fame is honored to be inducting Jim Sheerin into the 2021 Class of the New Hampshire Golf Hall of Fame.