Also known as Slammin? Sammy, Snead became known for his ?sidewinder? putting technique, in which he faced the hole and struck the ball with his hand low on the club shaft. Snead wrote ?Natural Golf? (1954) and ?The Education of a Golfer? (1962).
Ben Hogan (1912 ? 1997) ? American professional golfer who won more than 60 tournaments and is considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. He was born William Benjamin Hogan in Dublin, Texas, and began his golf career in Fort Worth, Texas. Hogan was the leading money winner among American golfers from 1940 to 1942, and again in 1946 and 1948.
In 1949 he suffered severe injuries in a car accident, and doctors feared that he would have difficulty walking again. But only 17 months later, Hogan recovered and won his second of four US Open championships (1948, 1950, 1951, and 1953). He also won two PGA championships (1946 and 1948), two Masters titles (1951 and 1953), and one British Open championship (19530. After retiring from professional golf, Hogan started a golf-equipment manufacturing company that carried his name.
Arnold Palmer (1929 -) ? American golfer, the first to win the Masters championship four times and one of the most successful and popular golfers of all time.
Born in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, Palmer began playing golf at the age of three. He entered Wake Forest University in 1947, but interrupted his schooling to serve in the United States Coast Guard from 1950 to 1953. In 1954, after returning to Wake Forest, palmer won the US Amateur championship. He left the university that same year to begin a career as a professional golfer.
His professional victories include four Masters championships (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964); the 1960 US Open; and the 1961 and 1962 British Open championships. By 1968 Palmer had become the first golfer to earn more than 1,000,000 US $ in PGA tournament prize money. In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s his fan following increased and he is credited with popularizing professional golf during that period, especially on television. Palmer?s enthusiastic fans became known as Arnie?s Army.
After joining the Senior tour, he won the 1980 Seniors Championship (his first event on the tour) and the 1981 US Senior Open. He continued to increase his public recognition through a number of commercial product endorsements and established himself in the business community through his company, Arnold Palmer Enterprises.
Jack William Nicklaus (1940 -) ? American professional golfer, also known as the Golden Bear, whose 20 championship titles set the record for the most major golf tournament victories in a career. He was born in Columbus, Ohio. Nicklaus began playing golf at the age of 10, and at the age of 16 won his first major tournament, the Ohio Open. His next important tournament victory was in 1959, when he won the US Amateur championship. Two years later, in 1961, he won the US Amateur title again, in addition to the National Collegiate Association (NCAA) championship. Between 1959 and 1961, when he turned professional, Nicklaus won all but one of the 30 amateur matches he entered.
Nicklaus won his first professional tournament at the 1962 US Open, defeating American golfer Arnold Palmer. During his professional career Nicklaus also won six Masters tournaments (1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975,1986); his 1986 win at the age of 46 made Nicklaus the oldest Masters winner in history. Other major tournament victories include five PGA championships (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980), three more US Open titles (1967, 1972, 1980), and three British Open titles (1966, 1970, 1978). He was named the PGA?s player of the year five times (1967, 1972 1973 1975, 1976), and won the PGA?s Golfer of the Century award in 1988. Nicklaus joined the Senior tour in 1990 and won the US Senior Open in 1991 and 1993. Throughout his career he has designed many noted golf courses, and in 1993 ?Golf World Magazine? named him architect of the year.
Nancy Lopez (1957 -) ? American golfer, a four-time winner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) player of the year award (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988). Lopez was born in Torrance, California, and educated at the University of Tulsa. She left the college in 1977 to turn professional and finished second in her first three tournaments. Lopez won the 1978 LPGA Championship, her first major tournament victory, and was the leading money-winner on the tour for year, she was leading money-winner twice more (1979, 1985) and won the LPGA Championship again in 1985 and 1989. With 35 tour victories by the age of 30, Lopez won election to the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1987.
A well-liked and intense competitor, Lopez developed a style that combined a powerful and unorthodox swing, excellent putting, fierce concentration, and relaxed attitude. Her spectacular performance during the late 1970s and early 1980s did much to increase the popularity of women?s professional golf.
Other Forms of Golf
Because it is more a participant than a spectator game, variations of golf, many of which can be played at night under lights, are developed from time to time. Miniature golf, a putting game on fancifully designed courses, became popular in the 1930s. Special putting greens and driving ranges combine practice and recreation. Pitch and putt is a shorter version of the long game.
The accompanying tables list the records of some of the important tournaments.