CLASS OF 2025

With seven inductees, plus 10 pioneers to commemorate the 125-year history of Mass Golf, the 2025 class of the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame will be the largest in its history.

This class represents some of the winningest players in Mass Golf history, including national championship winners, as well as lifelong ambassadors to the game who have given back in many ways. Those inductees are: Edith Noblit Baker; Richard F. Connolly Jr.; Don Hearn; Marion Maney; Florence Ogg McClusky; Alex Ross; and Geoff Sisk.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers celebrate those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the early development and growth of golf in Massachusetts through their efforts as inventors, leaders, organizers, trailblazers, or advocates for the game of golf. Those inductees are: The Massachusetts Golf Association Founders; The Women’s Golf Association of Boston Founders; Willie & Georgina Campbell; Laurence Curtis; Dr. George Franklin Grant; Eddie Lowery; Willie Ogg; Spalding Company; Edward S. Stimpson; and George Wright.

Quick Links: Hall of Fame Home | Class of 2002 | Class of 2014 | Class of 2016 | Class of 2021

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Edith Noblit Baker

Hometown SCITUATE, MA

Induction Category PLAYER

Birth-Death 1888-1980

Born in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Edith Noblit Baker married in 1914 and played out of Oakley Country Club, going on to win the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts State Championship five times. Known for her wit, intelligence, and “lovable bossy” personality, Baker took junior golfers under her wing and earned the affectionate nickname “Boss Baker.” She demanded discipline and sportsmanship while fostering a deep connection with the players.

In 1950, Baker established the Edith Noblit Baker Tournament, a 36-hole competition designed for working women golfers that continues to be played every summer. She also served as a USGA official, a former president of the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts, and one of the founding members of Scituate Country Club.

Golf brought her some of her greatest joys, including the thrill of shooting a round in the 70s on her 70th birthday in 1958. Beyond golf, Baker was a member of Marshfield Country Club, the Women’s City Club of Boston, and the Harvard Clubs of Boston and New York.

Significant Accomplishments:
Mass Women’s Amateur Champion – 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1932

Geoff Sisk

Hometown MARSHFIELD, MA

Induction Category PLAYER

Birthdate MARCH 11, 1965

Geoff Sisk is a professional golfer who won six Mass Open titles between 1995 and 2007, tying Alex Ross for the most all-time. He also had a successful career on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. As an amateur, Sisk had an outstanding career, earning All-American honors and winning eight tournaments at Temple University. In 1984, at just 19 years old, he was named the youngest-ever Mass Golf Player of the Year.

Sisk turned professional in 1989. Despite struggles to maintain status on the PGA Tour, including a full season in 1999, he achieved notable success on the Nike Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) and other regional circuits. On the New England Pro Golf Tour, Sisk became a dominant force, winning over a dozen events and earning Player of the Year honors four times.

Known for his precision and mental toughness, Sisk overcame setbacks, including injuries and near-retirement, to remain a competitive force for decades. His achievements extend beyond New England, with appearances in major championships like the U.S. Open, where he competed against the world’s best.

Significant Accomplishments:
Mass Open Championship – 1995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007
New England Open Championship – 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007
U.S. Open – 7-time qualifier, made cut twice (best finish T30)
1984 Mass Golf Player of the Year
Maine Open – 1996; New Hampshire Open – 2014

 

Women’s Golf Association of Boston Founders

City Established BOSTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Founded March 19, 1900

The Women’s Golf Association of Boston (Later the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts) was founded in 1900, three years before the Massachusetts Golf Association was formed. On March 5, 1900, six women representing The Country Club, Oakley Country Club, Brae Burn Country Club, and Concord Country Club met in Boston for the purpose of forming a golf association among women. On March 19, they voted in officers: Mrs. Fran Zerrahn (President), Mrs. William Swan (Vice President), Louisa Wells (Secretary), and Ms. Grace Keyes (Treasurer). On May 2, 1900, 16 women representing four teams of the WGAB played their first team matches at The Country Club. The club hosted its first association championship (now the Mass Women’s Amateur) in October 1900 at Oakley Country Club, with Grace Keyes winning the inaugural title.

Keyes, a member of Concord Country Club, served as president of the organization from 1902 to 1907. The Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship originated in 1950 when Keyes presented the Keyes Cup for an annual stroke play competition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the WGAM.

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Massachusetts Golf Association Founders

City Established BOSTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Founded February 24, 1903

The Massachusetts Golf Association was organized at the Exchange Club in Boston on February 24, 1903. More than 60 delegates from clubs across the state were present for its founding. The following were elected as officers: G. Herbert Windeler (President/The Country Club), Herbert C. Leeds (Vice President/Myopia Hunt Club), R.R. Freeman (Secretary/Wollaston Golf Club), and C.B. Conant (Treasurer/Vesper Country Club). Arthur Lockwood won the inaugural Massachusetts Amateur Championship in 1903 at the Myopia Hunt Club.

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Willie & Georgina Campbell

Hometown MUSSELBURGH, SCOTLAND

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1862-1900 / 1864-1953

Willie and Georgina Campbell were both born in Musselburgh, Scotland, and made lasting contributions to golf in Massachusetts. Willie was a skilled matchplay competitor, course designer, and ball and club maker. In 1894, he was appointed the Professional at The Country Club (TCC) and Essex County Club, where he expanded TCC from six to nine holes and designed the second nine the following year.

After becoming the professional at Myopia Hunt Club in 1896, Willie’s wife, Georgina, began assisting with lessons for women and children, as well as in the making of golf equipment. Willie continued to lay out courses throughout the region, including Oakley CC, Winchester CC, Worcester CC, and New Bedford CC. He was also asked to design the first nine holes at Franklin Park Golf Course in Boston, serving as its first professional, marking him the first municipal course golf professional in the U.S.

Willie’s health began to decline, and he passed away in 1900, but Georgina continued to serve as Franklin Park’s professional until 1926. Willie had eight top-10 finishes in The Open Championship, including a second-place finish in 1887, and also finished sixth in the inaugural U.S. Open in 1895.

After Willie’s death at age 38 in 1900, Georgina became the first female golf professional in the United States. Georgina took over Willie’s position and worked at Franklin Park until 1926.

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Laurence Curtis

Hometown BOSTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1849-1931

Laurence Curtis was one of the founders of the United States Golf Association in 1894, serving as its first vice president and the second president of the association. An ardent devotee of golf, he did much to popularize the game in the U.S.

As a founding member of The Country Club, his first exposure to the game was in the fall of 1892 when he was invited to watch an exhibition from Florence Boit at a makeshift course at the Hunnewell family home in Wellesley.

He immediately reached out to the club and proposed a six-hole golf course that was approved in November 1892 and laid out the following spring by members at a cost “not to exceed $50.” Curtis played in the inaugural match at the club, drawing in club members who later tried the game themselves.

Curtis was the uncle of Hall of Famers Margaret and Harriot Curtis, who went on to win four U.S. Women’s Amateurs between them and lay the groundwork for the Curtis Cup Match.

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Dr. George Franklin Grant

Hometown BOSTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1846-1910

Dr. George Franklin Grant was an accomplished dentist, inventor, and the first African American faculty member at Harvard University. Born in Oswego, New York, Grant was the son of a formerly enslaved person and abolitionist. He worked as a dental laboratory assistant before moving to Boston in 1867, where he became a student at Harvard Dental School, graduating in 1870. He later joined the faculty, making history as the first African American professor at the university and pioneering treatments for cleft palate.

Grant invented the modern golf tee. Already a patented inventor, on December 12, 1899, he received U.S. patent No. 638,920, the first patent for a wooden golf tee. It is described as a rigid base portion and an attached flexible head, the base being preferably made of wood and tapering to a point at its lower end to be readily inserted in the ground. The tee had a gutta-percha crown—a latex resin used in dentistry—with an annular seat on which the ball would rest as in a cup, resembling today’s modern tee.

Although Grant never marketed his invention, his contribution to golf was recognized long after his death, with the United States Golf Association honoring him in 1991.

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Eddie Lowery

Hometown NEWTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1902-1984

Edward “Eddie” Lowery is best remembered as the 10-year-old caddie for Francis Ouimet during the 1913 U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline. Ouimet’s stunning playoff victory over Harry Vardon and Ted Ray, with Lowery by his side, is considered a pivotal moment in American golf history. He went on to win the Massachusetts Junior Amateur in 1919 and 1920 and the Massachusetts Amateur in 1927. He also finished runner-up in the 1931 and 1933 Massachusetts Amateur. Lowery qualified for USGA match play in five decades, including in 1960 when he made the semifinals of the U.S. Senior Amateur at Oyster Harbors.

Lowery and Ouimet maintained a lifelong friendship, with Lowery serving as a pallbearer at Ouimet’s funeral in 1967. After his caddie days, Lowery moved to San Francisco, where he built a fortune as an auto dealer and became a prominent figure in golf circles. A member of the San Francisco Golf Club, he championed rising amateur golfers, including Ken Venturi, Harvie Ward, and Tony Lema.

Lowery was instrumental in organizing the famed 1956 four-ball match at Cypress Point Club, chronicled in Mark Frost’s The Match, where amateurs Ward and Venturi played golf legends Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson. He was later inducted into the inaugural class of the Caddie Hall of Fame.

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Willie Ogg

Hometown CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND/WORCESTER, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1888-1959

Born in Carnoustie, Scotland, William Robertson Ogg Jr. began his golf career as a caddie and club-maker. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1914, working at Brae Burn Country Club before moving to East Lake Golf Club, where he mentored a young Bobby Jones. In 1921, Ogg became the head professional at Worcester Country Club, a position he held for 25 years. Through his influence, Worcester hosted the 1925 U.S. Open and the inaugural Ryder Cup in 1927.

Ogg was instrumental in advancing golf equipment and developing the first heel/toe-weighted iron, which was patented and manufactured by Wilson. Gene Sarazen called it “the single greatest contribution to modern golf equipment.” He also improved club balance and patented a golf glove design.

A founding member of the PGA of America, Ogg served as a vice president and led the PGA’s Education Committee. He was a successful competitor, winning both the New England PGA Championship and the Massachusetts Open in 1924. Later in life, he worked as a golf course architect and wrote Golf as I Know It.

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Spalding Comapny

City Established CHICAGO, IL/CHICOPEE FALLS, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Founded 1876

The Spalding Company, a prominent name in the golf industry, played a significant role in the development of golf equipment during the early 20th century. In 1927, Longmeadow Country Club hired J. Victor East, an Australian golf professional known for his expertise in club-making and teaching.

By 1932, East had become the head of A.G. Spalding’s Custom Built Department, where he worked closely with golf legend Bobby Jones and Longmeadow founding member Milton Reach on a groundbreaking project. Together, they secretly developed the first matched set of flanged-soled irons with steel shafts—an innovation that significantly improved the performance and durability of golf clubs. This technological breakthrough helped Spalding survive the Great Depression and solidified its reputation as a leading manufacturer of golf equipment.

During the 1930s, Longmeadow became a testing ground for Spalding’s clubs, attracting some of the era’s top golfers. Other legends such as Byron Nelson, Jimmy Thomson, Horton Smith, and Tommy Armour could often be found at the club, testing clubs, playing rounds with members, or conducting demonstrations. Jones, a Longmeadow member, even held the course record for many years. Longmeadow’s association with Spalding and its pioneering golf equipment played a crucial role in the development of the game.

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Edward S. Stimpson

Hometown NEWTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1905-1985

Edward S. Stimpson was an American inventor and golfer best known for creating the Stimpmeter, a device that measures the speed of putting greens, which has become a standard tool in golf course maintenance. His invention of the Stimpmeter in the 1930s revolutionized the way golf courses assess green conditions, influencing both professional and amateur golf. The device was later modified by the USGA’s technical department in the mid-1970s and made available to golf course superintendents and course officials in 1978. As green speeds have steadily increased since its release in 1978, the Stimpmeter was further modified in 2012 to account for undulating putting greens where the previous Stimpmeter could not be used. In 1935, Stimpson also won the Massachusetts Amateur Championship.

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George Wright

Hometown BOSTON, MA

Induction Category PIONEER

Birth-Death 1847-1937

George Wright was an influential figure in American sports, excelling as a professional baseball player and contributing significantly to the development of golf in the United States.

As a shortstop for the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings—the first fully professional baseball team—Wright was considered the best player of his time. He later starred for the Boston Red Stockings, helping the team win six league championships from 1871 to 1878. His contributions to the sport earned him a place in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.

After moving to Boston, Wright transitioned into the sporting goods business, founding Wright & Ditson. His shop played a pivotal role in introducing golf to America. In 1886, Wright displayed what is believed to be the first set of golf clubs and balls in the country. By 1890, he and his friends were playing golf on a makeshift course in Boston’s Franklin Park, foreshadowing the establishment of public golf courses in the area. His legacy extended further when he donated land for Boston’s second municipal golf course, now the Donald Ross-designed George Wright Golf Course, a renowned layout in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.