The Walter Hagen Story: By The Haig, Himself (Rare Book Collections)
(This is Walter Hagen's own story of the two decades when ...)
This is Walter Hagen's own story of the two decades when he ruled the golfing world as king. Hagen not only won a major tournament every year for twenty years-a record never even approached by any other golfer-but his personality dominated the game during that period. Before he came along, professional golfers held the status of hired hands. The Haig was the man who crashed the front door of the clubhouses, and he brought along with him the entire fraternity of golf professionals.
Walter Charles Hagen was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century.
Background
Walter C. Hagen was born on December 21, 1892, in Rochester, New York, the son of William Hagen, a blacksmith in car shops, and Louise Balko. Hagen came from a working-class family of German descent. He also wrote in his autobiography that the family "had a simple comfortable home and good plain food but not much left over for extras. "
When Hagen was seven, he tried to contribute to the family income by offering his mother part of his first week's pay as a caddie at the Country Club of Rochester, but she would not accept it.
Education
One day when Hagen was twelve, he saw through the windows of his schoolroom the golfers at the country club. When the teacher was not looking, Hagen jumped out the window and never went back to school regularly.
Later Hagen took courses in car repair, wood finishing (for a piano company), and taxidermy, but his main interests were baseball and golf.
Career
Since caddies were not allowed to play on the club course in Rochester, Hagen fashioned his own course in a nearby cow pasture, naming each of the four holes after towns in Florida, where in later years he would win $1, 800 to $2, 000 per outing. After Hagen won the U. S. Open in 1914 at Midlothian in Chicago, golf claimed him for good.
In 1919 Hagen won the U. S. Open again, beginning a string of sensational victories that made him the first giant of American and international golf. He was Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) champion in 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, and 1927, and British Open champion in 1922, 1924, 1928, and 1929. He also won the French Open in 1920, the Belgian in 1924, and the Canadian in 1931. In addition, Hagen won opens in Massachusetts (1915), Michigan (1921 and 1931), New York (1922), and Texas (1923 and 1929); three Metropolitan Opens (1916, 1919, and 1920); two North and South (1918 and 1923), five Western (1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, and 1932); one Eastern (1926); and the Gasparilla Open in 1935. He was captain of the American Ryder Cup team in 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935, and nonplaying captain in 1937.
Hagen also played in a number of famous challenge matches. His most cherished victory was over his great rival Bobby Jones, whom he defeated in 1926 by twelve and eleven in seventy-two holes. His most disappointing defeat was his loss to Archie Compston in 1928 by eighteen and seventeen.
In 1922 Hagen toured the United States with Joe Kirkwood, Australian Open champion and trick-shot artist. The pair made a tour of Australia and Japan in 1929, and in 1937 - 1938 they went around the world, delighting crowds with their show. It has been estimated that Hagen played over 2, 500 exhibitions, often with the rich and famous, including the duke of Windsor and Presidents Warren Harding and Dwight Eisenhower. In 1941 he retired from competition.
Through his victories, exhibitions, and promotions he made $1 million and, he said, spent $2 million. In contrast to Bobby Jones, who wanted every shot to be perfect, Hagen would gamble away a second or third place for a seemingly impossible shot that might bring him in first. He accepted the inevitability of some bad shots and depended on his skill in recovery and putting, for which he was famous. His swing was unorthodox; taking a wide stance, he would start with a sway and end with a lunge, the rhythm evident, according to Ben Hogan, in "the order of procedure. "
Always conscious of the gallery, he was a master showman in the golden age of sport. Hagen was the first golf superstar. He was the first, for example, to hire a manager, Robert E. Harlow, and in Hagen's enthusiasm for exhibitions and endorsements, he anticipated the now familiar pattern of the athlete turned celebrity. Hagen's success and showmanship served both to popularize golf worldwide and to elevate the status of the golf professional. He promoted the Reddy tee, which eliminates the need for a pinch of sand or earth for teeing off.
He is credited with revolutionizing the dress of golfers by introducing knickerbockers and popularizing the pullover or cardigan sweater and black-and-white shoes. But Hagen's greatest contribution to golf may have been the simple reminder that golf - and life - should be fun. Walter C. Hagen died on October 6, 1969, in Traverse City, Michigan.
(This is Walter Hagen's own story of the two decades when ...)
Views
Quotations:
"I never wanted to be a millionaire, " he once said, "just to live like one. " He loved fine cars and expensive clothes. "I traveled first-class, " he said, "and that included a suite at the Savoy at five pounds a day, the Chez Paris, cocktail hour at the Ritz, the Daimler car with chauffeur and footman, [and] fine silk shirts custom-tailored by A. J. Izod on Conduct Street just off the Strand. "
"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry; don't worry - and be sure to smell the flowers along the way. "
Personality
Walter Hagen was a dashing and assertive character who raised the status of professional golfers and improved their earnings as well. Hagen was also widely known for his dashing wardrobe while playing; this featured expensive tailored clothes in bright colors and plush fabrics.
Quotes from others about the person
On his tours, as Herbert Warren Wind has written, "Hagen would step shining and unconcerned from the limousine his chauffeur had moved near the first tee always a little late for his matches. "
Connections
On January 29, 1917, Walter Hagen married Margaret Johnson. They had one child and in 1921 were divorced.
In 1924 Hagen married Edna Strauss; they were divorced in 1934.