To watch a professional golf tournament today, you’d think that the spectators were just ordinary folks and the players were royalty. They are admired and paid very well for having a spectacular grasp of the game, while mere mortals watch, clap and appreciate their skills.
This wasn’t always the case. There was a time, about a century ago and before, when those with great golfing skills, the ones who won tournaments, were admired for their skills on the course but treated like second-class citizens off it. It took a change of thinking, and probably some princely intervention, to change all of that.
The popularity of golf boomed in the roaring ’20s, thanks mostly to a booming economy that allowed a larger middle class to have more leisure time. Adding to the excitement for the game, and therefore golf’s popularity in America, was a trio of golfers known as the Three Musketeers — Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen.
Bobby Jones was the dominant golfer from 1923 to 1930, but he was an amateur, and was regarded as a gentleman as such.
Gene Sarazen, who had changed his name from Eugene Saraceni because he thought it sounded like a violinist, was the best “little man” playing golf in the ’20s. He won the 1922 U.S. Open when he was only 22. He turned professional after that and won the PGA title that year. He then brashly challenged and defeated Hagen, who had won the 1922 British Open, to a one-on-one match for the unofficial championship of the world.
That event had to be great publicity for the sport of golf. Sarazen became the first golfer to win all four major professional titles: the U.S. Open (1922), The British Open (1932), the American PGA (1922, ’23, and ’33) and the Masters (1935). Hagen was the third member of the Three Musketeers and its most flamboyant. He won the British Open four times, the U.S. Open twice and the PGA five times.
“The Haig,” as Hagen was known, was recognized for his stylish attire on the links and his boldness on and off the course. He was vocal about allowing all professionals to play in all of the major tournaments; he hated the time-honored tradition that gentlemen only played for the love of sport rather than pay.
Pros who played golf for money were looked down upon in those days. They were considered servants; craftsmen who crafted golf clubs in the pro shops, gave lessons, and were gamblers on the course (for the most part). They did not mix with the gentry — that is, until Walter Hagen changed all that.
The three British Opens made all the difference. In one, Hagen was told he had to eat his meals in the pro shop with the other hired hands. The next day, in typical flamboyant style, The Haig rented a chauffeured limousine to drive him to the front of the pro shop, where he sat in regal splendor in the back of the car while a footman served him an elaborate luncheon with the appropriate wine for each course.
At another Open, when he was made to dress in the pro shop instead of the club locker room, he again hired a chauffeured limo, where he changed into his tailored clothes in the back of the car while parked in front of the pro shop.
These were attention getters, but would not have done anything if it had not been for the Prince of Wales. The prince, who later became King Edward VIII, invited Walter Hagen to have lunch in the clubhouse at an English course. Some club attendants whispered to the prince that Hagen, as a golf pro, was not allowed in the clubhouse. The prince loudly replied that if Hagen left, he would too. And that was how the social distinction between pros and amateurs was erased.
• Quote of the Day: “Hagen was indisputably a genius. He must have been to have hit so many bad shots while winning so much and so often … He made golf look difficult, and because most golfers find the game difficult they were able to identify with Hagen.” — Golf historian Mark H. McCormack.
THWGA events
The Terre Haute Women’s Golf Association has announced their schedule of events for the summer of 2009:
• May 30: Two-person Combo Tournament, Rea Park with THWGA organizational meeting to follow.
• June 27-28: Two-person Ringer Tournament, Hulman Links
• July 24-27: 70th Annual City Match Play Tournament, Hulman Links
• August 22: Partner Scramble, Rea Park
Jennifer Myers can be reached by e-mail at
jfmyers@xsthe.net.
On & Off the Course
The Haig changed golf off the course
- On & Off the Course
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
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On and Off the Course: Remembering former South golfer Ian White
It’s usually a bit of a struggle for me to figure out what my topic will be for this column. This week I could have written about Tiger’s withdrawal from the Players’ Championship due to a bulging disc in his neck, or by association, the health hazards a violent golf swing can have on the human body, or any number of other golf-related topics.
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On and Off the Course: Ochoa’s departure to impact LPGA
LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan already had a tough job, trying to promote the LPGA tour and keep the 25 events that they have on the schedule, but that job was made tougher last week when the tour’s No. 1 player announced her retirement from the game at the ripe old age of 28.
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On and Off the Course: Examining the square groove rule change
Even though the Masters is going to have its own little drama going on with the return of Tiger Woods, an interesting thing to note will be how well the players are able to hold the hard fast greens at Augusta. An underlying part of the bigger picture that everyone might not realize is a rule change that could dramatically affect most, if not all, of the players. That rule change took effect on Jan. 1.
- On and Off the Course: President's Cup should be entertaining Just when we thought golf season was over, and it was time to concentrate on football, we must awaken from our naps, because there’s going to be some exciting golf for us to watch next weekend. The President’s Cup will run from Oct. 6-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco.
- On and Off the Course: The obscure of golf's rulebook Golfers know that the rules that govern the game are abundant. The game originated in the 15th century on the links of Scotland, and somehow as time went on and people became more civilized, rules were adopted.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s City Match Play had tough competition I played in the Terre Haute Golf Association Women’s City Match Play Tournament a couple of weeks ago.
- On and Off the Course: One for the ages … well, almost! I wonder how long people will be referring to last week’s British Open, as “one for the ages.” They could also refer to it as “one for the aged!” Tom Watson’s near miss of a 9th Open Championship (as the Brits prefer to call it, and as it rightly should be by virtue of its longevity) was a rallying cry to all those golfers who have toiled for so many years at their game, but had given up hope as for ever getting it back to where they had it twenty years ago.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: In a bad economy, should LPGA raise its fees? For 31 years The LPGA’s Corning Classic was held at Corning Country Club in Corning, N.Y., with Corning Glassware as its title sponsor. This year, however, was the end of an era as LPGA players played their final rounds in its’ longest-running event. Due to many factors Corning chose to not renew their contract for 2010.
- ON AND OFF THE COURSE: ‘Average golfer’ ready to face challenges of Bethpage Black Golf Digest, in association with the USGA and NBC Sports, has asked the question, “Can the ‘average golfer’ break 100 at Bethpage Black under U.S. Open conditions?”
- On and Off the Course: Golf is for Mother’s, too I’d like to wish all of my readers who are mothers, whether they play golf or not, a Happy Mother’s Day — and if you do play golf — I hope you have a fine day today and that you find the time to get out on the course.
- The Haig changed golf off the course
- On and Off the Course: Fall a great time on the course If I could have fall weather year-round, I would take it. I love the crisp air, the blue skies, and the bright sunshine. Ever since my childhood I have associated a beautiful fall day with Turkey Run State Park, one of my favorite places to go, especially in the fall. This is Covered Bridge Festival week so many other people are seeing the beauty of the fall in the trees, rivers and bridges in Parke County too!
- On and Off the Course: Life’s lessons on the golf course During the Ryder Cup last weekend, there aired a number of commercials for RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) that starred participants from The First Tee, a program founded by the World Golf Foundation to enable kids from every walk of life to participate in golf, a game that teaches values for life and can be played for a lifetime.
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