Francis Ouimet

Forgotten Great Swings : Francis Ouimet

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• published: 01 Oct 2011
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This vid belongs to the series of the Forgotten Great Swings that shows my personal choice of biokinetically sound motions that are worth learning from. From Wikipedia: Francis DeSales Ouimet (May 8, 1893 -- September 2, 1967) was an American golfer, who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the 1913 U.S. Open, and was the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Ouimet was born to Mary Ellen Burke and Arthur Ouimet in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father was a French-Canadian immigrant, and his mother was an Irish immigrant. When Francis was four years old, his family purchased a house on Clyde Street in Brookline, directly across from the 17th hole of The Country Club. The Ouimet family grew up relatively poor, and found themselves near the bottom of the economic ladder, which was hardly the position of any American golfer at the time. As far as the general public was concerned, golf was reserved for the wealthy. Ouimet found an interest in golf at an early age and started caddying at The Country Club at the age of nine. Using clubs from his brother and balls he found around the course, Ouimet taught himself the game. Soon enough his game caught the eye of many country club members and the caddie master. It wasn't long before Ouimet was the best high school golfer in the state. When he was a junior in high school, his father insisted Francis drop out and finally begin to do "something useful" with his life. He worked at a drygoods store before a stroke of good luck helped him land a job at a sporting goods store owned by the future Baseball Hall of Famer, George Wright. In 1913 Ouimet won his first significant title at age 20, the Massachusetts Amateur, an event he would go on to win five more times. Soon afterward he was asked personally by the president of the United States Golf Association, Robert Watson, if he would play in the nation's championship, the U.S. Open. The event was played at the course Ouimet knew best, The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Ouimet originally had not planned to play in it, because he thought he would have difficulty obtaining leave from work. This was soon arranged, however, through the kindness of his employer. It was Ouimet's first appearance in the championship. After 72 holes of play finished in a three-way tie, Ouimet went on to an 18-hole playoff the next day in rainy conditions, and won the Open over Britons Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. Ouimet's victory after an 18-hole playoff against Vardon and Ray was widely hailed as a stunning upset over the strongly-favored Brits, who were regarded as the top two golfers in the world. He was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open, the biggest crowds ever seen in American golf followed the playoff, and his achievement was front-page news across the country. Ouimet also won the U.S. Amateur twice, in 1914 and 1931. He played on the first eight Walker Cup Teams, and was Captain of the next four for a team record of 11-1. In 1951, he became the first American elected Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, and in 1955 was the first-ever winner of the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. Ouimet has been named to many golf Halls of Fame, and has a room named after him in the USGA Museum. Two other aspects of Ouimet's golf career are important. Ouimet used the overlapping grip to hold the club, and was among the first top players to use this method. He very likely used the grip in emulation of one of his idols, Harry Vardon, who is often, though erroneously, credited with developing the grip (though the grip bears Vardon's namesake, the Vardon grip, Vardon himself probably adapted it from Scottish amateur Johnny Laidlay). Many great golf champions since have used this technique. Ouimet mentored and encouraged the young Gene Sarazen, who developed into one of golf's greatest champions; Sarazen also used the overlapping grip. The method is named for the "overlapping' of the little finger of the bottom hand between the forefinger and middle finger of the top hand. He married Stella M. Sullivan on September 11, 1918. They had two daughters: Jane Salvi and Barbara McLean. He died in Newton, Massachusetts on September 2, 1967. Welcome to: http://biokineticgolfswing.blogspot.com Pictorial taken from la84foundation.org Pictorial taken from Popular Science magazine