Why Winged Foot Is Special
From famous putts to eclectic caddies, this club has it all
Members and guests often try to duplicate Jones' 12-footer that got him into a playoff in the 1929 U.S. Open. Photo Courtesy of USGA
Courtesy of USGA
The very name "Winged Foot" has a sort of magic for those who know the club from afar. To them it stands for competitive golf at its highest level -- a place where history was made by Bobby Jones... and others. [But] for those who know Winged Foot intimately, it is much more fun and meaningful than a place of big occasions. It is a steady heartbeat of golfing pleasure and sportsmanship, where the game is the thing and where many great matches and tall tales have been spun. Winged Foot is, in sum, a temple to the spirit of golf."
--Joseph C. Dey
Joe Dey had it right. The former top man at the usga and the PGA Tour understood Winged Foot GC's magic, in both its grand and subtle forms. To help you celebrate the national championship's return to Mamaroneck, N.Y., after 22 years, here are some of the things that make Winged Foot so compelling.
The Putts
Like kids who pretend they're Tiger Woods putting to win the U.S. Open while practicing, hardly a day goes by when reenactments of two of the game's historic putts on the West Course's 18th green aren't attempted by either members or guests. And it matters not if the cup is in the proper position. Most members can locate the proper hole locations. The more tried of the two is Greg Norman's monster downhill 40-footer for par from the left fringe on the 72nd hole of the 1984 U.S. Open. Tied with Fuzzy Zoeller, who was standing in the fairway, Norman's putt broke some four feet left-to-right. Opting to leave the flagstick in, the Shark's putt struck it squarely and dropped, setting off a celebration from Norman and prompting Zoeller to wave a white towel in mock surrender. Although Norman's putt is more recent, real aficionados also tackle Bobby Jones' putt that forged a tie with Al Espinosa in the 1929 U.S. Open. Only a 12-footer, the putt was downhill with a vicious left-to-right break, prompting Grantland Rice to call it "the greatest single putt I have ever witnessed."
For the record, the daydreaming is not reserved just for everyday players. In 1954, on the 25th anniversary of Jones' feat, four pros who had played in the 1929 Open--Tommy Armour, Gene Sarazen, Craig Wood and Johnny Farrell--attempted to make Jones' putt. None converted.
The 11th hole of the East Course, regarded as a shotmaker's delight.
Photo: Stephen Szurlej
The East Course
Since the first foursome teed off on June 16, 1923 (using a combination of holes from the East and West courses), debate has been waged over which of Winged Foot's two courses is better.
The East is ranked 34th on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses while the West checks in at No. 8, making Winged Foot the only private club in America with more than one layout in the top 100. The East, generally thought to demand a wider variety of shots than the West, hosted the 1957 and 1972 U.S. Women's Opens, along with the inaugural U.S. Senior Open in 1980. A trio of water hazards and several rock outcroppings differentiate it visually from the West, and it offers less room off the tee. As on the West, deep greenside bunkers provide a stern test along with A.W. Tillinghast's putting surfaces, which can be brought up to bewilderingly fast speeds.
The 1929 U.S. Open was originally scheduled for the East Course but a severe storm damaged it to such an extent that the championship had to be moved to the West. Without that intervention from Mother Nature, Winged Foot's place in golf history might be much different.
The Pros
How many clubs in America can boast that two of its club pros won major championships while serving as the head professional? Craig Wood won the Masters and U.S. Open in 1941 while on the club's payroll, and Claude Harmon (see page 86) captured the 1948 Masters while driving back to Winged Foot from his winter job at Seminole GC in Juno Beach, Fla. In addition, a pair of Winged Foot assistants, Jackie Burke Jr. (1956 Masters and PGA) and Dave Marr (1965 PGA), went on to win majors later in their careers. Club members take great pride in the outstanding playing performances of their pros past, but they're more proud of the fact they've employed just five men as head professional in the club's 83-year history. Winged Foot is a club of stability and, despite Dan Mackie's brief (1923-24) stint as head pro, the tenures of Mike Brady (1924-1938) and Tom Nieporte (1978-present) are further evidence of that philosophy.
