EXtr,CLJTIVtr,GOLtrtr,R . 2008 Complimentary take home copy courtesy of your club professional executivegolfermagazine.com ' February fi*r***rt*trtrt*rttrt*td$****trtttrAUTO'rALL FOR ADC 038 041880EML F SCK 67 lll,.,,,ll,,r,lltl,,,,l,.l,,ll,l,,'lll""' ll lt l ' "lPRSRTSTD US Po!t!6 PS- Pond.c lL MIKECULLIY Pdrt No,93 212ASH ST t 2 MANCHESTER NH 03104-3703 t T r InThe Depths Of TheGreat t a Depressioh,Amateur Gotf Gtory g Drovelohnny Goodman H T Orphaned as a teenin the twenties,the Nebraskan rosefrom the T\ stocfoiardsand slaughterhousesof Omaha to win the 1933 US. Open, becomingthe last amateur to win a professionalmajor. G di, th SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS ago, amateur golfer Johnny obscurity, Goodman burned brightly during a dark chap- Gr Goodman's unlikely rise culminated with victory at the ter in our country's history. l5 U.S. Open. The 23-year-oldbecame only the fifth ama- teur to hoist the Open trophy, joining Francis Ouimet, Fno,raSrocxyenps ro Ctoorn Yeno te{ Jerry Ti"avers, Chick Evans and four-time champion On December 28, 1909, John George Goodman was toE Bobby Jones.Since Goodman's 1933 triumph, no ama- born in South Omaha,Nebraska. Of the l3 childrenborn soc teur has won any of the four professionalmajors. to Lithuanian immigrants Wlliam and Rose Goodman, old Goodman'stale is a testamentto perseverance.Rising Johnny was the fifth of l0 to survive past childbirth. ma from dire personal circumstances,he sought to emulate William Goodman worked in one of the city's meat- wel the amateur ideal glorified by Jones,his hero. Despite packing plants. Though his backbreaking labor provided financial and social pressure to renounce his amateur for the family, he developed a taste for liquor after Zac status and cash in on his success,he steadfastlyrefused. hours. Drunken rages were common in the household, pafl "His commitment, both a virtue and a curse,made it and at times William would disappear for long stretches. senl impossible for him to capitalize on his fame," writes 'vVhenJohnny was I l, he and friend Matt Zadalh found tion Michael Blaine in The King of a golf ball between the railroad goir Swings,a 2006 Goodman biography. tracks that bordered the private nex A three-time Walker Cup playel, Omaha Field Club's course. Soon, I Goodman burst into prominence by the man who had hit it there offered mer upsetting Jones in a first-round the boys a nickel in return for the er's match at the 1929 U.S.Amateur. In f ball and told them they could earn men 1937 he won the Amateuq joining more money caddying at the club. I\ Ouimet, Tiavers, Evans and Jones Johnny and Matt becamecaddies sprir as winners of U.S. Amateur and and hunted golf balls on the side. Omr Open titles. When they had gathered 100 balls, son,. But unlike Jones,who retired they took them to the club pro, who Lr Ly from amateur competition after gave them a left-handed, hickory- becar winning the Grand Slam in 1930 shafted mashie in return. At a near- G and profited handsomely from by farm, they beganpracticing. caddi endorsement deals and a Hollywood pete : movie contract, Goodman lived JohnnyGoodman holding the U.S. Open ofht trophyin 1933.He won by a singlestroke modestly out of the spotlight once overRaloh Guldahl from Texas. The finals his competitive days ended. championshipwas held at NorthShore mean Although he eventually faded into CountryClub, Glenview, lllinois. I transt 38 EXECUTIVEGOLFER FEBBUARY2oo8 JohnnyGoodman In fall 1922, Johnny's caddying \tVhile supporting himself and prowessearned him a plum assign- honing his game, Goodman re- ment: toting for Walter Hagen in enrolled in school. Taking night an Omaha exhibition. After the and summer classes,he earned his round, Blaine writes, Goodman high-school diploma in 1927. asked Hagen what it took to be a That summer Goodman advanced great golfer. to the semifinals of the Nebraska "Well, when you hit it in the Amateur and, with local support- cabbage,just keep on smiling," the ers paying his way, traveled to Haig replied. Colorado Springs for the Tians- Mississippi. In the final at the Tn tcnov AND E ARLY TW',wpns Broadmoor, he defeated James Two years lateq,Johnny was in deep Ward, a wealthy KansasCity player; cabbage.In December 1924, Rose for the title. Goodman and her infant daughter died following childbirth. And in A Srutsu ON Tsr the wake of the tragedy, Wlliam N.anox;r Srxcr Goodman deserted the family. At After the Tians-Mississippivictory 15, Johnny was an orphan. Goodman'ssupporters collected Johnny and his l6-year-old sis- money to help ffnancehis college teq, Anna, tried to keep the family education.He enrolled at the togetheq, but county authorities Universityof Nebraskabut left after soon intervened.Anna and lO-year- a year.Back in Omaha,he worked at old sister Mary worked as live-in a sportinggoods store and lived with maidg and three younger brothers the family of L.B.Webster. were sent to an orphanage. JohnnyGoodman (left) is congratulatedbyBobby Jones In June I929, I9-year-old afterhe defeated Jones in the first round of the 1929 Goodman moved in with Matt Goodman q'ralified U.S.Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links, for the U.S. Zadalis' family and began working PebbleBeach, California. Open. His two-roundtotal of 140 oart-time as a Western Union mes- wasthe country'slowest qualilring senger. Soon, he dropped out of school. His golf aspira- score and earned him a trip to New York's Winged Foot tions, it appeared, had become pipe dreams."How was he Golf Club. Arriving via cattle train, Goodman tied for going to work on his brassiewhen he wasn't sure where his 45th place as Bobby Jones captured his ninth major title. next meal was coming from?" Blaine writes. In August, Goodman traveled on a mail train to Hearing of Goodman's situation, some Field Club California, where the U.S. Amateur would be staged on members arrangedfor him a better-paying job as a print- a lO-year-old seasidelayout called Pebble Beach. With er's apprentice. And come spring, Goodman supple- rounds of 80-78, he qualified for match play. Defending mented his income by caddying. champion Joneswas the medalist. Meanwhilg he found time to pursue his dream. In In addition to being the dominant golfer of the era, spring 1925, Goodman entered his first tournament-the Jones was Goodman's golf hero. The young Nebraskan Omaha caddie championship-and won..Later in the sea- had scoured Jones' syndicated newspaper columns for son, he won the Metropolitan GolfTournament, Omaha's advice and was well-versed in the details of Jones' major city championship, at the Field Club. The l5-year-old victories. "Johnny was a walking, talking Bobby Jones became the youngest winner in Metropolitan history. encyclopedia,"Blaine writes. Goodman aimed high ln 1926. In June, he and two By virtue of his qualifying score, Goodman drew his caddie friends hopped a freight train to St. Louis to com- hero as his first-round opponent. To the seasonedcham- pete in the Tians-Mississippi Amateur. Goodman and one pion, the 125-pound teen appeared unimposing. of his traveling mateq Jack Pollard, advanced to the semi- "Goodman looked undernourished, virtually hungry, finals before losing in their respective matches. In the strangely out of place," Blaine writes. "Jones had never meantime, newspapers caught wind of the teens' mode of seen a lessprepossessing specimen." transport and dubbed them "the boxcar trio." Imagine Jones' surprise when he found himself 3 down FEBRUAFY2oo8 EXECUTIVEGOLFER 39 afterthree holes.He fought backto I down at the tum and appearedprimed to even the match after his approachstopped l0 feet from the hole on the 380-yardI lth. From 40 feet, however, Goodman rolled in a double-breakingbirdie putt. Jonesholed his birdie to halve the hole, but his opponent'sbomb fueled his frus- tration. "There was no shame in losing oncein a while to the top dogs,who werg after all, also his friends," Blaine writes. "Losing to this grim characte4though, would surelybe an embarrassment." Jones drew even when Goodman bogeyed12, but he lost 14 with a bogey. Headingto PebbleBeach's famous l8th, Goodman clung to a l-up lead. When HectorThomson (left) of the Great Britain & lreland team, shakes hands with U.S. team Jonesleft his long birdie putt inchesshort, memberJohnny Goodman after Goodman defeated Thomson during the 1 936 Walker Cup Goodman lagged his downhill birdie Matchheld at Pine Valley Golf Club, Clementon, New Jersey. effort to within a foot. With a tap-in pa1, he defeated his idol. Though Goodman would lose his changed his thinking, however. In spring 1931, he found second-round match to Lawson Little that afternoon, his full-time work as an insurance agent.With a respectable I victory over Jones astonished the gallery according to a occupation and an opportunity to succeed Jones atop t San Francisco Chronicle account: "If an earthquake had the amateur game, Goodman pressedforward. l suddenly rocked the peninsula, the shock could hardly That summer in Minneapolis, he won his second ( have been greater.There was as much gloom around the Tians-Mississippititle. At the 1932 U.S. Open he was the I home green at the ffnish as there was enthusiastic appre- low amateur; closing with 68 to finish l4th at New ( ciation for the astonishing feat of Goodman." York's Fresh Meadow Country Club. t Despite Goodman's sterling competitive credentials, ( Rrsr Iv Tnt AutrcuR R4NKs the U.S.