I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4779 
To award a Congressional gold medal to Byron Nelson in recognition of 
his significant contributions, to the game of golf as a player, a teacher, 
and a commentator. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2006 
Mr. BURGESS (for himself and Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To award a Congressional gold medal to Byron Nelson in 
recognition of his significant contributions, to the game 
of golf as a player, a teacher, and a commentator. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Byron Nelson Congres-
sional Gold Medal Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Byron Nelson was a top player in the sport 
of golf during the World War II era and his accom-
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plishments as a player, a teacher, and commentator 
are renowned. 
(2) Byron Nelson won 54 career victories, in-
cluding a record 11 in a row in 1945, during his 
short 13-year career. 
(3) Byron Nelson won 5 majors, including 2 
Masters (1937 and 1942), two Professional Golf As-
sociation (PGA) Championships (1940 and 1945) 
and the U.S. Open (1939). 
(4) Professional Golfer Bill Nichols recently 
ranked the greatest seasons on the PGA tour for 
The Dallas Morning News and picked Roanoke, 
Texas-resident Byron Nelson’s 1945 tour as the 
greatest round of golf in American history. 
(5) In 1945, Byron Nelson accumulated 18 
total victories, 11 of which were consecutive, while 
averaging 68.33 strokes per round for 31 tour-
naments. 
(6) At the Seattle Open in 1945, Nelson shot 
a record 62 for 18 holes and 259, 29 shots under 
par for 72 holes. 
(7) Byron Nelson is one of only two golfers to 
be named ‘‘Male Athlete of the Year’’ twice by the 
Associated Press: in 1944, when he won 7 tour-
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naments and averaged 69.67 strokes for 85 rounds, 
and again after his 1945 season. 
(8) The World Golf Hall of Fame honored 
Byron Nelson in 2004 by featuring an exhibit enti-
tled ‘‘Byron Nelson: A Champion . . . A Gen-
tleman’’. 
(9) Nelson was selected for the Ryder Cup 4 
times—in 1937, 1939, 1947 and 1965, and on that 
last occasion he led the United States Ryder Cup 
team to victory over Great Britain. 
(10) Byron Nelson was also a pioneer in the 
golf business, helping to develop the golf shoes and 
umbrellas used today. 
(11) In 1966, True Temper created the ‘‘Iron 
Byron’’ robot to replicate Byron Nelson’s swing in 
order to test the company’s equipment, but the robot 
was eventually used for club and ball testing by the 
United States Golf Association (USGA) and many 
other manufacturing companies. 
(12) Byron Nelson mentored many golf hope-
fuls, including 1964 Player of the Year Ken Venturi 
and 6-time PGA Player of the Year Tom Watson. 
(13) Byron Nelson was one of the first golf an-
alysts on network television where his understanding 
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of the game in general, and the golf swing in par-
ticular, was demonstrably profound. 
(14) Byron Nelson helped to develop the Tour-
nament Players Course (TPC) Four Seasons at Los 
Colinas, Texas, site of the Verizon Byron Nelson 
Classic and the Byron Nelson Golf School, into a 
world-class facility. 
(15) The Byron Nelson Classic is the only PGA 
tour event named in honor of a professional golfer 
and traditionally attracts the strongest players in 
the sport. 
(16) Since its inception, the Byron Nelson Clas-
sic has raised $82,000,000 for Salesmanship Club 
Youth and Family Centers, a nonprofit agency that 
provides education and mental health services for 
more than 2,700 children and their families in the 
greater Dallas area. 
(17) In 2002, Byron Nelson received the pres-
tigious Donald Ross Award from the American Soci-
ety of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) for his sig-
nificant contribution to the game of golf and the 
profession of golf course architecture. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
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pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the presentation, on behalf of the Congress, of a gold 
medal of appropriate design to Byron Nelson in recogni-
tion of his significant contributions, to the game of golf 
as a player, a teacher, and a commentator. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 
under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 
and the cost of the gold medal. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
(b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 
5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 
under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 
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