Walter Hagen Quotes

Hagen was born in Rochester, New York, he came from a working-class family of German descent. His parents were William and Louise Hagen, his father worked as a millwright and blacksmith in Rochester's railroad-car shops. Walter was the second of William and Louise's five children, the only boy in the family.
Hagen developed his golf game at the Country Club of Rochester, beginning as a caddy, and earned money to help support his family from pre-teen age. Hagen played golf at every chance he got; caddy access to the course was limited to off-peak times, as it was elsewhere in the U.S. during that era. Hagen gradually improved his golf skill to the stage where he was an expert player by his mid-teens, and was then hired by the club to give lessons to club members and to work in the pro shop. He made his top-class professional debut at age 19 at the 1912 Canadian Open, placing 11th, a good showing. Hagen was also very skilled at baseball, primarily as a pitcher and shortstop. He canceled a 1914 tryout for the Philadelphia Phillies in order to play in a golf tournament. Later that week, Hagen was the U.S. Open Champion, and his career was changed forever.