By Aaron M Smith
****Remember, try this without research. Release your inner James Joyce and show us your stream of consciousness as you decipher the answer. Add to that the teachings of Myagi: patience. If you don’t get the answer right away, give your brain a chance to work if for no other reason than to stay in the discussion. You may not have THE answer, but you might prompt another reader by asking the right question.
I bet you expected this to be about baseball didn’t you? Since this is the week that my sport is celebrating its final tournament of the season, we decided to throw a “curveball” with this week’s WAI. But it is interesting that you bring up baseball. Growing up, I was a fine baseball player – good enough to even get a tryout with a National League team. People might think I was crazy, but I decided to skip the tryout. Guess what ? I won my first tournament that very weekend – not a bad decision if I do say so myself.
The idea of sports was all foreign to my family. My father was a blacksmith, and I was the only one of my gender amongst 5 children. Sports, let alone golf were not exactly at the forefront for my family’s way of life. Initially, I got a job at a local country club to help with the family bills. When I wasn’t working as a caddy, I decided to work on my own golf game. Eventually, I became good enough to enter tournaments and at the age of 19, I made my professional debut.
Ironically, it was at an exhibition at another local country club that I started to make a name for myself and at the same time, helped put that golf course on the map as well. A little ironic if I do say so myself. Many people, fellow colleagues included, attribute my personality to raising the popularity of the game. In fact, I am credited with helping to increase the “purse” of tournaments, something today’s golfers can thank me for. More money always worked for me since I had expensive taste when it came to clothes.
All in all, you can say I had a great career, even though I was more interested in stopping to smell the roses. I was the first golfer from my country to win an “Open”; which didn’t go over well with the local golf fans there. In fact, I decided to win it a couple more times just to rub salt in the wounds. My success rate at the majors was staggering; I won an impressive 20% of the majors I entered. The proverbial “grand slam” wasn’t actually a four bagger in my time. It was more like an Earl Weaver special if we are still using baseball terms. I have been depicted in several movies, including the movie that starred the guy whose parents didn’t seem to understand him. Later, I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, but unfortunately, I wasn’t there to see it.
Who am I ?? As a bonus, can you name the course I helped make famous??
Bagger Vance?
Wow! Bill – quick on the trigger!
I have no idea. I’m like Lyle Lovett when he WAS married to Julia Roberts: in way over my head.
I had to go for the laugh Casey, it’s in my dna.
Yeah. But 6:35? The young uns up early this morning?
I am confused. I thought Bagger Vance was a “ghost”, who coached a golfer through a tournament. “Clotheshorse” also throws me for a loop, making me think Ben Hogan or Bobby Jones. Then the parents clue makes me thinks it’s not either of them.
Ben Hogan is not the clotheshorse golfer in Bagger Vance. I’m on the wrong track there. And I don’t thnk the golfer Bagger coaches is the guy either – but maybe. Gotta think.
Guys, sorry for the early cheap laugh. My sleep patterns have gone south with the kids now in school and on separate schedules, and the first thing that popped into my head was that horrible movie will Will Smith and what’s his name about a golfer, so I went with the cheap laugh. Since my record on WAI is perfect (well, an unbroken streak of no wins), I went for the chuckle.
Actually, I don’t think it’s a chuckle – just have to think of the other golfer’s name. I think I’ve got it and knowing it makes the golf course easy to guess.
Are you sure it’s not Ben Hogan?
I am positive it’s not Ben Hogan. This was a swaggering, arrogant golfer.
Not Hogan … it’s Hagen ! Walter Hagen was the first American to win the British Open and he won a few Western Opens, too, when that was considered a “major”. (The Western was played in the Chicago area, so I learned a little about it over the years)
But which golf course? It can only be Oak Hill!
Hahaha – I was going name Rochester’s-own Walter Hagen, but I had nothing with which to base my answer other than to brag about one of Rochester’s success stories.
Walter Hagen is the correct answer and so is Oak Hill!
Nice job Wally and Redsoxfan!!
Hagen actually had a tryout with the Philadelphia Phillies, decided to skip it and won his first U.S. Open that very weekend.
In 1941 , the Times-Union newspaper offered a $5,000 purse for an exhibition at Oak Hill. The exhibition attracted Sam Snead, Walter Hagen and Ben Hogan. At that time, Hogan and Snead walked away proclaiming the course to be one of their favorites. That exhibition is widely credited as the pivotal point for putting Oak Hill on the “major” tournament map.
Hagen was also instrumental in helping to design a line of golf clubs that would be more affordable and accessible to the middle class. In many ways, Hagen was instrumental in the game reaching different classes – who traditionally thought that the game wasn’t in their “class”. You still see the “Walter Hagen” line on a lot of different golf items.
A lot of credit goes to Casey and Chas. After getting the chance to write one of these – you get to realize how much work goes into writing one of these. Thanks guys for doing this on a weekly basis.
And Wally you are correct regarding the Western Open. The tournament was originally started in the late 1800s. It was widely regarded early on as a “major”, only to be replaced by the Masters officially as the 4th major in golf.
Hagen won the Western Open 4 times. Add that to the 11 majors he is credited with and he technically won 15 majors. But Hagen entered 54 majors during his career and won 11 of them. Not bad.
The Western Open was changed to BMW Championship which is being played this weekend in Chicago as part of the Fed Ex playoffs.
Smitty … that was played last weekend, wasn’t it? Justin Rose won?
Wally you are right. It was this past weekend. The final tournament is in Atlanta where the PGA championship was this year.