Arnold Palmer had won the first of his four Masters crowns earlier that year and enlistments in Arnie’s Army were just beginning to grow.
By Tom McNchol
So many things were changing or about to change in the world of golf and in the world in general when the 1958 PGA Championship teed off at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown.
Arnold Palmer had won the first of his four Masters crowns earlier that year and enlistments in Arnie’s Army were just beginning to grow.
Television was still in its infancy, particularly when it came to broadcasting golf. But CBS sent Frank Chirkinian – often referred to as “The Father of Television Golf” – to Llanerch and the man who became a television legend for directing the coverage of The Masters began his career in television golf, a little less than a year before the network broadcast from Augusta for the first time.
There was one very obvious change when the game’s top professionals visited the course near the corner of West Chester Pike and Manoa Road, which measured 6,710 yards and played to a par of 70.
For the first 39 years of its existence, the PGA was a match-play event. But the organization decided to join the increasing trend toward a 72-hole medal-play event – television would eventually dictate that most tournaments be played that way – and the 1958 PGA at Llanerch was when that change was made.
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The membership at Llanerch has always prized the course’s place in golf history.
That’s why they are planning a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1958 PGA Championship this summer. They celebrated the 40th anniversary and the champion, Dow Finsterwald, came back to Llanerch. From all reports, a good time was had by all.
The ’58 PGA is an obvious highlight of the club’s history, but Llanerch is equally proud that one of Byron Nelson’s record 11 straight tournament victories in 1945 came in a tournament known as The Philadelphia Inquirer Invitation Tournament.
Llanerch is very proud of a junior program that has produced many, many talented young players. In 1949, one of the products of that program teed it up at Merion Golf Club’s East Course and Dorothy Germain Porter brought the U.S. Women’s Amateur trophy back to Llanerch.
Another product of that junior program, George “Buddy” Marucci, will be defending the Walker Cup crown the U.S. won last year in Ireland under his captaincy in 2009 at Merion East.
“When you play Llanerch, you’re walking in the footsteps of history,” club president Jack DelPizzo told a media gathering in May. “I was so honored when Byron Nelson started inviting representatives from the clubs where he won during his streak to come and play with him in Texas.
“Llanerch was part of his history, too.”
Ben Lesniak, the head pro at Llanerch, was along for those pilgrimages to Texas to visit “Lord Byron.”
“I would always make sure to shake his hand, there were birdies in those hands,” Lesniak said.
Lesniak has been the head pro at Llanerch for the last 17 years. There is history there, too. Marty Lyons, a legendary figure in the Philadelphia Section of the PGA, was the head pro 50 years ago. He had taken over in 1935 from Denny Shute, once a British Open champion.
It is that sprit of celebrating its history that Lesniak enjoys about the membership at Llanerch.
“Dow was here for the 40th 10 years ago and he’s coming back this year,” Lesniak said. “I see him every year at Bay Hill and he always remembers me and he’s really into it. I think he really appreciates how much the people want to keep the memory of that PGA alive.”
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The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1958 PGA Championship will be a two-day event July 25 and 26.
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In addition to Finsterwald, other pros from that era expected to be on hand are Daily Times Golfer of the Millennium Skee Riegel and Al Besselink, who later became one of the top players in the Philadelphia Section PGA while working at several clubs in the region. Past presidents of the PGA, Jack Connelly and Dick Smith, both Philadelphia PGA pros, are also expected to attend.
The players who return from the 40th anniversary event will be seeing a new Llanerch course, one redesigned under the direction of Stephen Kaye.
Llanerch’s members put their course in the hands of Kaye and course superintendent Brendan Byrne beginning in August of 2004. The changes they made are really starting to blossom.
They certainly had the blessing of James Finnegan, a golf historian from the
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Philadelphia area who has seen courses all over the world.
“Llanerch is now what I would call a ‘perfect golf course,'” Finnegan told the media gathering in May. “There are ‘great’ courses because they have history behind them or because of the way they are designed.
“But a course like Muirfield Village is what I would call ‘great’ and ‘perfect’ because it has that history, but it is such a pleasure to play. This course, Llanerch, the way it plays now, is ‘great’ and ‘perfect.'”
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Ron Pilot, the Glen Mills board member whose idea it was to built The Golf Course at Glen Mills, admits to being “around 30” when he was the chairman of the Grounds Committee for the 1958 PGA at Llanerch.
“Marty Lyons, the pro at Llanerch back then, had some friends at the national PGA and he was the one who got them to bring the tournament here,” said Pilot, who owned Manoa Beverage 50 years ago. “About 10 of us committee chairmen went to Dayton, Ohio for the PGA the previous year.
“We all wondered if we’d be able to pull it off.”
But pull it off they did.
“It was an exciting time in Havertown, I can tell you that,” Pilot said. “It turned out we were pretty well prepared. We were worried about the parking, but that worked out OK. We were able to handle the crowds, but it helped that Llanerch was so accessible to public transportation back then. You had a trolley out of 69th Street running right by the club.”
Pilot said the membership was pretty happy with the way Llanerch held up against the best pro players in the game.
“I’m pretty sure 2-over still ranks Llanerch as one of the toughest PGAs ever in terms of scoring,” Pilot said.
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There is plenty of golf history to be found in Delaware County.
Merion Golf Club’s East Course has as much as any course in the country with Bobby Jones completing the grand slam by winning the 1930 U.S. Amateur, with Ben Hogan’s 1950 U.S. Open triumph and Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino in an Open playoff in ’71, with David Graham’s underrated “perfect game” to win the Open in ’81.
Aronimink Golf Club had the PGA four years after Llanerch in 1962 and Gary Player won there. The Newtown Square layout hosted the Senior PGA in 2003.
JoAnne Carner won the 1976 U.S. Women’s Open at Rolling Green Golf Club, beating a field that included a young Nancy Lopez.
But Llanerch has its share of treasure in the attic, too.
Finsterwald had been a runnerup 17 times in a 61/2-year career when he arrived in Havertown in 1958, but he seized control of the tournament with a front-nine 31 on the final day on his way to a two-shot victory over Billy Casper.
His final-round 67 also enabled him to overtake the legendary Sam Snead, who held the lead after three rounds.
Finsterwald’s take for his only major championship victory: $5,500.
My, how times have changed.
