Joe Jemsek
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph James Jemsek | |
|---|---|
 Joe Jemsek in 1936 | |
| Born | December 24, 1913 |
| Died | April 2, 2002 (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Golfer |
| Known for | Cog Hill No. 4 |
Joseph James Jemsek (December 24, 1913 – April 2, 2002) was an American golfer who started as a caddie, became a golf professional, and later owned and operated several public golf clubs in Chicago.
Jemsek was born in 1913.[1] He was the son of recent immigrants from Ukraine.[2] He began to caddy when he was six, and caddied at Laramie, Acacia, and Palos Hills. When he was 15, he began caddying at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, founded by the Coghill brothers in 1927 at Lemont, Illinois, 28 miles (45 km) to the southwest of Chicago. At the age of 17, he became a professional golfer and joined the PGA Tour for a while, then returned to Cog Hill where he took various jobs. At the 1934 Chicago World's Fair, Jemsek won a trophy for driving a golf ball from the sky-ride tower, 168 feet (51 m) high, into Lake Michigan for a distance of 501 yards (458 m).[3]
St. Andrews
The 36-hole St. Andrews golf course in West Chicago was opened in 1926 by Frank Hough. In 1929 Hough opened the Lakewood Course.[2] Jemsek moved to St. Andrews as an instructor after disagreements about salary at Cog Hill.[3] He married Hough's daughter Grace, and took over management of the business.[2] In 1939 he bought the course for $40,000 using a combination of savings and a loan.[3]
Jemsek saw demand for golfing facilities from new immigrants to Chicago from Ireland, Russia, Greece, Italy and Scandinavia who would not feel comfortable at a private club, and founded the "Jemsek Golf" company to serve this market. In 1947 St. Andrews hosted a U.S. Open qualifier, the first public course to do so, and was the first to offer United States Golf Association (USGA) handicaps for its regular players. Jemsek employed the champion woman golfer Patty Berg as head professional for almost fifty years. His clubhouse was air conditioned, and metal spikes could be worn inside.[2] Jemsek helped to launch the Illinois PGA. In 1947 he launched the Chicago TV program "All-Star Golf", which became nationally syndicated.[4] Jemsek became known for making golf accessible to the masses.[1]