1916-2010 Professional Golfers through the History of the Miami Golf and Country Club

 1924--Ed Dudley  (to read more about Ed Dudley's career click on this link Ed Dudley's Career

1925  Forbes Thornton, arrived from Scotland

1926--Ky Laffoon, local boy

1928--29--Leonard Ott

 1930 to 1931--Johnny Gatherum

 1932 to 1934--John Gavin

1936 to 1937--Buddy Poteet, former caddy master at Rockdale who turned pro at age 19 and worked at McFarland CC in Tulsa until returning to Miami.   Buddy Poteet story

1937--John Emery, professional golfer and greens-keeper who built the new greens.

1938, January to 1939 February--Frank  Lewis,father of Charley Lewis, who became a dominate amateur golfer.

1939 March--1952--Jack Guild

1952-1953--Ed  Miller

1954-1977--Johnie Stapp, 1974-75 assisted by Dickie Neel and later by Don Atchinson

1977-- 1984 Don Atchinson

Bob HiIl, Jr., General Manager from 1981-90 put up the double wide trailer that served as the clubhouse after the  fire in 1984.

1985-- 1986  Dickie Neel Dick Neel From a Friends Point of View

1987--1999  Steve Becker

2000--2007  Larry Clay

2008--2010 Keith Neel

 

"TEE SHOTS" BY FRANK LEWIS, Golf Professional

By Letty Stapp Watt

In 1938 Frank Lewis became the golf professional for one year at the Miami Country Club. One of his promises to the club was to bring in more interest in golf to the community by writing a series of eight articles on the game of golf. 

Vintage 1920-30
leather golf bag 

1938 March 13 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, club professional at the Miami Country club. #1

In presenting a series of articles on golf, I want it understood that these discussions are not to be regarded as actual lessons. I will attempt to explain why golf is and always will be "individual" and as such, what might be correct for one golfer may not hold true for another. 

After 20 years of teaching the game, in England, Canada and the United States, I have found that learning to play from books or articles has not been very successful--or else there would be more better golfers. I do not believe there are better readers of golf articles than good golfers themselves.

I personally prefer to teach the individual as I find him or her. Sometimes it is not easy to determine the ability of your pupil to relax under strain. You must build up his or her faith in his own ability. In accomplishing, that, an instructor has done much.

What I want to emphasize in subsequent articles is the stroke or swing. Also I will strive to show the meaning of the word "timing" and several other terms of which golfers have heard but do not understand the full meaning or significance.

These articles, I believe, can be enjoyed by the par shooter as well as the beginner. After all, we will always have with us the "good old duffer." God bless him, what would the game be without him? 

1938 March 20 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, professional at the Miami Country Club #2

All golfers, good and bad, are troubled with common faults. In looking at linksmen for some 20 years, I find that there is one fault, common to all.

What is it? It's the "up swing." It causes more worry than any other shortcoming and its one that requires careful analysis to correct.

The tendency is to grip the club too tight. Consequently the golfer makes the up swing too hard. It is a case of bad timing. I think the mistake is made by attempting to clout the ball too hard. The result is often topping, slicing or even pulling.

Tension in action is a difficult problem to master. It is the hardest of all habits to break. I believe it can be mastered only by one's ability to relax under pressure. Upon that performance hinges the success or failure of a player.

Take my advice--watch your up swing and learn to let the wrist muscles of the arms relax. Do not forget the body also. Try to eliminate anything which tends towards stiffness. In that statement I am running into deep water. 

I refer to the stiff left arm. Well, I'll leave you there with this question: Is there such a thing as a stiff left arm? You should think before you give your answer. I'll give my opinion next week. 

1938 March 27 MNR    "TEE SHOTS" by Frank Lewis, golf professional. #3

The idea of a stiff left arm in golf is really wrong, for anything which tends to stiffen the upswing is bound to cause stiffness of body action. I am a believer in relaxing the left arm. I have watched too many good golfers swing without showing any trace of a stiff left arm. To swing correctly we must relax. Thus how can you relax if you really are trying to stiffen the left arm?

I find also golfers are prone to grasp the club too tightly. One should try to be natural--a good golfer always does as his swing clearly shows.  If you are a beginner, try to adopt an easy grip. Swing the club; you don't have to kill the ball because the speed of your wrists will give you a lot of hitting power.

It is very hard to convince an old golfer that he is not hitting with his left hand. After all, a right hand golfer can and should hit with his right wrist. If he is left-handed, let him use his left wrist. My own idea is that a right-hander can't throw a ball very far with his left arm. Then why not follow the same principle to the golf swing? 

1938 April 3 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, golf professional. #4

There is a definite wrist action which starts with the left wrist moving from the ball in the upswing and continues to the top of the swing and then both wrists begin to operate on the down swing. This is where the average golfer runs into trouble.

If he has attained the sense of direction the forward swing must take, he knows how much his wrist action means. His right hand must be free always; otherwise he does not get a good follow through.

I was asked once what was the idea of a follow through. That was an easy question to answer. All I said was the follow through is a finished swing and if failed to be added, what happens to the shot?

Many golfers never realize how they actually start a shot or how it should finish. If you play yourself, look your swing over. See if I am nearly correct.

I have been asked also if it is possible, then to over swing. Yes, it is, but a golfer who has an over swing is rarely found. The reverse is true about under swinging. most golfers do not go back far enough to get the proper wrist break. Bobby Jones calls it cocking the wrists at the top of the swing.

That's another common fault, caused from gripping too tightly. The question is how tight should one grip a club, a question that covers a big field. How tight do you grip and what are the results? Next week I will give a further discussion on that point. 

1938 April 10 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis. #5

The grip is something that all golfers are seldom conscious of. I am not going to say the Vardon grip is correct nor any other grip as far as that goes because among professional golfers there is quite a difference in grips as well as opinions.

Some say the right hand should be up; other s say the right should be under and there you are.  I remember the time when the so-called lock grip was thought to be the thing and then the Vardon grip, but I advise you to look around and see the different grips for yourself. 

(My father, Johnie Stapp, was an ardent believer in one grip. He considered the Vardon grip the best because it gave balance to both hands. He believed both hands had to work together to produce a straight shot.)

I know one good golfer whose grip is almost like a baseball player's, and yet he can shoot par very easily, so don't run into danger by trying to play a certain grip, especially if you do not get the desired results.

I have changed too many hands not to know that the most natural grip is the best one. Take hold of the club as it suits your hands. Try it, for sometimes it works. 

Let's go a little further about some short shots. I believe a lot of strokes are lost from 100 yards and down to the cup. Yes, I know one could write a book on what happens but honestly the greatest mistake is really a very simple one. A person has to watch only the back swing, because it is generally too fast. Short strokes are the hardest of all golf strokes.

Why? Because it calls for more concentration than we generally give it. The stroke is so interesting that I believe I will have to devote my next article to a discussion of it. 

1938 April 17 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis #6

There are two very definite short shots, once called the pitch and the other the pitch and run. As you may notice one is a pitch, and the other a run. But wait, is it run shot? No, there are at least a half a dozen clubs to play the pitch and run--they all carry in the the angle of loft in the club.

Now the reason why it is not entirely a run shot is because the idea is to let the ball fall somewhere near the edge of the green and then the rest is all run. You must have a certain amount of pitch and also knowledge of how far the ball will run after it hits the green.

  (To this day I have movies that run in my head of the hours I spent practicing the pitch and run shots with my 7 iron, 5 iron, and 3 iron on the practice green at the Miami Country club. My father insisted that I concentrate on hitting the ball squarely and then watching and learning how far each shot rolled once it bounced.)

Now you see why the shot is very difficult. How accurate a player has to be to know exactly where to drop the ball and have the decided amount of run to put the ball near the hole. Take the pitch shot--it's difficult. But you can certainly see that if the ball has been given the right amount of loft it has a much better chance of dropping near the flag.

These shots are definitely the "brains of golf." You have to know how to execute either. Personally, I believe the pitch shot is the better in the whole game.

If you are a runner, try a No.8 club. Pitch the ball up for its lots of fun. As they say anyone can roll a ball, but why not learn to play good golf?

1938 April 24 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis #7

Now we talk about the least known shot in the game--the explosion or bunker shot. Of course, there is a special club called a sand blaster which is used to play the shot. 

But if one is to get acquainted with the club--a very unwieldy weapon--the idea is to take a lot of sand with the ball. How can this be done? Golfers as a rule are afraid of the explosion shot and generally go into the trap with a prayer that the ball will stop somewhere on the green.

Yes it can be played to perfection. I have seen golfers come out of some of the most impossible places. I'll admit that I am one of the rank of golfers who offers up a prayer. But when I do play it right, I get a big kick out of it.

It's played in quite a different way as the stroke is almost vertical and one has to bear almost straight into the sand on the down swing.

1930's Sandblaster wedge. 

The sand on our course at the present time is very wet and as such is easy to play, but wait until it get dry and then listen to the tale of woe. The explosion shot takes lots of practice and courage because if you don't hit out properly you might find yourself just as far on the other side of the green.

Take my advice and learn to play the explosion shot; it will save you lots of stokes. Of course, we can chip out, but what about the bad lie in the trap. Another thing, when a player has finished his shot and taken lots of sand he should see that the hole he has made is filled in. The man playing behind is just apt to put the ball in the same bunker and he may find the hole made previously. It would be easy then to overhear his language. 

(This particular spring in Miami, Oklahoma must have been very rainy. There are several references made to the conditions of the course because the new "grass greens" were opened in April.)

1938 April 24  Mac Bartlett, sports writer for a column called The Grist, writes that the Miami Country club's nine-hole course has finally yielded a subpar score. Charley Lewis shot a sizzling 71 Friday afternoon, coming in one under par figures for the best 18-hole score posted at the club since the construction of the "Grass Greens."

The club pro, Frank Lewis, shot a steady 38 on the first nine. It was hit first try at the course in several days. He was one of a foursome that included his son.  

1938 May 1 MNR  "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, #8

When the ball reaches the green, the shot we are going to play is the most annoying of all as so much can be said as to how we shall stand and how shall we hold the club. A putter in action is a weird club because one day we can almost hole them in from anywhere; the next it seems as if we were using someone else's club. 

I wonder why, I have seen, I believe, literally hundreds of positions taken. To me a good putter is a gift from the gods of golf (if they are any gods of the game).

Watch a good putter if you every had the pleasure of looking at one. I don't mean the in-and-outer--good today bum tomorrow. All tournaments are won by putting. When a man's putter is hot, he is bound to be saving strokes. In addition, his mind is easy.

Miss a few three-foot putts, then what do you feel like? I know. I, too, have missed those putts. My advice in putting is not simple because putting is not easy. I like to see a man be comfortable. Yes, he can hold the club as he likes. Now he must, first of all, find out which grip suits him best and there are several. 

Putting can only be perfected by constant practice. Spend a little time each day on the putting green. It will repay you later on. This is good sound advice. Putting is a study, but who takes the time to figure it out. 

Figure how many three putts you have taken--then practice that distance. It doesn't cost anything. 

1938 May 1 MNR Mac Bartlett writes in The Grist column that women golfers are showing increased interest in the links sport here (in Miami). They plan to play at the country club Tuesday afternoon after a luncheon in the clubhouse. 

Charley Lewis and George Coleman, Jr, won a friendly golf match over Carl Childress and Howard Thomas Saturday afternoon. Lewis bagged a 72 while Coleman got a 74. Childress, a Joplin business man, took a 77 and his partner, who lives in Baxter Springs, came in with a 76. 

*Frank Lewis's love for the game of golf continued on with his son, Charley Lewis, who later became a well respected golf pro at Little Rock Country Club, Arkansas. 

1939--TIMELINE AND STORIES of the MIAMI GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB

1939 March, New Pro, Jack Guild

 By Letty Stapp Watt

*For the sake of the “Timeline of Miami Country Club” I have chosen to use the exact words from the newspaper writers because they date the times and the language of golf, and the cultural standards from the war and depression years.

 

1939 January 1 MNR   Charley Lewis, son of the Miami Country Club professional  joined the hole-in-one club Friday afternoon at the expense of Bill Laffoon, playing with the local golfer at the time. Lewis' perfect shot, on the 165 yard No. 3, duplicated the performance of Glenn Scott, who accomplished the same thing last summer. These two linksmen are the only ones to register holes-in-one at the country club since the installation of grass greens.  

 

1939 March 30 MNR Grist by Mac Bartlett  A ringer tournament will be introduced soon for women players at the MCC course, if enough feminine golfers want it. New pro Jack Guild said the event can last for a month. The lady who gets in the most rounds of golf has the best chance of winning. If a woman gets a 6 on No. 1 hole, for instance, she will have several chances to beat that mark. When she does, the old number will be wiped out, and the new inserted. 

Guild talked the deal over with Mrs. Bert Wall, Mrs. C.N. Harrell, and Mrs. Floyd Newton, and the three agreed it would be a good event.  

1939 March 31 MDNR  

Jack Guild believes that the shortest way to the cup is down the middle of the fairways. Not long tee shots, but straight. Most of his are good for 225 to 250 yards, through the center. He has won the State P.G.A. (at Muskogee in 1926) and twice finished runner-up for the State open title to Clarence Clark, the former Tulsa golf master, in 1929 and 1931.
 

1939  April 4 MNR Jack Guild of Tulsa McFarlin club succeeds Frank Lewis, who moved from the country club quarters today to a residence here.

Club officials disclosed they had hired Jack Veal, veteran greenskeeper at the Northridge club at Tulsa, and Mrs. Veal, who will become the cateress. Prior to his professional career at Tulsa, he was associated in a like capacity for ten years with the Oakhurst club of Tulsa.  

A native of Scotland, Guild served his apprenticeship on the British Isles, becoming a professional after five years of training at Troon, Scotland. He came to the United States in 1924.  The Tulsa linksman, the No.1 ranking PGA golfer in Oklahoma during 1935, was awarded second place recognition last year for his outstanding play in five tournaments. Paired with Joy Cole, Tulsa amateur champion, Guild copped first honors in the pro-amateur event at Oklahoma City in 1938. 

1939 April 12 MNR Golfing with Guild. Jack Guild, Miami Country Club professional has followed golfing developments in Oklahoma for fourteen years. He has agreed to write some of his observations, gleaned from years of experience as a teacher and tournament player, for the Miami News-Record. 

 1939 April 20 MNR Miami Country club is selected as scene of the Oklahoma PGA Tourney. Thirty professional golfers are slated to gather here May 24 and May 25. Miami's rolling nine-hole course was named as the most suitable layout for Oklahoma's siege guns of the fairways when Professional Jack Guild made his bid in conferences with Joe Dahlman of Tulsa, President of the State PGA. 

Professionals over Oklahoma and instructors at Ft. Smith and Hot Springs are members of the state association, whose leading golfer of 1938 was George Whitehead, pro at Tulsa's Indian Hills Country club. 

For the first time since 1930, Miami will be host. John F. Robinson, chairman, announced that the event will appeal to Miami amateurs as much as it will to visiting linksmen. Robinson disclosed plans for a larger pro-am field on May 24, opening day of the event. Three members will be drawn for foursomes in which the pros will become the fourth members. This plan will enable some 75-90 local players to compete. Guild estimates 25-30 pros will come here for the two day test. George Coleman, Jr, club president, has suggested that the Miami membership stage a big stag party on the eve of the pro-am, draw names of the amateurs with the pros and form a Calcutta pool. A percentage obtained from the pool will be used for cash prizes for the pros and merchandise for the "simon pures." (Men of  financial means were sarcastically called 'Simon Pures' by the press or media. They were considered men who could play golf six days a week pick up a little cash, and call themselves amateurs.)"simon pures" described

1939 April 23 MNR The Grist from Mac Bartlett. A blazing 70 is the new course record at Miami Country Club. The two-under-par score was registered Friday afternoon by Charley Lewis. Playing with Jack Guild against George Coleman, Jr. and John F. Robinson. Charley went out in a 36 and came in with 34. In the par-breaking performance were five birdies. 

Coleman shot a 75, Robinson came in with 76 and Guild finished with 77. (Par is 72.) One the second nine, three of the linksmen made birdies on the No. 1 par four hole, which is 331 yards in length. The same trio stormed into No. 9 with birdies. 

1939 April 23 MNR John F. Robinson, chairman of the country club tournament committee, wants all members to write up their four lowest scores and turn 'em in before May 10. The handicaps must be set before the club tournament program can be launched. 

1939 May 19 MNR  Golf course is 6,560 yards in length.

1939 May 22 MNR  Buddy Poteet, former amateur from Commerce, Oklahoma, who attended NEO and impressed people with his talents on the links the last few years at Miami, has since moved to Tulsa, Northridge where he is practicing his golf skills as an assistant professional. He will be returning to Miami to play in the upcoming State PGA. While as an assistant at the Miami course he shot an 18 hole sub par round of 67 on the sand greens. The greens are now grass greens and a challenge for the pros.  

1939 May 24 MNR "Score of Links Wizards Eager for State P.G.A. "

Oklahoma's links wizardry, developed by men who send out booming drives and deadly putts for gold, was centered at the Miami Country club's nine-hole course today. A restless group of 23 professionals, ready to complete in a pro-am event this afternoon with 56 Miami amateurs, was looking forward to a heated battle tomorrow for the first honors in the annual State P.G.A. tournament. To the top three men go places in the National P.G.A. at Flushing, Long Island. To the champion goes a large part of $200 in cash and a silver trophy that Eddie Stanard has been polishing for a year down at Oklahoma City.

The pros were not hesitant to predict that "the guy who gets a 144 aggregate" for the 36 holes medalist play "will win this meet. "First to join in accord with that forecast, was PGA president, Joe Dahlman, defending champion. Jimmy Gullane, Bartlesville pro, piped up to second the motion. George Whitehead, the stylist from Tulsa's Indian Hills club and twice champion of the play-for-keeps boys, had about decided like the others. He shot a par 72 at the country club five weeks ago. The pros will be busy determining what they'll do about divvying up the gold. Dahlman said they'd make pairings for tomorrow's attraction. The experts will shoot 18 holes in the morning, then repeat the procedure in the afternoon.

The course was in excellent condition for the assault on the par. Greens and fairways glittered with greenness decidedly bright after recent rains. Mid-June weather conditions were in prospect as clearing early to presaged shirt sleeved golfers galore before this thing is completed last Thursday. 

 A gigantic stag dinner last night, attended by 150 players brushed fried chicken from around the corners of hungry mouths. In practice rounds yesterday, Jack Mann of the Shawnee Elks club shot a par-equaling 72. He was playing with Jimmy Gullane who shot 77, Gib Sellers shot 76 and Howard Estep a 74. It was Oklahoma vs Arkansas, and Oklahoma won 5 and 3. Sellers last week captured the Arkansas Open crown, while Estep finished runner-up. Both are eligible to play here since part of Arkansas is in a district with Oklahoma's state P.G.A. setup. 

1939 May 25 MNR "Pro-Amateur Establishes Whitehead and Estep as State P.G.A. Favorites."  Defending champion Ed Stanard of Oklahoma City faced the stiffest kind of opposition. On the basis of performance in the pro-am yesterday, George Whitehead of the Tulsa Indian Hills club, and Howard Estep, pro at Fort Smith's Hardscrabble course, were established as co-favorites to unseat the champion. Both shot sub-par 71's. 

Gail Hutts, riding a 17-stroke handicap blasted he way to the pro-am low ball title yesterday, sharing the honor with Bob Mair, pro at Fort Sill. Their low ball score was 63. On the incoming nine, it was Hutts' excellent firing that bought the pro a place in the links spotlight. Gail turned on the heat to score a 39, without the use of his handicap, while Mair, who opened with a 39, slipped off to a 40. Tied for second and third places were Estep, R.O. (Hoot) Gibson,  Horace Payne, and Mair. They bagged 65's. Next came Gib Sellers of Hot Springs, Arkansas and Dick Neel with a 32-35=67 (net), while George Whitehead and Carl Hilliard ploughed through with a like total. 

Mair's pairing with Payne to tie for second was the first time in State P.G.A. history that a professional had teamed up with two amateurs to win more than one high place in the same event. In 1930, when Miami first played host to the PGA, Clarence Clark paired with Luther Sheldon, local amateur, to win the pro-am event with a low score of 65. Among the better scores for the pros yesterday, were several 74's by Buddy Poteet and Ed Stanard, Gib Sellers and Bill Witherspoon, pro at Tulsa's Southern Hills club.  Jimmy Gullane, of Bartlesville, and Floyd Farley, the state PGA secretary, each turned in 75's. Jack Guild, local pro, was off his usual game. He scored a 40 on the first nine, then trimmed off three strokes on the second to get a 77.

John F. Robinson, local club members who will compete in the National Open at Philadelphia next month, and Charley Lewis, holder of the course record, a 69, both shot 73's. Joy Cole of Welch got a 75. Henry Ping, a Tulsa pro, was the highest scorer among the PGA members. He carded a 90. The pros competed for cash prizes totaling $100. First place brought $25 for Bob Mair. Other PGA pros playing are: Bill Witherspoon, Buddy Poteet, Floyd Farley, Harley Hicks, Jimmy Gullane, Sandy Francisco,George Whitehead, Bob Dunning, Marion Askew, and Harlan Brittain. 

1939 May 26 MNR "Buddy Poteet Strokes Way to State P.G.A. Title With Sub-Par 142 Total"

From caddy to State P.G.A. champion in eight years. That is the enviable record of Buddy Poteet, the former Commerce boy, who splashed through a downpour to hang up a two-under-par 142 for 36 holes of medalist play at Miami County club Thursday. Poteet refused to buckle as he neared the end of his great performance. He sank a three-foot putt on No. 18 and a large crowd looking out from the east veranda of the clubhouse had difficulty seeing the shot that 10 minutes later was to give the Tulsa Northridge pro his first state championship.

Handsome Floyd Farley of Oklahoma City, the pace-setter at the three-quarter mark with a sizzling 104, saw his shotmaking wizardry fall apart on the last nine. He slipped over par on four consecutive holes, beginning with No. 13. He came in with a 39 and his 36-hole total of 143 was good for second money. Rains that had subsided after delaying play for more than an hour in the morning beat down upon the leaders as they finished their final nine.

Howard Estep, the sweet little stroker from Fort Smith, wound up in fourth place with a 145. George Whitehead, pro from Tulsa's Indian Hills club, was fifth with 146. First place brought Poteet $200 and the P.G.A. trophy. 

Before leaving here last night, the professionals chorused that "This is the best tournament we've ever had." Smiling Floyd Farley, after shaking hands with Poteet and complimenting him on his great finish, said to a reporter: "Do something for me; tell them Miami has given us the best reception we ever received anywhere. I really mean that."

Joe Dahlman, the PGA president who hails from Tulsa's McFarlin club, agreed with Farley. "Yes, I want to say, too, that we have had a splendid time here. We'd like to come back to Miami every year." 

1939 May 27 MNR Tulsa Country club is honored to be the host of the Trans-Mississippi  

1939 August 16 MDNR "35 WOMEN VIE ON LINKS HERE"  Mrs. Charles Larson of Baxter, one of the most consistent feminine players in the district, captured low gross honors at Miami Country club Tuesday afternoon in the monthly tourney of the Tri-State Women's Golf association. She shot round of 48-43 for a 91.  Next came Mrs. August Simeon of Pittsburg, who trailed by a stroke with a 44-48 for a 92. Each received golf ball awards. Women from Joplin, Webb City, Pittsburg, and Miami played and discussed plans for the annual tourney to require a $1.00 entry fee. Golf ball awards Tuesday afternoon were awarded to: Mrs. Floyd Newton of Miami for using the least number of putts, 31; Mrs. O.S Moss of Joplin, who required the most putts, 51;Mrs. Carl Drath of Joplin, who took only 25 strokes on six blind holes; Mrs. J. Mohler of Pittsburg, highest number on blind holes with 42 strokes, and Mrs. W..R. Martin of Joplin, high scorer of the day, with rounds of 70-75 for a 145.

* For other stories about golf and Miami, Oklahoma please click on the link to my personal blog Literally Letty

For more information on the history of Miami, Oklahoma please refer to these links:

Miami, Ok. history  

Coleman Theatre History, Route 66

Tri-State Lead and Zinc Mines 

  

 

MIAMI COUNTRY CLUB 1938--TIMELINE AND STORIES

 

 

Colorized Postcard 1938 Miami Country club

By Letty Stapp Watt

*For the sake of the “Timeline of Miami Country Club” I have chosen to use the exact words from the newspaper writers because they date the times and the language of golf, and the cultural standards from the war and depression years.

1938 September 5 MRDN  Country Club into new era  of popularity with new grass greens. One of the State’s best golf courses with 160 members on the rolls. (Full story on previous blog post.) New Grass Greens

1938 January 20 MNR A commercial add for B and K Men's Wear shows the cost of shoes at this time.  Florsheim SHOE SALE $8.45 Most Styles • CROSBY SQUARE and WALTER BOOTH Dress Oxfords Regular $4.00, $4.50, $5.00. $5.50 now  $3.00* $3.37* $3.7$ • Work Shoes and Oxfords Formerly $1.95, $2.45, $3.00 $3.50, $3.95 and $4.00 NOW $1.46, $1.84, $2.25 $2.62, $2.96, $3.00 

1938 January 20 MNR Frank Lewis of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, veteran golf professional, has signed a one-year contract for a full-time instructorship at Miami Country Club, effective February 1. The hiring a Lewis marks the first time since 1930 that the local country club, now in a new period of growth, has boasted a full-time links teacher. Mrs. Lewis will serve as a cateress. John Embrey, who was employed to construct the new greens on the nine-hole layout, has left for Kirkwood, Mo.

1938 March 13 MNR  "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, professional at Miami Country Club #1

To follow the series of eight lessons by Frank Lewis please click on this link to see them in order, as published in the Miami News Record during the Spring of 1938. 

1938 March 13 MNR Frank Lewis, Jr tall, wiry son of the new Miami Country club professional, plans to stay in Miami this summer to polish up his golfing game. Young Frank, 20 years old, is a par golfer. In 1936, he captured the state interscholastic links championship in Arkansas, playing over a Fort Smith course in par figures. The younger member of the Lewis golfing family went to the finals of the annual Fort Smith invitational tourney in 1934. Last year he was medalist in the same meet.

"I intend to do a lot of practicing over this course during the summer months," Frank said. "I am not going to turn pro, not for the next few years at least, because I want to compete with the amateurs in several major tournaments."  

Among the links attractions for young Lewis will be the Broadmoor Invitational at Colorado Springs. Meanwhile, though he will help is father in managing tournaments and club matches. He said he hopes Miami will have several tourneys this year.  

1938 March 20 MNR "Tee Shots" by Frank Lewis, golf professional at Miami Country club can be found by clicking on this link to read #2. 

1938 March 21 MNR Large turnout expected at country club if weather cooperates. Miami Country club officers announced that the greens are in "A-1-condition" and pointed out they saw no need of further delay in opening the course, unless the weather takes a drastic turn.  A large number of local linksmen practiced over the layout yesterday, but Sunday will attract one of the largest turnouts in recent years. The greens have been progressing rapidly, the grass now showing a good stand and ready for the test by local shot makers.

1938 March 29 MNR Sam Snead burned up the greens and fairways of the Valley Brook course in Greensboro, NC yesterday to win the annual $5000 greater Greensboro golf tournament with a brilliant 72 hole 271. PGA tournament officials said Snead's mark set a new low record for a major golf tournament during the current campaign. His score was two strokes better than Ed Dudley of Augusta, Ga (formerly from Rockdale CC). Ky Laffoon of Miami, Oklahoma wound up with 293.

How to play a stymied ball...1938.

    

1938 March 29 MNR Grist by Mac Bartlett  

Smiles replaced frowns on the faces of local golfers today as the sun promised to do some work on the new grass greens. Rainfall, which totaled 1.70 inches on Monday, was not even necessary for crops.

Frank Lewis, the Miami Country club instructor, is giving some of the boys early tutoring. Leon (Punk) Laramore should do some scouting. Frank Spencer's drives have more reach this season. 

1938 April 4 MNR  A sharp wind from the southwest swept across the Miami Country club course yesterday as 65 golfers tried their skill on a layout that has yet to yield a par score to any shotmaker since construction of the new grass greens. Despite the winds that proved a tremendous handicap to the long hitters, some of the scores turned in to Frank Lewis indicated that several players will be near par figures under better conditions. 

Lanky Charley Lewis, son of the pro, who flirted with par throughout the afternoon, finally wound up with a fine 75, three above par. Shooting with George Coleman Jr., Glenn Scott, and Howard Thomas, the latter of Baxter Springs' most consistent players, Lewis played steadily all the way. They played 18 holes, with Coleman annexing an 81. Thomas, the former's partner, and 83 and Scott, 85. Coleman, Thomas, and Scott have all toured the course in previous years at par figures (on sand greens).

Other nine-hole scorers reported to the club included a 41 for Joe Hutts, 

Fred Newton bagged a 43, and Bill Neel a 44. Some players were reticent about their scorecards. The wind treated them badly. A New-Record photographer got close-ups of several players. Maybe they would like to see the pictures before someone else does. They showed some strange expressions, especially of one group whose putters wouldn't behave. 

A list of other players is shown on the right.

 

1938 April 8 MNR The Grist by Mac Bartlett.  A couple of inches of snow blanketed the golf course here today, gave Frank Lewis, the club pro, decided chills and interrupted a few growing feuds that have stimulated interest--on the street corner and in the clubhouse. 

B.S. (Before snow): Charley Lewis was the first to shoot a 36. He's gradually working himself out of competition and stroke handicaps are so trying these days.

A.S. (After snow): Sam Fullerton wants to wrestle a reporter who said he played 16 holes only one stroke over par the other day. The report, Sam said, cost him some friendships as well as some play with "boys in my own class." 

 

1938 April 17 MNR "1888--1938 Fifty Years of Golf" 

1938 May 8 MNR Miss Ruth Peacock, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Peacock, 301 B st. northeast, is one of the most promising young feminine golfers in the district. Take it from Frank Lewis, professional at Miami Country club, Miss Peacock has possibilities of becoming an excellent shotmaker. 

"She needs experience, of course," Lewis said, "but she has the form and every symptom of being a fine golfer. She's taking lessons now and I think she will develop very rapidly." Miss Peacock, who will be graduated from Miami high school May 19, started playing the links game only last June. During last summer her best score was a 40 for nine holes, a mark some of the men players would be proud of at the country club. Miss Peacock plans to enroll at the University of Arkansas next September. She intends to get a lot of golf this summer and hopes to spend some time at Chicago. While there she will go to the Northmoor club, where she hopes to do some practicing under the direction of Ky Laffoon, the Miami golfer who is head professional at the Chicago course.  

Feminine interest in golf has grown steadily with the introduction of new grass greens. Last Tuesday twenty women played at the country club. Instructor Lewis said, "I am willing to do all I can to stimulate interest among the women. I'm looking forward to the time when at least fifty ladies will be playing golf regularly."

Tuesday may be designated soon as "ladies day" at the golf course. Club officials said they have been encouraging women to play in the mornings

 

1938 June 9 MNR Tulsa's Oakhurst Country Club is hosting the Women's Trans-Mississippi Tournament. It is expected to see a final dual of Miss Patty Berg and Better Jameson. Other outstanding lady golfers in the field are Mrs. Opal S. Hill of Kansas City, and winsome Miss Sarah Guth of St. Louis, Mo., who eliminated one of the favorites Marion Miley of Lexington, Ky. 

1938 June 19 MNR Last week Glen Scott missed a hole-in-one on Miami Country club's No. 3 by a scant two inches. One more hop and he would have had membership in the select club of hole-in-one artists. The No. 3 hole is now 150 yards in length. It was recently increased 30 yards. Incidentally, the nine-hole layout has been stepped up to 3,310 yards, making it a championship course.

1938 June 26 MNR The ladies of the Miami Country club, who are interested in golf, are asked to a golf day luncheon at the clubhouse at 1 o'clock on Tuesday, June 28. The luncheon reservations are to be made with Mrs. Fred Newton, Phone 939. The first meeting this year of the Women's Tri-State Golf association will be held Wednesday, June 29 at the Neosho Country club. A large representation of the ladies of the Miami Country club is desired.

1938 June 30 MNR Mrs. Floyd Newton and Mrs. Denver Seals were awarded golf balls at the Miami Country club Tuesday after they won over 14 other women players in the afternoon tourney. 

1938 July 5 MNR Sam Fullerton called his score at Miami Country club at the special Fourth of July tournament and won two golf balls for being by "strokes" the best clairvoyant in the field. Nine prizes were awarded during the day. Club pro Frank Lewis, who sponsored the tourney, said Fullerton told him before shooting his 18 holes that he would come in with an 85. "He might have coasted a little to make that count on the last few holes, but he did it." Low gross in Class B was a 90, shot by Gail Hutts. An extra prize went to John Wallace, who missed his guess by one stroke. 

Horace Payne, assistant county attorney, made the low gross score of the day, a 78. That was good for two golf balls. Melvin Hutts turned in a 79 for the second low gross. Highest score of the day was a 130 admitted by Jim Campbell. He won a golf ball for his truthfulness. Joe Hutts bagged three birdies, most of any player, and received a golf ball for his efforts. Bill Grisham used up 12 strokes and a couple of pounds on hole No. 6 to take an award for the most strokes on any one hole. Lewis said that Clyde Lodge, who guessed he would fire a 94, captured the title of "biggest liar." "Why, he came in 10 strokes less than that with an 84." Lewis declared. "So I gave him a golf ball for his excellent yarn." Lewis stated that thirty-six men competed in the weekend tournament, and he thought that the turnout was especially good for the holiday. 

1938 August 12 "On This Day"

Ben Hogan, Paul Runyan, and Byron Nelson played a practice round at Oakwood Country club prior to the Cleveland Open. Hogan and Nelson finished with a four round total of 291, eleven shots behind the winner Ky Laffoon. Sam Snead finished second, one stroke back. 

1938 October 2 MNR "Women Golfers Will Compete Tuesday in First Feminine Golf Tournament Here in Six Years." The field of 30 women will begin play at 9 a.m. and will complete the tourney before dusk. The event will be a handicap affair with play in three flights, said Frank Lewis, professional. 

Mrs. Audrey Connell, president of the ladies' division of the country club, and Mrs. Fred Newton, chairman of the women' golf committee, have arranged the program in collaboration with the club pro. Lewis emphasized that the "beginner" will have just as much chance to win a prize as the veteran players. Some awards will be given for putting on certain selected greens and others will be offered on blind holes. The pro will determine the handicaps. 

At 1 p.m. the ladies will have lunch at the clubhouse, Tuesday being the regular meeting date for the ladies division. Mrs. Floyd Newton, Mrs. C.N. Harrell, and Mrs. Bert Wall, all of whom played in the Tri-State meet at Joplin Thursday and Friday, are among the tourney favorites. The following business firms will offer awards: Coleman-Hutts, Hub Clothing, Economy grocery, Rosebud, James and James, Millner Hardware and Furniture, Carselowey shoes, Coco-Cola, Brown Stansell, and Dryer Brothers. 

1938 October 5 MNR Twenty prizes were scattered among 17 players Tuesday in the first women's golf tourney of the year at Miami Country Club. First flight winners:  1st Mrs. Matt Connell, 2nd Mrs. Horace Payne, 3rd Mrs. C.N. Harrell, 4th Mrs. Cora Myers, 5th Mrs. Florence Newton. Miss Ethel Beck and Mrs. Bert Wall tied with Mrs. Newton for the fifth lace, but the latter won the award by a cut of the cards. Second Flight winners: Mrs. Jack Horner, Mary Lewis, Mrs. Ralph Chambers, Mrs. Homer Willim, and Mrs. Gayle Pickens. Third Flight winners:Mrs. Charles Carseloway, Mrs. O.T. Hatfield, Mrs. Joe Hubbard, Mrs. Clarence Carseloway, and Mrs. Gail Hutts.  Five special awards were given to the following: Mrs. Cora Myers, for taking on 17 putts on nine holes; Mrs. Earl Elliott, for play on No. 6; Mrs. Connell, lowest score on Nos. 3,6,9; Mrs. Howard Hampton, highest score of the day; and Mrs. Homer Willim for the three highest scores on any three holes. The awards were offered by local merchants. 

1938 October 6 MNR Joe Kirkwood, the Australian golfer who has won world-wide recognition for his mastery of trick shots, will appear at the Miami Country club course in an exhibition role Tuesday afternoon.

Kirkwood, now at Carrol, Iowa, notified club officials by telegram today that he would start his exhibition at 2 p.m. Kirkwood said he would be willing to participate in an 18-hole match, either a twosome or foursome, and would follow this with a long series of trick shots, and a 30 minute lecture, during which he would explain any questions asked by spectators. 

Admission will be $1 a person. Tickets may be obtained at Coleman-Hutts, Hotel Miami, or the News-Record. A committee will canvass the downtown area.The men's division of the country club will also hold a stag dinner the same day. Dinner will be served at 6:30p.m. 

Kirkwood, who has traveled over the entire globe participating in major professional tournaments and giving exhibitions, probably will play only nine holes here. Club directors said they wanted him to devote more time to his demonstration of golf shots. 

Word has it that this Australian has accomplished major feats with a golf club. It was in 1923 that Frank Lewis, Miami club pro, saw the internationalist pull one of his greatest shots. Standing 225 yards from a polo post, Kirkwood twice drove balls against his target, out of three attempts. Incidentally, Lewis recalls, the old master got $50 for each of his bullseye drives. Someone thought he couldn't do it. 

1938 October 9 MNR Qualifying rounds of the Miami Country club golf championship will get under way over the nine-hole course today. The tourney, last won by George Coleman, Jr. in 1936 will be a match play event. The men's events should attract a large field since the courses is in top condition. All the greens are in excellent shape. Another top-dressing was spreading Saturday morning on No. 9, the one which cutworms damaged in August.

1938 October 10 MNR A pair of 78's turned in by Jim Bowers and Glenn Scott led a field of 34 qualifiers Sunday for the annual Miami Country club championship. Of the 34 who teed off yesterday, five still have nine or more holes to play before their qualifying scores are accepted.  Lewis stated that the scores were surprisingly high yesterday and Lewis attributed the figures to the "toughness of this course." He pointed out that at least a dozen "championship flight" linksmen have not turned in qualifying scores. Some observers believed a few of yesterday's qualifiers were "dropping off" some to keep a lower competitive bracket.

1938 October 12 MNR "Fans Given Double Treat as Ky Joins Kirkwood on Links"  Returning to the course which gave him his first experience as a linksman, Ky Laffoon paired with George Coleman, Jr. Miami Country club president, here yesterday to win a nine-hole exhibition match 2 up, over Joe Kirkwood, the trick shot master, and John Robinson, Jr. of Miami. 

Ky Laffoon  toured the layout in one over-par figures, bagging a 37 that bested Kirkwood's score by two strokes. Coleman picked up on two holes and Robinson did likewise on one. Approximately 100 persons followed the golfers. Kirkwood and Coleman both got away to bad starts, with the former taking a 5 on a par 4 No. 1 hole, 331 yards in length. Robinson picked up on No.2, a 420 yard hole, while the other three all holed out for a par figures. On the short No. 3 hole, Coleman picked up with remaining members of the foursome carding par 3's. Coleman birdied No.4, the others getting down in par 4. 

A strong southwest wind that increased in intensity as the match progressed had a telling effect in the play as golfers finished the last three holes. After Kirkwood and Laffoon negotiated Nos.4 and 5 in par figures, Coleman recorded the longest drive of the afternoon, a prodigious 310 yard wallop that carried past the bunker on the 565-yard No. 6 hole. (This article and the one in the Miami Daily News Record debunk any stories and rumors that I heard growing up, that my father, Johnie Stapp head pro from 1954-76 had the bunker on hole No. 6 put in to stop George Coleman, Jr. from landing his airplane on the golf course.)

Trick shot artist Joe Kirkwood 

1938 November 3 MNR  Luther Sheldon eliminated Melvin Hutts 4 and 3 in their championship flight match at Miami Country club yesterday. High winds raging over the course from the south and west continued to bother linksmen yesterday and the two tourney players had difficulty getting both distance and accuracy off the tee.  Sheldon will meet George Coleman, Jr. defending champion, in the championship semi-finals. Coleman eliminated A.C. Schmedeman, 3 and 2, to advance to the last four. The Coleman-Sheldon affair will be played off as soon as weather conditions permit. Glen Scott, who already has forged to the finals, will meet the winner. 

1938 November 3 MNR Ky Laffoon, Miami's No. 1 golfer, leaves today for West Virginia and a month of competitive events in the East and Southeast, along the Atlantic seaboard. Ky, accompanied by his wife, will travel with Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Ott. Leonard arrived Tuesday from Denver and announced he planned the trip to West Virginia, especially if Laffoon would accompany him. 

Ott and Ky will compete in about a half dozen events, the major one being the Pinehurst, N.C. North-South open. They may enter one or two meets in Florida, but Laffoon will not make the California tournaments this year. Laffoon will return around December 1 to get in some quail shooting, one of his favorite sports, and probably will remain here until time to go back to his Northmoor Country club job in Chicago.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON KY LAFFOON CLICK ON THIS LINK:

Miami Golfer Known Worldwide

 

 Golf Notes:

Authors Note:  My interest in this history is sincere and simple. My father, Johnie F. Stapp, became the PGA head pro at Miami Golf and Country Club in the spring 1954. I was six years old and already playing golf. Now at age 73 I find as much passion and fun in the game as I did in the 1950's. Because of my parents, I have a great deal of love and respect for the game of golf and its history from Scotland to the wind swept prairies of the plains state.  My plan is to preserve that history and some of those stories. 

*This is a work in progress outline. For the purpose of this blog TIMELINES are being used to collect and share archival information. As these timelines become near completion stories will appear in single blogs. My sources have been the Archives of the Miami New Record, Miami Daily News Record, Joplin Globe, "Golf in the Ozarks" by Monte McNew, "The Story of Golf in Oklahoma" by Del Lemon.   

For other stories about golf and Miami, Oklahoma please click on the link to my personal blog Literally Letty