Another of golf’s legends, his contemporary Gene Sarazen, said that all professional players should silently thank Walter Hagen every time they have a check in their hands. “Walter was the one who made professional golf what it is,” Gene summed it up.
Not for nothing did he fight to elevate the consideration and status of professional golfers at a time, early in his career, when it was common for many clubs not to allow professionals into the clubhouse.
One of Hagen’s most celebrated anecdotes was when he rented a Rolls Royce and parked it in front of the clubhouse during a tournament in England to use as a dressing room after the club would not allow him to use theirs.
It was Hagen, who attracted large audiences to the tournaments, who began to charge significant emoluments for participating in exhibition competitions, and also the first athlete to earn a million dollars in his career. He was also a pioneer in charging commercial brands for advertising. Thus, he charged $500 a year for each club he carried in his bag during tournaments. And Hagen, who had a keen eye for business, carried 22 clubs instead of the traditionally accepted 14, so he pocketed an extra $4,000 for his cleverness.
Hagen, who was born in 1892 in Rochester, New York, and died in 1969, at the age of 76, in Michigan, was undoubtedly one of the greatest golfers of all time. His victories on the U.S. Tour totaled 44 and his Grand Slam triumphs eleven. Only Jack Nicklaus surpassed his victories in the majors. Hagen won the US Open twice, the first time when he was only 21 years old, the British Open four times and the PGA Championship five times (four of them in a row). The only one that eluded him was the Augusta Masters. He also won the Western Open five times, which at that time was also considered a major.
As was often the case at the time, Hagen left school for good at age 12 and entered the world of golf as a caddie at one of the clubs near his home, Rochester Country Club, where he would later work as a professional. The young Hagen worked in other trades until he was finally able to make a living from golf. He was, for example, a taxidermist and played baseball as a semi-professional, being invited to a tryout to join a major team, an invitation he declined in order to participate in a golf tournament. Walter won that tournament: he was 21 years old and it was nothing less than the US Open.
In addition to his sporting success, Hagen, who captained the Ryder Cup in its first six editions and ‘entered’ the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974, was also known for the glamour he brought to the world of golf. Walter was a real dandy who liked to look like a brush at tournaments. Proof of this is that he was the first athlete on the list of the Best Dressed Americans. His life was flashy on and off the field. He earned a lot of money and squandered it hand over fist. He stayed in the best hotels, hosted glitzy parties, and rented stunning limousines to travel to tournaments, even parking them near the tee on one. “I never wanted to be a millionaire – I just wanted to live like one,” he said.
Despite his excellent results, he had an inconsistent swing and his drives were not the best among the great golfers of the time. However, his magnificent short game fixed the possible mistakes of his long game.
Leave a Reply