Longtime PGA pro Elwin Fanning passed away on January 5 from heart complications. He was 69. Elwin was the director of golf and general manager of Kayak Point GC in Stanwood, Wash. from its opening in 1977 through 1998. Elwin was a member of the powerhouse golf teams of the University of Houston in the mid-1960s, winning two team NCAA national championships while there. He was the 1998 Pacific Northwest Senior PGA Champion, the 1966 PNGA Men’s Amateur Champion and 1968 Oregon Amateur Champion.

He returned a great deal of the money he made at Kayak Point each year to the course through expanding and updating the restaurant, clubhouse and building what is believed to be the first all-grass putting course in the state. He was very forward-thinking and understood that the money he spent in upgrades came back to him, his staff, members and guests many times over.

He will be missed by the golf community.