Walter Hagen

The Maestro of Match Play. Part II

(In this part we look at Hagen operating as a Master of Psychology)

The essential difference between match and medal play is well know. Coming down the closing stretch you score four birdies, four pars and a triple bogey for a one under total, in medal play you will probably loose, in match play you will probably win. In stroke play it is essential to get rid of the big score, so the steady, but not necessarily spectacular player will do well, whereas the streaky player is at a disadvantage. Also golf is different from other games in a very fundamental way.

To digress for a moment, I once was playing with a very fine player, a plus two handicap, a former Scottish International Player, and one of the finest strikers of the ball I had ever seen. Let's call him Bob Gillespie. In those far off days I was a long hitter of the ball, and usually out drove Bob, or so I thought. We came to a monster par five, just over 600 yards in length and slightly uphill, an almost unheard of distance in those days. I had the honor and I put my drive out about 270 or 280 yards. Bob wound up and put it 50 or 60 yards past me! My brassie left me with about 120 yards to the green, and Bob's spoon left him with a simple chip. My third shot was not good but put me on the edge of the green. Bob had a simple uphill chip and a putt to win the hole. He promptly shanked his chip across the green into a bunker. He then shanked his sand shot into another bunker and repeated the process into a third bunker. Where upon using his native intelligence he set him self up so that when he repeated the shank the ball would go in the direction of the hole. Needless to say on this occasion the ball went perfectly straight! I braced myself for the coming storm, for Bob was known to get a little mad on occasions, but in stead, with great self control he looked at me and said "You know what I like about golf Frank, it's just like life, its #@$%%# awful!!"

Which brings me back to the point that golf is different from other games. Whereas other games are a reflection of warfare and combat, it's team against team, or man against man, in golf it's man against the course. In life, it is man against providence and nature - and who ever masters best the vagaries, and challenges that life, or the course, throws at them will usually prevail. In match play, however, not only does one have to overcome the course, but one has to do it better than one's opponent. However there is an interaction between the two players and part of the art of match play is inducing yourself to play above your own game and your opponent to play beneath his. And of course we are not talking here of such crudities as jingling one's car keys as your opponent putts - such behavior is never seen among gentlemen and Walter was always the perfect gentleman - but the art is to induce your opponent to do something that he would not normally do, or in an old term, get your opponents goat. If you can induce in your opponents mind the thought "What have I got to do to beat this son-of-a-gun" your match is as good as won.

In other words a player has to play two games at the same time; golf as a mirror of life, and golf as a mirror of combat - one almost needs a split personality. And no one did this better than Walter Hagen. In this section we look at how Hagen would get under an opponents armor

It must be confessed his psychological ploys did not always work. Gene Sarazen seems to have been either not affected by them - cynics say because he lacked the imagination - or as Sarazen says they just increased his natural pugnaciousness and resolve. Even the notoriously high strung Leo Diegel seems to have become immunized to them in the end and it was indeed Leo who ended Hagen's PGA string of victories.

One of the few times Hagen got beaten. 3 & 2 by an ailing Sarazen who had to be rushed to hospital with appendicitis after the match

Gene Sarazen probably sums up Hagen's match play characteristics best:

"There has never been a golfer who could outthink and outmaneuver a match-player opponent as Walter Hagen could. You couldn't rattle Hagen, whatever you did.Throw a string of birdies in his face, and he'd smile that disturbingly undisturbed smile of his, and then throw some birds of his own back at you, when it counted. But Hagen could rattle you. He was a master of psychological warfare. One of his successful strategies was to kill an opponent with kindness, a bonhomie you knew was bogus but impenetrable. When a youngster got hot against him, Hagen would charm him into submission by raving to the newcomer about the remarkable quality of his shots. "After you win this championship," Hagen would tell him "we'll go on a tour together." Before the youngster new what had happened, Hagen had slipped away from him, and there was no more talk of a tour. Walter always had Jim Barnes licked before their matches began by ribbing him about the super-seriousness, the tension with which Barnes was taking "just another round". The closest parrellel in sports that I can think of was the meeting between Jack Sharkey and Jack Dempsey before their title bout. Highly emotional by nature, Sharkey had worked himself up to such a peak of hatred for Dempsey that when he was weighing in he told his handlers, "I hope I don't run into Dempsey in this room. I'll clip him right here." A few seconds later in walked Dempsey, smiling and relaxed. "Hello Jack," he greeted Sharkey with unfeigned warmth as he extended his hand. "How's that nice family of yours?". "I was knocked out right then," Sharkey told me."

Hagen was quite open about how he played on opponents psyche:

"Too many tournament players are inclined to disregard the value of studying and gauging the temperament of opponents in match play. Following the circuit year in and year out I learned early to use the characteristic play of each opponent to my own advantage, not forgetting the value of pars or better on every hole. Nevertheless I couldn't always measure the accuracy my opponent might have on any given day. At times we all played way over our heads." ... "I never allowed my opponents shot or ball to interrupt my shot or my concentration. Should his ball lie a few feet from the hole I always figured that my shot or the location of my putt might possibly make his putt a little more difficult ... and it often did".

Below are a few of the many instances where Hagen out psyched his opponents.

Play-off at Brae Burn

When he won the US Open at Brae Burn in 1919, after 72 holes he was tied with Mike Brady at 301. The play off was due the next day, but the problem was the Haig had been invited to a party with Al Johnson, and there is no way he was going to miss this. He got very little sleep, and dashed out to the course with minutes to spare where Mike Brady had been warming up for an hour, and looked grimly determined. He had his shirt sleeves rolled high above his elbows. "Mike," said Walter "if I were you I'd roll down my sleeves". "Why?" Mike asked grimly. "All the gallery can see your muscles quivering!" Mike did exactly what Hagen expected, he ducked-hooked a ball into the trees on the left and took a six to Hagen's four. Those two strokes proved to be the margin of victory. Also in that match the referee accused Hagen of a rules violation in that he had picked up a matchbox before playing a shot. Hagen was sure he hadn't violated the rule (Ed. Under this old rule a player was not allowed to remove a loose object which was either with-in two club lengths of the ball or within sixty feet of the hole) and was also aware that Brady had also picked up a stone and thus violated the same rule. However he saw a way to gain an edge. He suggested that they check out both possible violations, but he made sure that they checked out Brady's first, by making the suggestion when they were nearest to the site of Brady's violation. Brady had in fact violated this somewhat ridiculous rule and was assessed two strokes. "O.K." said the official "let's check out your possible infraction" "No, that's OK, I'll take two also" said Hagen. Why did he do this when he was certain he would not be assessed. Well as he explained later he certainly didn't want to win a National Open Championship on penalties, but he wasn't beyond maneuvering things to gain a psychological edge over an opponent!

Hagen finds Gene Sarazen's Achilles heel

Gene Sarazen was one tough nut that Hagen could not crack, although he tried every ploy possible, and often they back-fired on him. However Hagen took his miscues and losses with the same good grace as when he won! However on one occasion he did manage to get to Gene. Gene and Walter were to play a seventy-two hole exhibition match, some five years after their famous International playoff (won by Gene when one of Hagen's ploys backfired!), 36 holes over the Miami Biltmore - which Hagen had never played - and 36 over Walter's Sanford course. The Haig racked his brains over how to rattle Gene. He knew Gene liked to run a tight and organized schedule, prided himself on his organizational abilities, and had a tendency to get nervous when things were not going according to schedule. He told Gene that he would turn up four or five days in advance in order to familiarize himself with the course - and then he went into hiding! The match was scheduled for Saturday. On the Wednesday before the match Gene was concerned, but he knew Walters habit's so was not overly concerned; by Thursday he was worried; on Friday he was fit to be tied - inquiries of Hagen's friends gave no clue to his whereabouts. By Saturday morning Gene was frantic! Then the Haig strode on to the tee with a few minutes to spare. "How the **** do you expect to play a course that you've never seen!" Sarazen demanded. "That's OK, my caddie will tell me where to shoot" replied the Haig. The ploy worked. Gene was 5 down after 36 holes on his home course, and was finally beaten 8 and 7. Disgusted at the way he let himself be conned, Gene threw his clubs in the Lake! And that was the first, and last, time Walter got under Gene's skin! Gene never let it happen again, in fact whenever he realized he was being psyched he bore down and played harder. Walter of course never gave up trying. You can't ask a leopard to change his spots!

It would be several years before Diegel learned how to handle the Haig!

The Art of the Conceded Putt

In 1925 Hagen was trying for his third consecutive PGA championship at the Olympia fields in Chicago. As he walked in the locker room the other pros all started talking pretending to ignore Hagen:"Let me take Hagen this year said one!","No, no this is my year", "No I'll get him he's mine". The needling went on and on, Hagen paused and then as though he had heard nothing turned round and pointed to them individually and slowly said "I wonder ... which ... of you ... will be ... second ... this year!" Then he went to his locker, dropped his coat and was soon back with the boys joining in the fun, but the point had been made!

Poor Leo Diegel was his victim in the quarter-finals, he fell not only to excellent play and luck, but he was finally psyched out of the tournament. Leo was dormie 2. Hagen was on the seventeenth green in two but facing a horrific breaking down hill put of about 15 feet. It would either go in the hole or be twenty to thirty feet past it. Diegel got an unfortunate break in that his ball was stuck in mud (there was no lift and place in those days) he blasted on to the green but was left with a forty foot putt ... which he promptly holed. Walter actually putted away from the hole, and holed on top of him for a birdie!

Probably shaken Leo messed up his drive at the next hole and so they went to extra holes. On the thirty-ninth they were both on the green in two and lagged up. Hagen had a horrible down hill putt of about four feet and Leo a nasty curving 3 footer. Now they had not been conceding puts all day. As soon as the Haig had tapped his putt he knew it was going in the hole, and he reached over and threw Leo's ball to him and strode off to the next tee. Leo was confused and his obvious mystification had excited the gallery. As soon as it was sorted out what had happened - that the putt had been conceded - Leo, still flustered, went to the next tee. Hagen immediately drove, a beautiful drive, and Leo, instead of composing himself immediately followed ... with a topped drive into a horrific lie! Hagen won that hole and with it the match, and went on to take the championship.

Trimming Ray Deer

In the semi-finals of the 1924 PGA Championship at French Lick, Walter was paired with Red Deer. In the grill the night before the match he had overheard Red telling his friends that he "was going to take Hagen" the next day..

One the first tee Walter was all charm and humility. You've been playing some great golf, I hope you don't beat me too badly, it won't look good in the home-town papers if I get beaten by double figures. Red sank a long putt at the first to go one up. "You see I'm one down already." said the Haig. Walter knew that a man who figures he doesn't have much of a chance is apt to get reckless and start holing out from all over the green. He also knew that if he could get him to try and protect that one hole lead, he would probably get tense and start missing short putts. And that is exactly what happened. Walter won 8 and 7.

Body Blows

Any one who has played even a little competitive golf knows what a blow it is when we have a hole in the 'win' column ... and then end up losing it! It's like a blow to the guts, and the effect seems to last for the next three or four holes. No one understood this better than Hagen and he made a point of trying to dish out this kind of punishment. On the flip side of this was that when the same kind of bitter cup was served to him, he seemed to take it in his stride. "I made a point of never letting what my opponent was doing upset me, and played my own game. I realized that not only was he going to get lucky, or play above himself on occasions, but that I was going to play some terrible shots. I never let this get me down." And of course Hagen's penchant for wild shots left him with plenty of opportunities for miraculous recoveries! However it was on the green that he particularly shone in this department. Not only was the Haig probably one of the best putters who ever lived, but he would take infinite care to pull of a 'miracle putt'.

We have already seen how he pulled off the Putt against Leo Diegel - what was not detailed above was the enormous difficulty of the putt. Both Walter, and almost certainly Leo, realized that if he went right for the cup there was really no chance of the ball going in. It would pick up such speed going down the slope that even if it hit the cup dead-center it would probably stay out. Leo must of thought he had the match won. Hagen's solution was to actually putt away from the hole and over a small ridge so that when the ball boomeranged on itself it would be going at a slow enough speed to go in the hole, and as we saw he pulled it off! Other great players have done this - one is reminded of Tiger at the sixteenth at the Masters - but no one did it as consistently as Hagen.

On another occasion in a match against Abe Mitchell, Abe had laid him a perfect stymie with his ball on the edge of the hole (I assume the six inch rule was not in operation at this time). Hagen could not get his ball in the hole without seemingly knocking in Abe's as well, which would have given Abe the half he needed. After careful study Hagen took a Seven Iron, pitched the ball just short with a little backspin, and got it to hop over Abe's ball and into the hole. Such imagination, such skill - and not a little luck!

And then of course there is the miracle shot he pulled on Robert Jones ... but we will leave this to the next section.

Hagen would get Jones' 'Goat' in beating him 12 & 11!

Mr. Jones and Sir Walter

Many matches have been billed as "The Match of the Century", but this one probably was, or at least had the potential to be. During the fall of 1925 the press had been building up a rivalry between Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen with each camp having its supporters, but the majority coming down that Bobby Jones was far the better player. Hagen himself was not keen on a face off. Even though it would appear that with the press coming out for Bobby, he would have nothing to loose as he himself said " ...I was not keen on taking a beating from him. Having won my second PGA title, my stock was running pretty high. I couldn't see how a possible defeat at Bobby's hands would increase it's value". Further more Hagen had been berating his fellow professionals haranguing them that every time that Bobby showed up they would roll over and play dead. Only he (Hagen) showed a lick of spunk, he would inform them. Yes, Jones certainly had most of the professionals psyched!

However such a match up was inevitable and was also being pushed by the Real Estate developers in the Florida boom. Jones represented one course at Sarasota (as a salesman) and Hagen another at Pasadena (as a professional). When a purse of $5000 was guaranteed, which as Jones was an amateur would go to Hagen win or loose, the match was on. Hagen liked the good life too much to turn down that kind of money! So thirty-six holes would be played at Jones Sarasota course and thiry-six at Hagen's Pasadena, a coin toss to decide the honors. and course rotation.

Both wanted desperately to win, probably Hagen more than Jones, at least that is the impression one gets reading their memoirs! Hagen set out a psychological ploy. He wanted to play at Jones' home course first, so he told his manager to opt for Sarasota first even if he won the toss. His manager Bob Harlow thought this was ridiculous, but Hagen shrewd judge of human nature that he was knew better. Here is how he explained his reasoning to his manager:

"At Sarasota Bobby's a very popular fellow. He'll have a huge gallery following him around patting his back, shaking his hand ... and yelling for him. Me? Well on my side there will be you, me and my caddie. There'll be nobody and nothing to take my attention off my game. I can concentrate completely on what I am doing. In a match of this kind I do better with my back against the wall."

And besides, Hagen did not mind being a few down, it never bothered him much. He also knew that he was a better match-player, whereas Bobby had only become a great match player when he had learnt to play against the card rather than his opponent. Hagen was going to make sure that Bobby would have to play against him!

As it turned out Bobby won the toss and elected for his home course Sarasota. Also as it turned out , from Haig's point of view, everything went according to plan. Haig won the first hole. It was pretty much to and fro until the sixth hole of the afternoon match. Jones had just won the previous hole and was now three down, not a large difference in a 72 hole match, and while Hagen was faltering Jones was starting to rally. He hit a perfect drive, and Hagen hit a terrible one and had blocked him self out behind a tree on the right. His path to the green was also guarded by a bunker, so he could not play low. His only shot was a sliced mashie-niblick. Hagen took a huge cut at the ball, and completely topped it, but the ball had so much spin on it that it ran through the trap and ended on the green 12 feet from the hole. Visibly shaken, Jones never-the-less managed to play an excellent pitch that left him a couple of feet further away than Hagen. His putt rimmed the hole and left Hagen with almost a complete stymie, so instead of winning the hole, which in all fairness he deserved, he was left with a half, or was he? Walter realized that if he could somehow sink the putt it would be a body blow! After careful inspection, with great daring - he could easily have knocked Bobby's ball in the hole, he trickled his ball past Bobby's, it paused on the left lip of the cup, and then fell in! Hagen was four up!

"I watched those shots" said Bobby "and said to myself 'I'm four down to a man who can miss one like that!'". Sir Walter had got to him! He lost four more holes that day and was 8 down at the halfway point. Certainly Hagen played some fine golf, and his putting was out standing. Jones took thirty and thirty-one putts, but Hagen only took twenty-seven and twenty-six! But what really did Jones in was the fact he was psyched out.

As he said after the match when Hagen had won 12 & 11: "I would far rather play a man who is straight down the fairway with his drive, on the green with his second, and down in two putts for his par. I can play a man like that at his own game which is par golf. If one of us can get close to the pin with his approach, or hole a good putt - all right. He has earned something that i can understand. But when a man misses his drive, and then misses his second shot, and then wins a hole with a birdie - it gets my goat!"

That sixth rankled Bobby for a long time, but Hagen understood match play and specialized in getting his opponents goat - and he had prevented Jones from playing against 'Old Man Par' and made him play against him!

As gracious in defeat as in Victory Archie clobbers Walter at Moor Park!

Hagen v Compston

Of course not even Hagen won every match, and he took some fearful drubbings - but even his drubbings served to show why he was such a great player. One of his most famous was in a 72 hole challenge match against Archie Compston at Moor Park in 1928. He lost a 72 hole challenge match 17 & 16! Hagen of course was as graceful in defeat as he was in victory, and of course he never stopped trying. His manager - Bob Harlow was distraught, he saw the whole of the tour going up in smoke. Hagen however was quite unconcerned. In the car afterwards, in a thoughtful mode, he lit a cigarette, exhaled the smoke and opined "You know I can beat that Son-of-a-Bitch any day of the week." What resilience! ... and two weeks later the Haig won the British Open at Sandwich, edging out Gene Sarazen and Archie Compston!

These were just a few examples of the ploys used by Walter Hagen. He was always thinking, not just about his next shot, but about how to gain an edge on his opponent, but we must remember that none of this would have prevailed if he hadn't been a tremendous golfer, had a sturdy temperament, a razor sharp mind and above all a will to win. In the third and concluding article on Hagen's match play mastery we will look at these factors and see what his contemporaries had to say about them.

Cartoon from the Daily Mail

(Most of the quotes in this article are taken from "The Walter Hagen Story" Simon & Schuster 1956)

F.B.

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