Bob and I were locker-mates our junior year, nice guy. According to Robert Spahn, Bob died in either September or October of 1964 in a horrific car crash in Florida. Bob was the assistant pro at Blackhawk Country Club in Madison and was in Florida attending a golf function.
I knew Bob very well. He dated my best friend and even fixed me up with one of his golf buddies, which by the way never worked out! He was a great guy and lots of fun. He is truly missed.
Bob and I were best friends since grade school days. We also started playing golf together, although Bob learned the game way, way faster than I did. We were caddies at Brynwood Country Club and the club allowed the caddies to play golf for free on Mondays when they did course maintenance. So one Monday in the summer of '59 we decided to give golf a try. On the first tee Bob borrowed a driver from another caddy, teed up the ball, took a swing at a golf ball for the first time in his life, and hit the ball 225 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. The other caddies stared in disbelief. I eagerly took the borrowed driver from Bob, teed up my ball, swung the club as hard as I could, and whacked the ball . . . 25 feet straight off to the side. Many more such futile attempts followed before I caught up to Bob's first ball.
Getting really good at golf isn't easy though for anybody, and Bob worked long and hard to try to master the game that he loved. He probably was never going to have a shot at making it as a touring pro, but he was well on the way to getting his license as a club pro. He was in Florida in October 1964 for a PGA training program. His car -- a 1959 Plymouth I think -- was hit head on, and the cars then didn't have many safety features (i.e., none). We played golf together on a beautiful fall day a week before he left for Florida, and he was looking forward to spending time in Florida that winter working on his game. Bob was a few months short of his 21st birthday when he was killed.
Kent Ehley
Bob and I were locker-mates our junior year, nice guy. According to Robert Spahn, Bob died in either September or October of 1964 in a horrific car crash in Florida. Bob was the assistant pro at Blackhawk Country Club in Madison and was in Florida attending a golf function.
Kathryn Gressing (Brown)
I knew Bob very well. He dated my best friend and even fixed me up with one of his golf buddies, which by the way never worked out! He was a great guy and lots of fun. He is truly missed.
Harry Engstrom
Bob and I were best friends since grade school days. We also started playing golf together, although Bob learned the game way, way faster than I did. We were caddies at Brynwood Country Club and the club allowed the caddies to play golf for free on Mondays when they did course maintenance. So one Monday in the summer of '59 we decided to give golf a try. On the first tee Bob borrowed a driver from another caddy, teed up the ball, took a swing at a golf ball for the first time in his life, and hit the ball 225 yards straight down the middle of the fairway. The other caddies stared in disbelief. I eagerly took the borrowed driver from Bob, teed up my ball, swung the club as hard as I could, and whacked the ball . . . 25 feet straight off to the side. Many more such futile attempts followed before I caught up to Bob's first ball.
Getting really good at golf isn't easy though for anybody, and Bob worked long and hard to try to master the game that he loved. He probably was never going to have a shot at making it as a touring pro, but he was well on the way to getting his license as a club pro. He was in Florida in October 1964 for a PGA training program. His car -- a 1959 Plymouth I think -- was hit head on, and the cars then didn't have many safety features (i.e., none). We played golf together on a beautiful fall day a week before he left for Florida, and he was looking forward to spending time in Florida that winter working on his game. Bob was a few months short of his 21st birthday when he was killed.
Harry Engstrom