A native New Yorker, George turned professional in 1958, and worked for Bob Watson at Ardsley CC. He was named the Head Professional at Leewood GC in 1963, and played the PGA tour and the Caribbean tour for several winters in the early 60’s. He won the 1967 Grand Bahama Open, and also played in the 1967 US Open at Baltusrol, scoring 72 in the first round, just off the lead. In 1985, he was elected as only the 64th PGA Master Professional, with his landmark thesis, “The Evolution of the Golf Swing”, and in 1988 was one of the original presenters at the inaugural PGA World Teaching and Coaching Summit. In the Met Section, he served on the Board of Directors for several years, and later on the Nominating Committee. Named the Professional of the Year in 1978, he remained very active up to and through his retirement from Leewood after 25 years in 1988. He won the Horton Smith Award in 1996, for his contributions to education, and later, in 2015, the Bill Strausbaugh Award, for lifetime contributions to PGA employment, as 14 of his former assistants were elevated to head professional positions, several of them future Section Presidents, Hall of Fame members, and tour players. After retiring from Leewood, he founded and operated George Lewis Golfiana, which became a leading golf collectibles and worldwide sales concern. He is still consulted frequently on PGA matters and swing theory, by the section leadership and active PGA members and assistants
One of the most proficient players ever in the Met Section, Carl Lohren’s small stature belied his gigantic competitive strength and technical knowledge. The University of Maryland product was perhaps better known as a teacher and an author for his book entitled “One Move to Better Golf.” The forward of the book was written by Deane Beman, a student, former PGA and Senior Tour winner and long-time PGA Tour Commissioner. Carl loved to teach and gave seminars around the world and at 14 National PGA Teaching Workshops and Seminars. He was a speaker at both the first PGA Teaching & Coaching Summit in 1988 and at the very first European Teaching Summit in Rome in 1990. His prowess earned him Metropolitan PGA Teacher of the Year honors in 1989 as well as the Horton Smith nomination for the Met Section for educational contributions in 1982. As a player Carl Lohren enjoyed a number of successes including wins at the 1968 New York State PGA and at the 1984 Long Island PGA Championship. He qualified for three US Opens, 1 US Senior Open (he tied for 39th) and 10 National Club Professional Championships. He qualified to play on the PGA Senior (now Champions) Tour in 1990 after a top six finish in the qualifying tournament. Carl was inducted into the Glen Cove Hall of Fame in 1985.
Originally from Hot Springs, Va., Nelson came to the Section in 1974 as the assistant to Charlie Beverage at Century CC. A second-generation PGA member, he was named the Head Professional in 1976, and is in his 44th year at the club. A strong player, he was the 1979 Westchester PGA champion, and won the Pro Assistant championship in 1991, 1998, and in 2004, where they got around in 59 with birdies galore. Widely known for developing talented assistants, three of his assistants have captured the PGA Professional Championship, and his current assistant, Frank Bensel, has been the National Assistants Champion 3 times. Over the years, he has been influential in education and service, winning the Teacher of the Year in 1999, the Horton Smith Award in 2005, and the Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2010, both in the Section and was the National winner. In 2015, he was named the Professional of the Year, by the Met Section, after decades of service to fellow professionals and three generations of his members. The elegant Tryall Hotel and Club in Jamaica was his winter base for some 32 years, from 1982 on, and he was equally at home in Caribbean golf circles. Major charities such as the Einstein College of Medicine, The First Tee, the MGA Foundation, and Golf Works, have all benefitted from his involvement and service. He is particularly proud also, of playing in USGA championships 45 years apart, the 1968 US Junior Amateur and the 2013 US Senior Open.
William “Willie” MacFarlane was born in Scotland but came to America and eventually took a position as a club professional at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Tuckahoe, NY. In 1925 he won the U.S. Open at Worcester Country Club, needing a second eighteen-hole playoff to beat Bobby Jones by one stroke. MacFarlane won 21 times on what would have been considered the PGA Tour in those days. Among his most significant wins were triumphs in two Met Open Championships. He played in seven PGA Championships, going to the semifinals in his best finish and winning nearly 60% of the matches he played. MacFarlane beat two other greats of the game when he topped Johnny Farrell in a playoff at the 1930 Met Open at Fairview and beat Paul Runyan by a shot at the 1933 Met Open at Winged.
Jack Mackie was one of the 6 members of the first organizational committee for the founding of the PGA of America. In 1916 he was elected to the Metropolitan PGA Executive Committee which then also gave him a seat on the National Executive Committee. He then served as the National President the PGA of America (1919-1920)held several other elected offices finally transitioning to Treasurer from 1927-1939. This 23 years of service making him the longest serving officer in the Association’s history. He moved to New York beginning at Dunwoodie CC around 1906. In May 1917 he became the Professional at Inwood CC on Long Island where he finished out his career. At Inwood he hosted the 1921 PGA and 1923 US Open while also adding his architectural touches by redesigning several holes.
Few professionals had the impact on the image of the Metropolitan PGA the way that Jack Mallon did. He was the ultimate “gentleman pro,” and an incredible ambassador for the game and the association. His tenure in the Metropolitan PGA included head professional stints at three top area clubs; He started at Garden City Country Club, then moved to Cold Spring and finished his career at Wheatley Hills where he was beloved. As a teacher, his reputation was second to none and he had top amateurs and beginners coming to him for lessons from miles around. He got involved in the leadership of the Section and in 1960 succeeded Claude Harmon as President. His two year tenure along with Harmon’s one year helped usher in a new era of governance after more than three decades of John Inglis’ administration. Mallon also went on to become a Vice-President of the PGA of America, serving three years in that role of national involvement. Jack was a two-time selection as Metropolitan PGA Professional of the Year and was the very first Sam Snead Award winner for his contributions to the game and the Section. Mallon was not a player with a national resume, but was still among the area elite, boasting two back-to-back Long Island PGA Championships in 1953 and 1954.
Dave Marr followed the footsteps of his golf professional father, turning professional at age 19. A short time later, Marr took a job as an assistant club pro to Claude Harmon at Winged Foot Golf Club. He began playing regularly on the PGA Tour in 1960, and in that year earned his first professional win. A year later, he won his second and third PGA Tour events. He also won the Met PGA Championship in 1962 while playing out of Rockaway Hunting Club. Marr joined the elite of the golfing world in 1965 when he captured the coveted PGA Championship at Laurel Valley Golf Club, was named to the Ryder Cup team and was selected PGA Player of the Year. Marr served as a golf analyst for ABC from 1972 until 1991. He also established a golf course architectural and design firm in 1981, designing many courses in the greater Houston area. Marr was elected to the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 1978. He was selected for the Gold Tee Award presented by the Met Golf Writers in 1990 and posthumously was selected as the 2001 recipient of the Met PGA’s Sam Snead Award for contributions to golf, the PGA and the Met Section.
Jim McLean’s career as a golf professional has very strong ties to the Met Section. Jim taught at Westchester from 1975 – 1979, was the Head Pro at Sunningdale from 1979 – 1982, was the Head Pro at Quaker Ridge from 1983-1987, and returned in 1988 after a one year stint in California to spend 5 years as Director of Golf at Sleepy Hollow. Jim is probably best known for his research on the golf swing and his work on The X-Factor, which describes in detail, body motions, body angles and body positions. The X-Factor and Y-Factor are just a few terms Jim has coined in over 3 decades of golf research. Jim has produced videos and authored books that were long time best sellers in their respective categories. Jim’s knowledge and expertise developed into an international brand as he became the owner of the Jim McLean Golf Schools which include: Doral Golf Resort, PGA WEST, La Quinta Resort, Texas Golf Center, Mayakoba Resort, Golf Santander, Red Ledges, and Miami Beach Golf Club. Jim’s professional achievements and awards are many, and include participation on several National PGA Committees. He has been an instruction editor for Golf Digest, The Golf Channel, Golf Magazine, and Golf Illustrated. McLean has led over 50 national teaching and playing workshops for the PGA of America and has been the featured speaker at 6 PGA Teaching Summits. Jim has taught more than 100 PGA Tour, LPGA and Senior PGA Tour players including: Dana Quigley, Hal Sutton, Brad Faxon, Tom Kite, Sergio Garcia, Lenny Mattiace, Curtis Strange, Bernhard Langer, Cristie Kerr, Blaine McCallister, Ben Crenshaw, Jerry Pate, Gary Player, Liselotte Neuman, Peter Jacobsen & Steve Elkington. Jim was honored by the Met PGA as the 1986 Teacher of the Year, and the 1987 Horton Smith Award. Perhaps McLean’s crowning award was being selected for the coveted PGA National Teacher of the Year in 1994. Jim was an All-American at the University of Houston and his playing achievements include being one of the few people to qualify for the US Junior, the US Amateur (4 times) the US Open (2 times) and the US Senior Open. McLean made the cut in the Masters. Jim won the Northwest Open and was a 3 time winner of the Pacific Northwest Amateur. Jim qualified for the PGA Professional National Championship ten times. Jim was also named 1st alternate to the US World Cup Team in 1972. He played on the PGA Tour during the winter of 1982. In the Met Section, Jim won the 1987 Westchester PGA Championship, is twice a winner of the Met PGA Pro-Pro and Pro-Assistant, and was runner-up at the Met PGA Championship 1993.
For 32 years Gil McNally served as the head professional at Garden City Golf Club following a short stint as the head professional at Deepdale GC. Gil McNally held the reigns of the Section Presidency in the mid-’80’s during one of the more progressive periods in Section history. During his tenure, the Section inaugurated the Squire Cup Matches and also established a Women’s Metropolitan Open Championship through a sponsorship that Gil arranged. He was also involved with a search for a homesite and/or teaching facility that came to fruition in 2001 with the advent of the Section’s involvement in the First Tee. These initiatives are still thriving and celebrate the diversity of programming in the Met Section A two time winner of the Section’s Professional of the Year Award (1984 and 1989), Gil was also the Bill Strausbaugh employment award recipient in 1985 as well as being named the Teacher of the Year in 1991. In 2007, Gil was named the 34th recipient of the prestigious Sam Snead Award for contributions to golf, the PGA and the Met Section.
Bill Mehlhorn won 20 times on the PGA Tour, but did not win a major championship. Only a handful of golfers have won more often on the PGA Tour without claiming a major. His best finish was runner-up to Walter Hagen at the 1925 PGA Championship. In all, Mehlhorn played in 12 PGA Championships during his career. He also was a member of the very first, formal Ryder Cup team, captained by Walter Hagen that won the inaugural matches by a score of 9 1/2 to 2 1/2 at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts. While serving as professional at Fenimore Golf Club, Mehlhorn won the 1929 Met Open contested at Lido Golf Club posting a 3 stroke margin over Wiffy Cox. Hailing from Texas, Mehlhorn often wore cowboy hats on the course and was nicknamed “Wild Bill”.
Affectionately known as “The Little Pro,” Eddie Merrins is one of the most accomplished and decorated golf professionals in the annals of the PGA. After starting his career at Merion Golf Club, Merrins moved to New York where he was elected to PGA Membership and spent a year as a teaching professional at Westchester Country Club and two years as the head professional at Rockaway Hunting Club on Long Island. During that tenure he won both the 1961 Metropolitan PGA Championship and the 1961 Long Island Open. An outstanding collegiate golfer at LSU, Merrins won the SEC title twice (in 1953 and ’54) and was the NCAA runner-up in 1952. As a professional he competed in over 200 PGA Tour events, 8 USGA Open Championships, 6 PGA Championships, 2 British Opens and 6 PGA Club Professional Championships. In 1962, Merrins was named the head professional at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, where he still serves as Professional Emeritus to this day. In addition to his professional duties, he also served as the UCLA Men’s Golf Coach from 1975-1989 where he helped develop 16 All-Americans, including 2 NCAA Players of the Year, Corey Pavin and Duffy Waldorf. Merrins guided the team to a #1 ranking, an NCAA National Championship, three PAC 10 Championships and earned PAC 10 Coach of the Year honors three times as well. While he was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame in 2009, it is just one of many honors and Halls of Fame that he has been elected into including the Southern California PGA, NCAA Coaches, UCLA Athletic, Mississippi Sports, Southern California Golf, California Golf Writers, LSU Athletic and the World Golf Teachers Halls of Fame.
One of the most popular and most decorated members of the Met Section prior to his untimely death in 1997, this former Met PGA President was responsible for the Section’s successful travel events to a variety of venues in the US and internationally. Mitchell was universally loved and was a fixture at PGA National Meetings and one of the Section’s most effective delegates. He was instrumental in the development of the Playing Ability test and National PGA Junior Championship. He served on the PGA’s Board of Control as well as on a number of committees and task forces. Billy was twice the Met PGA’s Professional of the Year (’79 and ’83) and twice the Strausbaugh recipient (’81 & ’82) before winning the National Award in 1996 when he was renominated for that honor the fifth time. He was also selected as the 1996 recipient of the Sam Snead Award for his contributions to golf, the PGA and the Met Section.
