BROCKTON, Massachusetts (October 16, 2025) – There was laughter, gratitude, a few misty eyes, and even some surprises during the 2025 Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Thursday at Thorny Lea Golf Club. The fifth induction class since the Hall’s founding in 2002 honored seven new members whose achievements and impact stretch across more than a century of the game.
The Class of 2025, Edith Noblit Baker, Marion Maney, Florence Ogg McClusky, Alex Ross, Geoffrey Sisk, Richard F. Connolly, Jr., and Donald E. Hearn, represents one of the Hall’s most expansive groups of honorees.
The afternoon offered no shortage of emotion. One of the granddaughters of Baker stood proudly on stage, clutching the medals from her grandmother’s five Women’s Amateur titles as she recalled Baker’s high standards and lasting presence in their family.
Maney charmed the audience with stories of integrity she learned from her parents. Surprise overcame her, though, when Charles River Country Club president Jim Connor announced it was granting Maney a lifetime membership at the same place she competed during her most competitive years.
Sisk, with his family in the crowd, reflected on a 50-year journey of perseverance and gratitude. He paused at times to gather himself, expressing heartfelt thanks to those who helped him along the way.
Accepting on behalf of Florence Ogg McClusky and Alex Ross, club historians Steve Ayres of Worcester CC and Kevin Mendik of Brae Burn CC shared stories of two icons of Massachusetts golf in their respective eras. McClusky won five Mass Women’s Amateurs and 26 club championships at Worcester, while Ross was Brae Burn’s first professional and went on to win six Mass Opens and the 1907 U.S. Open.
As the final inductees took the stage, longtime TV anchor Kate Merrill, serving as event emcee, led a fireside chat with Don Hearn and Dick Connolly, lifelong friends whose shared story began as teenage caddies digging irrigation trenches and hauling clubs at Woburn Country Club. With warmth and wit, they reflected on the people and lessons that turned a blue-collar start into a lifetime of service to the game — Connolly’s through finance and philanthropy with the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, and Hearn’s through decades of leadership within the New England and national golf course superintendents associations.
Earlier this year, 10 historical pioneers were recognized in conjunction with Mass Golf’s 125th anniversary, honoring the individuals and organizations who laid the foundation for the game’s growth in the Commonwealth. Thursday’s ceremony at Thorny Lea celebrated the modern era players and builders whose influence continues to shape the game today.
“It’s remarkable to have this community gathered in one place, celebrating not only our 125th anniversary but the people and partnerships that define Massachusetts golf,” said Jesse Menachem, Mass Golf Executive Director and CEO. “These are the events that really they make us go. They give us the energy and the drive to do what we do on an everyday basis.”
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.
A member of Charles River Country Club from 1990 to 2005, Marion Maney achieved national acclaim in 1992 when she won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Old Marsh Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, defeating legendary golfer Carol Semple Thompson in 19 holes. This victory was particularly notable as Semple Thompson, a seven-time USGA champion and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, was considered one of the greatest women amateur golfers of all time.
Maney is one of only three Charles River members to claim a USGA title, joining the ranks of Francis Ouimet and Ted Bishop. Her decorated career includes competing in nine U.S. Women’s Amateurs, 15 U.S. Mid-Amateurs, and representing Massachusetts in the 1995 Women’s State Team Championship. Her state-level achievements include victories in the 1992 Massachusetts Women’s Open, the 1987 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur, five titles in the Massachusetts Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship for the Keyes Cup, and two victories in the Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy.
Florence Ogg McClusky was a highly accomplished amateur player in the state between the 1940s and 1970s. Known affectionately as “Floss,” she played out of Worcester Country Club and won the women’s club title there 26 times between 1941 and 1986. She was also the daughter of Willie Ogg, the former head professional at Worcester Country Club, who was instrumental in getting the U.S. Open and the first-ever Ryder Cup played at Worcester.
McClusky won five Massachusetts Women’s Amateur titles between 1948 and 1966, and her nine Grace Keyes Cup victories between 1952 and 1968 give her more than anybody in the history of the event, which dates back to 1950. Additionally, she won the Massachusetts Women’s Stroke Play Championship for the Baker Trophy, the Massachusetts Mixed Four-Ball Championship for the Stone Cup (3 times), the Endicott Cup, and the Women’s Four-Ball Championship for the Townshend Cup (twice). She finished T29 at the 1960 U.S. Women’s Open, which was held at Worcester CC. She later went on to win three Massachusetts Women’s Senior Amateur titles, her last in 1974.
Alex Ross grew up in Dornoch, Scotland, where he learned golf along with his older brother, Donald Ross, who was an inaugural 2002 inductee into the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame. In 1903, Alex took his first head golf professional position at Brae Burn Country Club, a job he held until 1916. In the winters, he went to North Carolina and assisted his brother Donald at Pinehurst.
Ross won the 1907 U.S. Open at Philadelphia Cricket Club and competed in it 17 times, finishing in the top 10 five times. Locally, he won five of the first six Massachusetts Open championships. His six titles are tied with Geoff Sisk for the most all-time. Ross also holds a tournament record with six wins in The North and South Open, founded at Pinehurst in 1902. He won the first title in 1902, and his last came in 1915.
In the 1920s, Alex competed in Europe, where he became the first golfer to win the Swiss Open twice and also the first to win it three times. At the urging of Horace Rackham, Henry Ford’s first attorney, Ross became the first full-time golf professional at Detroit Golf Club in 1916, where he remained until 1947. His brother Donald designed both courses at Detroit, which debuted in 1918. The Michigan PGA elected Alex Ross as its first president in 1922.
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. In addition to earning 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 seven appearances in the U.S. Open, including a top 40 finish in 2004 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
Richard F. Connolly, Jr. grew up in Woburn and got his start in golf at age 8 when he was a caddie at Woburn Country Club. Connolly began tending greens at 15, but he was also a golf prodigy in his teenage years. Connolly graduated from Malden Catholic, and despite being offered a scholarship to Wake Forest, he decided to attend Holy Cross, where he was a two-year captain of the golf team. He also earned an MBA at Babson College.
Connolly was a recipient of the Ouimet Scholarship and, over 40-plus years, has served as a Director, Trustee, and President for the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund. In 1979, Connolly became the Ouimet Memorial Tournament chairman. In 1990, he donated the Championship Division trophy, which is named after his father, Richard F. Connolly Sr. He also added a Senior Division in 1999 and named it the Lowery Division to honor Eddie Lowery, the caddie for Francis Ouimet in his 1913 U.S. Open victory. The Women’s Division was then added in 2004.
One of Connolly’s special projects has been making the Ouimet Fund annual banquet the largest golf banquet in the U.S., averaging 1,500 attendees, and the largest fundraising event and visibility tool for the Ouimet Fund. When the inaugural “Francis Ouimet Award for Lifelong Contributions to Golf” was presented to Connolly’s lifelong friend Arnold Palmer in 1997, the dinner kindled national interest. Connolly received the same award in 2025.
In recognition of his incredible contributions, Connolly received the Ouimet Fund’s Spirit of Golf Award in 2008. In 2016, he was honored by Mass Golf with the Frank H. Sellman Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes Exemplary Service to the Game of Golf. He was also inducted into the National Caddie Hall of Fame in 2023.
Donald E. Hearn, CGCS, has devoted over five decades to advancing the game of golf and the profession of golf course management in Massachusetts and beyond.
Beginning as a caddie at Woburn Country Club, Hearn became a Certified Golf Course Superintendent in 1977, serving at renowned courses like Weston Golf Club and Vesper Country Club. His leadership includes serving as President of both the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England (GCSANE) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), where he oversaw significant advancements, including the construction of the GCSAA headquarters.
As Executive Director of GCSANE from 2011 to 2024, he championed education, mentorship, and sustainability. His numerous accolades include the GCSAA Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award, the USGA Ike Grainger Award for 25 years of service, and having GCSANE’s Distinguished Service Award renamed in his honor. Hearn has also been a passionate advocate, educator, and mentor, shaping the profession and highlighting the critical role of superintendents in the game of golf.
In addition to several golf media contributions, he contributed to the first-ever Best Management Practice guide for Massachusetts golf courses, standardizing environmental practices for the industry statewide.
The Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame was founded in 2002 with the opening of the William F. Connell Golf House & Museum, which is located on the grounds of TPC Boston in Norton. The Golf House hosts the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame & Museum as well as the offices for Mass Golf, the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, and several other allied golf organizations within the Bay State.
The Hall of Fame has had four induction classes since its opening — 2002, 2014, and 2016, 2021 — with legendary figures including Francis Ouimet, Pat Bradley, Donald Ross, Fred Wright, Margaret and Harriot Curtis, Herbert Warren Wind, Frank Vana Jr., and Tara Joy-Connelly among those previously enshrined.
In 2014, the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame introduced the Ring of Honor to celebrate the individuals, golf clubs, and companies who support the Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame.
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 140,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
