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About Mr. Fred Haskins...
Frederick Haskins was born May 1 1898 in Hoylake England, a small seaside
resort town just west of Liverpool. There, he and his family lived behind a
sporting goods shop where the principal trade was handmade golf clubs. He
therefore was brought up having a natural interest in golf.
During World War I
he was called to military duty, serving as a machine gunner in France with the
British Army. With the war over, Haskins decided to come to America, thinking
this offered the greatest opportunity for advancement. Initially he lived in New
York and worked with an uncle in an import/export business. Later, he tarred
roofs and cut hair. Yet, throughout his varied careers, never did he regret the
decision to come to the United States.
Eventually he found his calling at St
Georges', a New York Golf Club. From there, he went to the Grosse Isle Club in
Michigan and then in 1919 to East Lake Country Club in Atlanta. At East Lake, he
served as an assistant to Stewart Maiden, Bobby Jones teacher, and through this
association became a close friend of Jones himself. It was Bobby Jones
ultimately who recommended Haskins for the Head professional job at the Country
Club of Columbus, a position he accepted in April, 1922.
Initially he resided in
the newly completed clubhouse overlooking the 12th hole. Referring to the
conditions of the course, Haskins in later years is reported to have said,"I
inherited two mules, six helpers, and six cases of dynamite, plus a lot of
stumps."
Through Haskins efforts, arrangements were made to obtain the services
of the noted course architect, Donald Ross, to assist in the redesign and layout
of a full 18 holes. With Ross providing the design, it was Haskins with his team
of workers during the winter of 1924-1925 carried out the construction, thereby
implementing the Ross concept. Haskins completed his work right on schedule,
just in time to host the 1925 Georgia State Amateur in June.
Mr. Haskins true passion was promoting Amateur Golf.
Both by teaching his students the game - and more importantly how the game was played, and by giving of his time and effort
promoting Amateur Golf Tournaments. Especially the Southeastern Amateur, which he created in 1922 shortly after accepting the
position at the Country Club of Columbus.
Even with a 13 hole golf course (it was actually 12, and they played one hole forward and back), Mr. Haskins created what today is one of the longest running Amateur Golf Tournaments around. The Southeastern Amateur which was then known as the Columbus Country Club Invitational.
Mr. Haskins was also known for his nickel teaching days. For a whole nickel, Mr. Haskins would teach the children at CCC how to play the game.
He told parents that "if your child comes home early, you know they weren't behavin'." And sure enough, Mr. Haskins did not put up with misbehavior. It was an integral part of the game to be able to be a gentleman or young lady.
The nickel was actually to pay the caddie. You see, back in that time, there wasn't even a driving range. So Mr. Haskins would literally take the kids out on to the course where there were not any golfers, and have them hit balls. And in that day, there weren't even that many balls to hit. So the caddie would shag balls
so each kid would get a turn at attempting the shot they were learning.
It has been said about Mr. Haskins that "he almost never made a four foot putt, but he could hit a 4-iron to four feet every time. And it wasn't even that great of a swing!"
And Mr. Haskins used this in his teaching philosophy. He may well have been one of the first pioneers in "taking what you have and working with it." A philosophy that is still employed by the best teachers and "swing coaches" today.
And what matters other than the result?
This may have also been a direct result of learning from Stewart Maiden while at Atlanta Athletic Club. Mr. Maiden was Bobby Jones' instructor.
One day, Mr. Jones came barrelling into the pro shop complaining that something was terribly wrong with his swing. He was almost out of control, ranting and raving, and glancing over at Mr. Maiden occasionally as if to say "aren't you going to say something?"
Eventually, after Mr. Jones had gotten his frustrations out, Mr. Maiden said calmly, "grab a bucket of balls and meet me on the range." Mr. Maiden and Mr. Haskins sat quietly as Mr. Jones hit ball after ball. You could probably feel the tension in the air with Mr. Haskins and Mr. Jones wondering what and when Mr. Maiden would say.
Soon the balls that Mr. Jones was hitting started to straighten out. They started started flying much more like Mr. Jones was accustomed.
Mr. Maiden stood up and proclaimed, "there's nothing wrong with your swing". And that was that. The lesson of course was that Mr. Jones just had to work it out. He had to get back to "what was his". And Mr. Haskins took note of it deciding that of course, there is no perfect fix, or perfect swing. Each swing is unique and owned only by that person. You can only improve what they already have.
Mr. Haskins' pupils went on to win hundreds if not thousands of championships. The number is really unknown.
The debate can take hours about who was the most talented of his students, but probably the most notable student was Hugh Royer Jr. who in addition to his stellar amateur career won the Western Open in 1970 on the PGA Tour.
Today, you don't have to look far to see Mr. Royer... the statue that perches atop the Haskins Trophy was created in his likeness.
While widely known
as a club maker, once building a set for Bobby Jones, Haskins greatest impact
was in teaching and inspiring junior golfers. As a tribute to his teaching
abilities, his pupils have won well over 150 championships. In 1952, following
34 years of service, Fred Haskins tendered his resignation as Head Golf
Professional. Subsequently, he was asked to return as greens keeper and served
in this capacity until 1971.
To honor his lifelong dedication to golf and his
many teaching accomplishments, In 1971 the Fred Haskins Award was established.
The prestigious Haskins Trophy- nationally regarded as the Heisman of Golf- is
presented annually by the Fred Haskins Commission to honor the most outstanding
college golfer of the United States. Having given a large portion of his 82
years to golf and to young golfers desiring to learn the game. Fred Haskins died
on Sunday April 5th, 1981.
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Past Recipients
2010 - Russell Henley
2009 - Matt Hill
2008 - Kevin Chappell
2007 - Jamie Lovemark
2006 - Pablo Martin
2005 - Ryan Moore
2004 - Bill Haas
2003 - Hunter Mahan
2002 - Graeme McDowell
2001 - Bryce Molder
2000 - Charles Howell III
1999 - Luke Donald
1998 - Matt Kuchar
1997 - Brad Elder
1996 - Tiger Woods
1995 - Stewart Cink
1994 - Justin Leonard
1993 - David Duval
1992 - Phil Mickelson
1991 - Phil Mickelson
1990 - Phil Mickelson
1989 - Robert Gamez
1988 - Bob Estes
1987 - Billy Mayfair
1986 - Scott Verplank
1985 - Sam Randolph
1984 - John Inman
1983 - Brad Faxon
1982 - Willie Wood
1981 - Bob Tway
1980 - Bobby Clampett
1979 - Bobby Clampett
1978 - Lindy Miller
1977 - Scott Simpson
1976 - Phil Hancock
1975 - Jay Haas
1974 - Curtis Strange
1973 - Ben Crenshaw
1972 - Ben Crenshaw
1971 - Ben Crenshaw
Tiger Woods receives the 1996 Haskins Award
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