Southern California's No. 1 Source for Golf
STROKE OF THE DAY |
"Everyone has his own choking level, a level at which he fails to play his normal golf. As you get more experienced, your choking level rises." |
-Johnny Miller |
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF
CALENDAR
people
|
||||
 But in terms of name recognition, no class matches that of 2007. Their nicknames alone are enshrined in our collective memory bank: Ike, Ol' Blue Eyes, The Hawk and Mr. 59. We're talking, of course, about President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Frank Sinatra, Ben Hogan and Al Geiberger. The fifth member of the class, John Cook, doesn't have a recognizable nickname, but he is known as being one of the best junior golfers in California history. All of this year's honorees have recognizable ties to the Southland both on and off the golf course, and, for many, their legacies will live on far into the future. All are worthy recipients of induction into our Southland Golf Hall of Fame, and we're proud to introduce the class of 2007. FRANK SINATRA 1915-1998 Claim to fame: Legendary singer, Academy Award-winning actor, and the epitome of cool. Three Grammy Awards for Best Album, along with a lifetime achievement award. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medal of Honor Award (1983), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985), NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award (1987), three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Congressional Gold Medal (1997). Golf accomplishments: Though not as synonymous with golf as fellow legends Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, Sinatra loved the game. The 1963 Frank Sinatra Invitational was a PGA Tour-sanctioned event at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs that many believe paved the way for Hope's affiliation with what today is known as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Though not as avid a golfer as Crosby, Hope or Jackie Gleason, Sinatra did play celebrity tournaments in the desert with the likes of Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Clint Eastwood. Southern California ties: In the late 1940s, Sinatra lived in a Palm Springs home at 1148 East Alejo Road, dubbed Twin Palms for the two trees that still stand in the yard. In 1957, he moved to Rancho Mirage and built his legendary compound at Tamarisk Country Club. In 1988, the Sinatras started the Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational to raise funds for the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center at Eisenhower Medical Center. The center helps physically, sexually and emotionally abused children and prides itself on the pledge that no child will ever be turned away due to a family's inability to pay. A memorial service was held for Sinatra at St. Theresa's Catholic Church in Palm Springs and he is buried in Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, a short distance from his Rancho Mirage compound located, fittingly enough, on Frank Sinatra Drive. Quotable: "Frank played in the first Sinatra tournaments ... but he really enjoyed riding around in his cart kibitzing with the players. Of course, the players and spectators loved that! And my husband very much liked to see what was going on in the kitchen at the gala, making sure everything was going great for our guests. He was very much involved in the show, too. For many years, he sang with Dean and Sammy, Natalie Cole and Tony Bennett. Frank loved the camaraderie of the tournaments, visiting with friends, staying up late, and reminiscing. Just being with the golfers was special for him - and me. We have continued many of the traditions he began and our golfers have come to enjoy and expect." - Barbara Sinatra Ben Hogan 1912-1997 Claim to fame: Along with Bobby Jones, San Snead and Byron Nelson, Hogan ranks among the hierarchy of golf legends. His ball-striking ability rates second to none. Golf accomplishments: Between 1938 and 1959, he won 63 professional tournaments (only Snead and Jack Nicklaus have won more) despite his career being interrupted by World War II and a near-fatal auto accident in 1949. His greatest years were 1944, when he won 13 times, 1948, when he won 10 tournaments, including six in a row, and 1953, in which he won five of the six tournaments he entered, including three majors (the British Open overlapped with the PGA Championship that year). Hogan also was one of the game's greatest students, practicing and refining his technique throughout his career. His 1957 book, "Ben Hogan's Modern Fundamentals: The Five Lessons of Golf," is as influential a golf tome as any ever written. He also was a pioneer of golf equipment, founding the Ben Hogan golf company in 1954, creating a popular set of irons for amateurs. He sold the company in 1960 but remained in product development for 30 years. Southern California ties: It didn't begin too auspiciously. Hogan earned $8.50 (yes, 34 quarters) in his first PGA Tour event, the 1932 Los Angeles Open, where he finished 38th. But he'd come back in a big way. He won the Los Angeles Open in 1942, 1947 and 1948, the latter two at Riviera and the first at Hillcrest Country Club. He also won the 1948 U.S. Open at Riviera, the Glendale Open in 1948 and the Long Beach Open in 1949. He also was the first head professional at Tamarisk Country Club in Rancho Mirage. But why Hogan is justly lionized in Southern California golf annals is his rapport with Riviera Country Club. The club was dubbed Hogan's Alley after his consecutive victories in the 1947 and 1948 Los Angeles Opens, and his U.S. Open win at Riviera in 1948, in which his then-record low score of 276 would hold up for 19 years. But he's most known for the Riviera tournament he didn't win. In February 1949, a car Hogan was driving collided head-on with a bus in Texas. Though it nearly killed him and doctors said he might never walk again, Hogan showed up less than a year later at Riviera, a week before the 1950 Los Angeles Open. Unsure if he could even swing a club, Hogan played and would have earned an amazing win if Sam Snead had not sunk a 15-foot putt on the final hole to force a playoff. Snead won the playoff, which was played a week later due to bad weather, but Hogan's inspirational story ranks among the greatest in golf history, and is the reason why Glenn Ford starred as Hogan in the 1951 film, "Follow the Sun." A statue of Hogan overlooks Riviera's 18th hole, and a plaque is on the fourth hole, commemorating the site of a commercial that Hogan appeared in for his company that helped reverse its declining fortunes in the mid-1980s. Quotable: "Long before I met him, I carried two statements of his in my wallet: 'There isn't enough daylight in any one day to practice all the shots you need.' And, 'Every day you miss practice it will take one day longer to be good.' He was the greatest course manager I ever saw, completely self-taught and when asked who the greatest golfer was who ever lived he'd reply, 'You can't answer that, because a champion in his era would be a champion in any era.'" - Ken Venturi, who played practice rounds at Augusta National with Hogan and was one of his pallbearers DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER 1890-1969 Claim to fame: Led the Allies to victory in World War II, and led our country for eight years (1952-60) as president of the United States. Golf accomplishments: Did as much to promote the game among average Americans than any other comparable figure. He first picked it up in his late 30s while attending the Command and General Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. While helming U.S. military operations in Europe, Eisenhower's rural hideaway south of London was located between two golf courses, and he was occasionally able to get in a few holes on the bomb-marred course. After the Allied invasion of Normandy, Ike's offices were in a schoolhouse at Reims in the Champagne region of France, but he chose a golf clubhouse as his living quarters. Six months after the Allied victory in Europe, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews made him an honorary lifetime member. He played an estimated 800 rounds of golf in his eight years as president. His handicap was usually between 14 and 18, although Ken Venturi, who played many times with Eisenhower, remembers him closer to a 10. He reportedly broke 80 four times at Augusta National. There were frequent photos of him perfecting his putting and short irons on the White House lawn, and he also outfitted the White House basement with a driving range. He may have been the first to truly appreciate the networking and public relations that golf provides. When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, sending much of the world in a dither about Communist missile development in outer space, Eisenhower left the White House for a two-day golfing outing at Gettsyburg. If the president could relax at a time like this, what did the rest of America have to worry about? In his eight years as president, the number of Americans who played golf reportedly doubled, one reason why long-time friend Arnold Palmer was asked to speak to Congress on the occasion of Eisenhower's 100th birthday in 1990. The Eisenhower Trophy is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Southern California ties: His first reported visit to the Coachella Valley in February 1954 gave the area more publicity than it had ever received. On his seven-day visit, Eisenhower joined professionals such as Ben Hogan and Johnny Dawson in playing at Tamarisk Country Club and Thunderbird Country Club. He returned for an eight-day vacation in 1959 and used El Dorado Country Club as his impromptu command center, and he stayed at the La Quinta home of Washington attorney George Allen. He returned in 1960 and, after his second term ended, he and his wife, Mamie, bought a $175,000 home overlooking El Dorado Country in Palm Desert. In February 1968, the 77-year-old Eisenhower recorded his first ace on the par-3, 13th hole of Seven Lakes Country Club in Palm Springs. He used a 9-iron on the 104-yard hole. Among the many honors given to Eisenhower throughout Southern California are the Ike Course at Industry Hills, known as one of the toughest tracks in the area, Mt. Eisenhower, which overlooks La Quinta, and the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, one of the top 100 hospitals in the country. Quotable: "I happen to know why he's running for president. It's the only way he can get out of the Army. ... If he slices the budget like he slices a golf ball, the nation has nothing to worry about." - Bob Hope "He loved the game of golf and he was just a delight to play with. He played all the time with Freeman Gosden (Amos of Amos and Andy) and he'd often invite me to play with them when I was in the desert. And I always made sure to call him Mr. President." - Ken Venturi Al Geiberger Born: 1937 Claim to fame: Only one of three PGA Tour golfers to shoot a 59 in one round. It came during the second round of the 1977 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, where he made 11 birdies and an eagle and clinched the first 59 in PGA Tour history with a putt between 8 and 10 feet on the last hole. (No one knows for sure because the tournament wasn't televised.) Golf accomplishments: Though forever known as Mr. 59, Geiberger enjoyed great success on the PGA and Champions tours. He won 11 PGA Tour titles, including the 1966 PGA Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. He also finished second 13 times. He won 10 times on the Champions Tour. Southern California ties: Graduated from USC and notched his first tour victory at the 1962 Ontario Open Invitational at Whispering Lakes Golf Course. The Palm Desert resident has taught at many schools in the Coachella Valley, and since March 2006, he's served as head pro emeritus at the ultra-exclusive Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert. Quotable: "He's out here at least five days a week and gives tips and sometimes drops in and plays a couple of holes with members. He's a true gentleman, very approachable and always willing to answer any questions and talk to anybody. The members really enjoy him out there." - Rick Downes, head professional at Stone Eagle John Cook Born: 1957 Claim to fame: U.S. Amateur champion in 1978, and an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour. Won his second Champions Tour start, in October, at the AT&T Championship. Golf accomplishments: Cook shares the record for lowest 54-hole score: 189, which he set over the first three rounds in the 1996 FedEx St. Jude Classic (64-62-63). Was part of Ohio State's national championship team. He's also not afraid to speak his mind, drawing national headlines when pondering what he and fellow Republicans on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1993 would have to talk about with President Bill Clinton after they were invited to meet him. Also came out against the PGA Tour in the Casey Martin cart controversy. Won three times in 1994 and finished in the top five in the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. His last PGA Tour victory came in 2001. Southern California ties: Though born in Ohio, Cook grew up in Palos Verdes and spent a lot of time in the Coachella Valley, where he took lessons from Ken Venturi. He won the California State Amateur in 1975 and twice won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (1992 and 1997). The 1997 Hope was particularly dramatic, as he trailed Mark Calcavecchia by five after the third round, but then tied the PGA Tour record for best 36-hole finish by shooting 62-63 and winning by a stroke. Is very close with the Southern California golf royalty in Florida (he, Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods were neighbors for many years in the Sunshine State). Recently, Cook has forayed into golf analysis for USA Network, as well as course design, including consulting on both Desert Willow tracks in Palm Desert. Before living in Florida, he lived in Rancho Mirage, and now has a home in Corona del Mar. Quotable: "He's been one of the best, if not the best, player at every level he's ever competed at, from junior golf to college golf and winning 11 times on the PGA Tour. He's a consummate professional and seems very motivated to play the Champions Tour and will probably continue to do very well." - Virginia Country Club head professional Jamie Mulligan, Cook's longtime friend and golf coach. SG Past inductees The other 25 members of the southland golf hall of fame. 2006 Maggie Hathaway. Civil rights activist was instrumental in the integration of Chester L. Washington Golf Course in Los Angeles. Mark O'Meara. Growing up in Mission Viejo, O'Meara developed a game that would net him a pair of major titles in 1998. Tom Sargent. The head professional at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa has instructed some of the Southland's best. Vin Scully. The legendary voice of the Dodgers has lent his skills to golf telecasts, such as the Masters, on many occasions. Earl Woods. After moving the family to Cypress, Tiger's dad set up the foundations for his son to conquer the golfing world. 2005 Jerry Anderson. The venerable instructor has helped advance Newport Beach Country Club and the Southern California PGA. Laura Baugh. An eventful golfing career was initiated with an amazing run through the Southern California junior circuit. Bob Hope. The classic comedian did his part to guarantee Palm Springs became an annual destination for the PGA Tour. Jim Murray. The decorated Los Angeles Times sportswriter enjoyed playing golf as much as he did writing about it. Dave Stockton Sr. The two-time PGA Championship winner and 1991 Ryder Cup captain is active in the Redlands area. 2004 Jack Kramer. One of the best tennis players ever has made his mark by owning Los Serranos County Club in Chino Hills. Gary McCord. The colorful broadcaster and Garden Grove native is one of the Southland's most talented golfers ever. Lou Smith. The lifetime San Diego resident devoted her time and energy to developing junior golf in that city. George C. Thomas Jr. He crafted some of the most famous courses in Los Angeles history during the 1920s. Ken Venturi. The 1964 U.S. Open champion and Palm Springs resident is also one of the most prolific sports broadcasters ever. 2003 Amy Alcott. An accomplished LPGA player, she is now a golf coach at the Harvard-Westlake School in North Hollywood. Lou Bastanchury. He helped develop a foundation of longevity for the Southern California Junior Golf Association in the 1950s. Gene Littler. The sweet swinging San Diego native is one of the most accomplished tour pros in Southland golf history. H.G. "Dad" Miller. He was such a seminal golf figure that Anaheim Municipal Golf Course changed its name to honor him. Craig Stadler. Born in San Diego, "The Walrus" is now making a splash against the competition on the Champions Tour. 2002 Ely Callaway. His investment in a fledgling club company turned into a revolution for golf equipment based in Carlsbad. Billy Casper. The 51-time PGA Tour winner and San Diegan has mastered and designed plenty of courses. Eddie Merrins. The "Little Pro" from Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles is still fixing swings. Ted Robinson Sr. With more than 170 course design credits, the USC graduate is one of the most prolific architects of all time. Mickey Wright. The accomplished San Diegan is second in LPGA Tour history with 82 victories and 13 major titles. SG |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This Article
