For as long as he can remember, Reid Hill has been in love with the game of golf.

The Wilson native was a solid junior golfer and played well enough for Fike High School that he was recruited to play at Atlantic Christian College.

Through three years of playing for the Bulldogs, Hill never reached his potential, but he did fuel the fire for a career in golf. More than 20 years and 23 Carolinas Section Pro-Am titles later, the head pro at Wilson Country Club is not only one of the best PGA Professional players in the Carolinas, but was recognized by his peers as Carolinas Section Golf Professional of the Year in 2000.

For the love of the game, and the impact he has had on juniors and adults alike who play golf, Hill was inducted into the Barton College Hall of Fame. He joined Gordon Fulp (’67), former head pro at the Wilson Country Club, as the only two golfers in the Hall at that time.

Hill, whose first day on the job at the Wilson Country Club was for the Lee Nissan Barton Intercollegiate Golf Tournament in March of 1998, was previously the head professional at Carolina Lakes Golf Course in Sanford and Pine Brooks Country Club in Winston-Salem.

The son of Jim and Evelyn Hill was born on Aug. 11, 1959. He groomed his golf course skills at Happy Valley and Willow Springs during his junior and college days, not only playing those courses, but also working there. He moved away from Wilson one day after graduating from AC to work at Carolina Trace in Sanford as an assistant pro.

After helping Fike resurrect its golf program his last two years with the Demons – where he played with Mark Berry, Larry Moore, Tim Broome, Tim Wilkerson and others – Hill was recruited to AC by Edward Cloyd.

Hill played alongside Chuck Wheeler, Karl Thurber, Mitch Adams, George Kasey, Joe Bain, Tim Hinnant and others during his Bulldogs’ tenure. He played in the No. 1 spot off and on for three seasons, but opted not to play his senior year, “because I had to concentrate on my academics to make sure I got out of school on time.”

Back then, the Bulldogs didn’t play in large tournaments like they do now. They were mostly involved in dual or tri-matches with area schools. Elon and Pembroke did host tournaments and the AC-Campbell Invitational (now the Barton Intercollegiate) alternated between Buies Creek and Wilson.

Hill averaged about 80 his freshman year, but did earn medalist honors in a dual with Campbell at Keith Hills, shooting 76. In the fall, Wheeler, a senior, was No. 1 in the lineup, but Hill did play in that position off and on over the next few years.

One of Hill’s biggest victories came during the summer after his sophomore year, when he won the college division of the Happy Valley Junior Invitational (now called the Foyce Jones Junior Invitational), which typically attracted a great field that included Clarence Rose and Neal Lancaster (current PGA players), and Bob Boyd.

Although his golf scores were less than stellar in college, he credits his time on the AC squad, and his exposure to the many facets of the golf industry, for “furthering my desire to be in and around golf.”

When he got his first head professional’s job at Carolina Lakes on his birthday in 1984, he struck up a good friendship with fellow head pro Ronnie Parker at Carolina Trace, and Hill said Parker taught him a lot more about playing golf. That was the turning point for him as he quickly matured into an excellent player.

Twenty years later, Hill has much hardware to show for both his playing and teaching abilities. He has three top-10 finishes in the North Carolina Open and two top-10 finishes in the Section Championship. He also qualified for, and played in, the MCI Heritage Classic PGA event in 1991.

Hill and his wife, Bobbi (AC class of ’80) live in Wilson with their son, Chris, and daughter, Elizabeth.