Walter Hagen

Born in Rochester, New York, Hagen came from a working-class family of German descent. His parents were William and Louisa (Boelke) Hagen. His father worked as a millwright and blacksmith in Rochester's railroad-car shops. Walter was the second of William and Louisa's five children and the only son.

Hagen developed his golf game at the Country Club of Rochester, beginning as a caddie, and earned money to help support his family from pre-teen age. He earned ten cents per round and was occasionally tipped another five cents.{{cite book|title=Great Athletes|volume=11|publisher=Salem Press|date=2009}} Hagen played golf at every chance he got; caddie access to the course was limited to off-peak times, as it was elsewhere in the U.S. during that era. Hagen, with assistance from head professional Alfred Ricketts, gradually improved his golf skill to the stage where he was an expert player by his mid-teens, and was then hired by the club to give lessons to club members and to work in the pro shop.

He made his top-class professional debut at age 19 at the 1912 Canadian Open, placing 11th, a good showing. Hagen followed up with a surprise 4th place showing at the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline where he stated that he was treated badly by the other professionals who knew nothing about him. Hagen said "they pushed me off the tee and told me I could practice when they were through". He vowed to play in the 1914 U.S. Open and "win it", and he did exactly that.{{cite web|title=Through Half a Century – Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Founding of The Country Club of Rochester|url=http://mcnygenealogy.com/book/country-club-50th.pdf|page=21}}

Hagen was also very skilled at baseball, primarily as a pitcher and shortstop. He canceled a 1914 tryout for the Philadelphia Phillies in order to play in a golf tournament. Later that week, Hagen was the U.S. Open Champion, and his career was changed forever.Golf's Golden Grind: A History of the PGA Tour, by Al Barkow, 1975; The Greatest Game Ever Played, by Mark Frost, 2003

Hagen was a key figure in the development of professional golf. He emerged in an era when the division between amateurs and professionals was often stark, with the amateurs having the upper hand in some sports, golf among them. This was especially true in Great Britain, the leading country in competitive golf when Hagen began his career.

Golf professionals were not allowed to partake of the facilities of the clubhouse, and were not allowed to enter the clubhouse by the front door. On one occasion, at the 1920 British Open in Deal, Kent, Hagen hired a Pierce-Arrow car to serve as his private dressing room, because he was refused entrance to the clubhouse dressing room. He hired a chauffeur, and parked the expensive car in the club's driveway; this behavior raised a few eyebrows in class-conscious Britain.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aoY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=1akFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2988%2C5541971 |newspaper=Sumter Daily Item |location=South Carolina |agency=Associated Press |last=Grimsley |first=Will |title=Pros toast Walter Hagen |date=August 7, 1980|page=2B }}

On another occasion, he refused to enter a clubhouse to claim his prize because he had earlier been denied entrance. At the 1914 Midlothian Open he brazenly entered the clubhouse then mingled with the rich members who were delighted at which that episode permanently opened the doors.Nelson, p 180.

The 1920 U.S. Open in Toledo marked a turning point; the players, encouraged by Hagen, donated a large grandfather clock to the host Inverness Club, in appreciation of the club allowing access for the professionals to their clubhouse during the tournament.

Hagen represented the Country Club of Rochester early in his professional competitive career; he was well supported by its members and management for his external competitive ventures. Beginning in 1918, Walter Hagen served as the first club professional at the now legendary Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. He worked for Oakland Hills until 1919, and then became the first touring professional unaffiliated with a club, a status he held alone for several years.

In 1924, Hagen was president and co-owner of the Bear Creek Golf and Country Club associated with Jack Taylor's Pasadena-On-The-Gulf development in St. Petersburg, Florida. Due to influence from the public, the name was changed to the Boca Ciega Golf and Country Club and ultimately the Pasadena Yacht and Country Club.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/316809530/?terms=Walter%2BHagen%2Bowner |title=Golfers are invited to meet Mr. Hagen |date=March 21, 1924 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/314859738/?terms=Walter%2BHagen%2B%2Bbear%2Bcreek%2Bname%2Bchange |title=Pasadena Editorial |date=November 14, 1924 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times}}File:1922 Walter Hagen sketch.jpeg in 1922]]

Hagen was a dashing and assertive character who raised the status of professional golfers and improved their earnings as well. Throughout his career, he played hundreds of exhibition matches, all across the United States and around the world; these tours popularized golf to an immense degree. Hagen was also widely known for his dashing wardrobe while playing; this featured expensive tailored clothes in bright colors and plush fabrics. As one of the world's top players, Hagen found his skills were much in demand with this exhibition format, and concluded it was much more lucrative than playing most tournaments.

Hagen also made significant money endorsing golf equipment, and played a major role in helping to design clubs for Wilson Sports, which bore his name (either "Walter Hagen" or "Haig Ultra"). His work with Wilson produced some of the first matched sets of irons, around the same time that his great rival Bobby Jones was performing similar work for the Spalding company. The improved equipment expanded golf's appeal, brought high-quality clubs within the price range of many more players, and raised the standard of play.

Hagen was the first golfer to earn a million dollars in his career.Houck, 1999 He said he "never wanted to be a millionaire, just to live like one". Hagen once expressed his creed in these words: "Don't hurry, don't worry, you're only here for a short visit, so be sure to smell the flowers along the way." Gene Sarazen, who was ten years Hagen's junior commented, "All the professionals ... should say a silent thanks to Walter Hagen each time they stretch a check between their fingers. It was Walter who made professional golf what it is." On the notion of golf as a financial endeavor, Hagen wrote in his autobiography, "My game was my business and as a business it demanded constant playing in the championship bracket, for a current title was my selling commodity."[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1602390142/ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations], ed. Jim Apfelbaum. 2007.

Hagen battled throat cancer for over four years and had several operations.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CUIyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CeYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5844%2C2523020 |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |title=Walter Hagen winning biggest bout of life |date=July 29, 1965 |page=9}} Two years before his death, he was honored with a testimonial dinner in {{nowrap|August 1967}} in Traverse City, Michigan, attended by major champions Arnold Palmer and Cary Middlecoff.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cVQxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SeYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2744%2C4691031 |newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World |location=Kansas |agency=Associated Press |title=Walter Hagen testimonial attended by 250 persons |date=August 15, 1967 |page=9}} A month earlier at the PGA Championship in Colorado, he expressed support for Palmer, saying he was a member of "Arnie's Army."{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KNtNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6IoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6997%2C2093465 |newspaper=Free Lance-Star |location=Fredericksburg, Virginia |agency=Associated Press |last=Grimsley |first=Will |title=Walter Hagen is member of Arnie Palmer's Army|date=July 22, 1967 |page=7 }}

Hagen died in 1969 at age 76 at his home in Traverse City, and now rests at the Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum in Southfield, Michigan,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RMpaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wHsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3430%2C5247407 |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |location=Florida |agency=Associated Press |title=Hagen's burial will mark end of a legend |date=October 7, 1969 |page=1C }} next to his grandson. His pall bearers included Palmer.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4V8iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NasFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3659%2C4625362 |newspaper=Owosso Argus-Press |location=Michigan |agency=Associated Press |title=Arnie to return |date=October 10, 1969 |page=15 }}

• In 1974, Hagen has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, in the charter class of 1974.
• In 2000, Hagen was ranked as the seventh greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine.{{cite web |last=Yocom |first=Guy |date=July 2000 |title=50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120527082522/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233/ |archive-date=May 27, 2012 |access-date=December 5, 2007 |work=Golf Digest |df=mdy-all}}
• In 2010, Hagen was ranked as the eighth greatest player of all time by Sports Illustrated / Golf Magazine

File:Walter Hagen - 1921 PGA Champion.jpgMajor victories:

• U.S. Open: 1914, 1919
• The Open: 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
• PGA Championship: 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

There is some debate among golf historians as to whether Hagen should actually be credited with more major championships, as the Western Open in particular, and both the Canadian Open and Metropolitan Open were considered majors prior to the foundation and recognition of the Masters Tournament as one.{{cite news |title=Hagen to Take Part In Best Ball Match |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/576224881/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |work=Brooklyn Times Union |date=December 22, 1934 |page=1A |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}} Counting the Western Open, which he won five times (1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, and 1932), would put Hagen at 16 major titles,{{cite news |last1=Willis |first1=Ken |title=Once again, Sir Walter is overlooked |url=https://eu.news-journalonline.com/story/sports/columns/2019/04/19/willis-hagens-legend-swallowed-by-tiger-mania/5384905007/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |work=The Daytona Beach News-Journal |date=April 19, 2019}} second only to Jack Nicklaus and one ahead of Tiger Woods (however, counting the U.S. Amateur, which is no longer considered a major championship, Woods' three U.S. Amateurs titles give him a total of 18, two behind Nicklaus's 20.).

Hagen captained the United States in the first six Ryder Cups, and played on the first five U.S. teams: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935.

Hagen has been portrayed by Bruce McGill in the 2001 movie The Legend of Bagger Vance, and by British actor Jeremy Northam in the 2004 Bobby Jones biopic Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius.

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-07807, Berlin, Golfmeisterschaften.jpg in 1929]]

• 1914 (1) U.S. Open
• 1916 (3) Metropolitan Open, Shawnee Open, Western Open
• 1918 (1) North and South Open
• 1919 (2) U.S. Open, Metropolitan Open
• 1920 (3) Florida West Coast Open, Metropolitan Open, Bellevue Country Club Open{{Cite news |date=September 23, 1920 |title=Hagen wins $500 on Bellevue links |page=14 |newspaper=New York Herald |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114955596/new-york-herald |via=Newspapers.com}}
• 1921 (2) Western Open, PGA Championship
• 1922 (4) Deland Open Championship, Florida West Coast Open, White Sulphur Springs Open, British Open
• 1923 (5) Texas Open, Florida West Coast Open, Asheville-Biltmore Open Championship, North and South Open, Kansas Mid-Continent Pro Championship (tie with Joe Kirkwood, Sr.)
• 1924 (5) North and South Open, Metropolitan PGA, British Open, PGA Championship, Princess Anne C.C. Open
• 1925 (1) PGA Championship
• 1926 (4) Florida West Coast Open, Eastern Open Championship, Western Open, PGA Championship
• 1927 (2) Western Open, PGA Championship
• 1928 (2) British Open, Long Beach Open (December)
• 1929 (3) Miami International Four-Ball (with Leo Diegel), British Open, Great Lakes Open
• 1931 (2) Coral Gables Open (tie with Henry Ciuci), Canadian Open
• 1932 (2) Western Open, St. Louis Open
• 1933 (1) Tournament of the Gardens Open
• 1935 (1) Gasparilla Open-Tampa
• 1936 (1) Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Ky Laffoon)

Major championships are shown in bold.

(This list is incomplete)

• 1914 Professional and Amateur Four Ball InvitationalRochester Democrat and Chronicle, 8/15/1914 p. 14
• 1914 Pinehurst Amateur-Pro
• 1915 Massachusetts Open, California State Open, Panama Exposition Open
• 1920 French Open
• 1921 Michigan Open
• 1922 New York Open
• 1923 Long Beach Open
• 1924 Belgian Open
• 1929 Virginia Beach Open
• 1930 Michigan PGA Championship
• 1931 Michigan PGA Championship

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

¹ Defeated Mike Brady in an 18-hole playoff – Hagen 77 (+6), Brady 78 (+7)

{{legend|lime|Win}}

{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}

{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}

NYF = tournament not yet founded

NT = no tournament

WD = withdrew

DQ = disqualified

DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion

R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Source for The Masters: [https://web.archive.org/web/20100326225029/http://www.masters.com/en_US/history/past_winners.html www.masters.com]

Source for U.S. Open: [https://web.archive.org/web/20101221024412/http://champsdatabase.usga.org/ USGA Championship Database]

Source for The Open Championship: [http://www.opengolf.com/en/History/PreviousOpens.aspx?eventid=2003040&view= www.opengolf.com]

Source for PGA Championship: [http://www.pgamediaguide.com/pgachampionship.cfm?pgachampid=year PGA Championship Media Guide]

• Most consecutive cuts made – 31 (1913 U.S. Open – 1930 U.S. Open)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 15 (1923 PGA Championship – 1929 Open Championship)

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{cite book

| last = Clavin

| first = Tom

| title = Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf

| year = 2005

| publisher = Simon & Schuster

| location = New York

| isbn = 978-0-7432-0486-6

| url = https://archive.org/details/sirwalterwalterh00clav

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Frost

| first = Mark

| author-link = Mark Frost

| title = The Grand Slam: Bobby Jones, America, and the Story of Golf

| date = November 3, 2004

| publisher = Hyperion

| isbn = 978-1-4013-0108-8

| url = https://archive.org/details/grandslambobbyjo00fros

}}

• {{cite book

| last1 = Hagen

| first1 = Walter

| last2=Heck |first2=Margaret Seaton

| title = The Walter Hagen Story: By the Haig, Himself

| orig-year = 1956

| date=November 2004

| publisher=Sports Media Group

| location = Ann Arbor, Michigan

| oclc = 57312685

| isbn = 978-1-58726-131-2

}}

• Houck, Davis W. "Hagen, Walter Charles" American National Biography (1999) [https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1900075 online]
• {{cite book

| last = Lowe

| first = Stephen R.

| title = Sir Walter and Mr. Jones: Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, and the Rise Of American Golf

| orig-year = 2000

| date = August 30, 2004

| publisher=Sports Media Group

| isbn = 978-1-58726-187-9

}}

• Mazzucco, Claudia, ed. Legendary Lessons: More Than One Hundred Golf Teachings from Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Grantland Rice, Harry Vardon, and More (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016). [https://www.amazon.com/Legendary-Lessons-Hundred-Teachings-Grantland/dp/1634503422/ excerpt]
• {{cite book

| last = Rapoport

| first = Ron

| title = The Immortal Bobby: Bobby Jones and the Golden Age of Golf

| date = March 16, 2005

| publisher=John Wiley & Sons

| location = Hoboken, New Jersey

| isbn = 978-0-471-47372-5

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Sampson

| first = Curt

| author-link = Curt Sampson

| title = The Eternal Summer: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Hogan in 1960, Golf's Golden Year

| year = 1992

| publisher = Taylor Publishing

| location = Dallas

| isbn = 978-0-87833-788-0

| oclc = 25025891

| url = https://archive.org/details/eternalsummerpal00samp

}}

{{commons category}}

• {{World Golf Hall of Fame|walter-hagen}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070601204207/http://www.walterhagenhome.org/ Walter Hagen's Home]
• [https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2013/05/17/golfing-legend-hagen-lived-a-glamorous-life/ Detroit Athletic Co.] – Like Gatsby, Michigan golfing legend Hagen lived a glamorous life
• {{IMDb name|353471)}}
• {{Find a Grave|432}}

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{{U.S. Open champions}}

{{The Open champions}}

{{PGA Champions}}

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{{navboxes|title=Walter Hagen in the Ryder Cup

|list1={{American Ryder Cup Captains}}

{{1927 United States Ryder Cup team}}

{{1929 United States Ryder Cup team}}

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{{1933 United States Ryder Cup team}}

{{1935 United States Ryder Cup team}}

{{1937 United States Ryder Cup team}}

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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Walter}}

Category:American male golfers

Category:PGA Tour golfers

Category:Winners of men's major golf championships

Category:Ryder Cup competitors for the United States

Category:World Golf Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Golfers from New York (state)

Category:Golfers from Michigan

Category:Sportspeople from Rochester, New York

Category:Sportspeople from Traverse City, Michigan

Category:American people of German descent

Category:1892 births

Category:1969 deaths