Winged Foot Golf Club

By Jim Chiaffredo

Part of the magic of Winged Foot is the long and distinguished
list of professionals that have made the club a large part of
their careers.

After the club opened in 1923, Dan Mackie was the first head
golf professional, holding the position for only the first year.
Mackie’s position in golf was well respected, but he decided to
return to the promotional part of the club and was the only pro
to serve one year.

Mike Brady set the tone for the remainder. He was heading the
golf program for 15 years beginning in 1924 and was largely
responsible for the club’s start, growth and survival during the
Great Depression.

Brady was well liked and was a true student of the game, as well
as a teacher and good player. Brady was runner-up in the 1911
U.S. Open and, along with George Simpson, lost in a playoff to
John McDermott at the Chicago (Ill.) Golf Club.

He had another chance to win the U.S. Open in 1919, but once
again came up short in a playoff. Walter Hagen outlasted Brady
by a stroke at Brae Burn Country Club in West Newton, Mass.
After his victory, Hagen surrendered his club pro job at Oakland
Hills Country Club and the Michigan Club promptly hired Brady.
He subsequently won the 1922 Western Open played at the
course. Two years later, he accepted the head pro job at
WInged Foot, where he stayed until 1939.

One of the most prominent tour players of the 1930s and 1940s, Craig Wood filled the vacancy in 1939. Before taking the job, Wood gained attention in 1929 when he reached the quarterfinals of the PGA Championship. He earned a selection to the victorious 1931 Ryder Cup Team and won three tournaments in 1932. In 1933, Wood lost the British Open in a playoff to Denny Shute. Wood was runner-up to Horton Smith in the inaugural Masters Tournament in 1934. He played in the fifth Ryder Cup Matches and repeated his runner-up finish at Augusta in the 1935 Masters. In 1936, he reached the semifinals of the PGA Championship, but didn’t recapture top form until 1941, two years after joining Winged Foot. That year he won the Masters and the U.S. Open as well. After World War II, Wood disappeared from the golf tour, retiring to the Bahamas.

Two years before he passed away in 1968, Wood bid a fond farewell to “old Winged Foot” as he affectionately called it, when he carded a 66 on the West Course on May 8th, 1966, his 66th birthday.

Claude Harmon took over the position in 1945 and remained at Winged Foot until 1978 when he retired. He is remembered both as a player and a great teacher, as well as for his contributions over such a long period to Winged Foot.

Harmon’s victory at the Masters in 1948 is, arguably, the high point in his illustrious playing career, although he won many times over the years in the New York metropolitan region. During his tenure at Winged Foot, Harmon posted 62 on both the East and West Courses.

As proof of his legendary teaching ability, Harmon’s staff at Winged Foot had many successful members over his 33 years in the position.

Mike Souchak was on Harmon’s staff in 1953. After graduating from Duke in 1952, Souchak turned pro and, over his career, earned 16 professional titles. His most famous was the 1955 Texas Open when Souchak carded a 27-under-par 257, that included a 60 in the first round with a 27 on the back nine. His 72-hole scoring record held until Mark Calcavecchia broke it at the 2001 Phoenix Open with a 28-under 256. His nine-hole 8-under 27 still stands, tied by Andy North at the 1975 B.C. Open and Billy Mayfair at the 2001 Buick Open.

Souchak was leading headed into the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club, Denver, Colorado, before being set back by Arnold Palmer.

Jack Burke, Jr. was one of Harmon’s staff in 1949 and 1950. He had turned pro at 17 but didn’t join the Tour until 1950 when he was 27. Burke won 17 times between 1950 and 1963, including both the Masters and PGA Championship in 1956, earning the PGA Player of the Year award.

At The Masters, Burke rallied from a remarkable eight strokes behind to win the green jacket. Twenty-four-year-old amateur Ken Venturi led by four shots heading into the final round, but he soared to an 80 on the final day, due to the 50-mph winds.

Burke won the 1956 PGA Championship back when the tournament was a match-play event, edging Ted Kroll 3 and 2 in the final. Burke also won the 1952 Vardon Trophy, competed on five Ryder Cup teams and was captain twice.

His credentials as a player, however, are only a part of his résumé. In 1957, Burke and fellow World Golf Hall of Famer Jimmy Demaret struck a partnership to build and manage The Champions Golf Club in their hometown of Houston. Together they built two courses, Cypress Creek and Jack Rabbit, that have tested golf’s elite players over the years.

He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Another Texan, Dave Marr, also from Houston, was part of Harmon’s staff for three years beginning in 1954, a year after he turned pro. Marr, in addition to becoming the 1965 PGA Championship champion and member of the Ryder Cup, was on his way to being named the PGA Player of the Year.
In his PGA victory in 1965, he withstood a challenge from Nicklaus and Billy Casper, with a 4-iron over the pond on the 15th, one of his notable shots. It would be his last triumph on the Tour.

In 1981, Marr was captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup Team, who many believe was the greatest team of players ever assembled, a team whose players had assembled 36 majors between them.

Marr was also a noted television color commentator for ABC, NBC and the BBC, author and businessman.

Along with his good friend Jay Rieviere, who was on Harmon’s staff for three years beginning in
1957, the duo were responsible for designing many golf courses in the Houston area and throughout Texas, including the Master’s Course at Bear Creek in Houston.

He passed away in October of 1997 after a bout with stomach cancer. He was 63.

The list is indeed impressive under Harmon’s watch. Others who played on Tour from his era were Shelly Mayfield in 1948, Harry Dee in 1950, Al Mengert in 1953 and 1954 and Ron Funseth in 1959.

Tom Nieporte followed Harmon in 1978 from the Piping Rock Club on Long Island, where he had been pro for 15 years. Nieporte played on the Tour for five years and won the 1967 Bob Hope Desert Classic in Palm Springs.