By Steve Derderian
sderderian@massgolf.org
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (April 17, 2026) – On a breezy spring morning inside the hilltop clubhouse at Springfield Country Club, Joe Grochmal was doing what he has done for nearly three-quarters of a century: thinking about, talking about, and most of all teaching golf.
At 95, now in his—count it—74th year of instruction, including the last 35 at Springfield, the routine hasn’t changed much. The alarm goes off, and he’s ready to go.
It’s easy to look at Grochmal and simply marvel at his longevity. He’s not the oldest in the section though, and Grochmal likes it that way because, “there’s no future in it,” one of his many witty one-liners throughout our conversation.
His sense of humor or years accumulated aside, his staying power is truly rooted in an unwavering devotion to the game and a willingness to teach anyone in front of him, from juniors (with one rule: no tears) to seasoned players and veterans.
Even after more than an hour spent on recalling tournaments, famous names, long-gone courses, and his early days as a caddie and junior golfer, the soft-spoken pro wanted to inquire about one more thing: how the person sitting across from him (me) held the club.
That instinct to notice, to care, and to teach, has defined his life in the game and made him a constant across generations in Western Massachusetts golf. It’s one of many reasons why longtime PGA professional Robert Bontempo once referred to him as the “Godfather of Western Massachusetts golf.”
Grochmal certainly belongs in the pantheon of Western Mass standouts, along with Bontempo and his father, Henry, who was a Springfield prodigy turned longtime professional, and whose name is affixed to the annual four-ball tournament held Labor Day weekend at Franconia Golf Course.
That legacy is further solidified when you become an honoree within the Western Mass “Tee Party”, the region’s unofficial opening to golf season. Beginning with Bob Toski in 1947, an award is given annually to an individual for their service, commitment and dedication to golf in Western Massachusetts. Grochmal joined those ranks in 2000, and even back then said, “I plan to keeping teaching, as long as I have the choice… I love to do it.”
To understand how that began, you have to start on the east side of Springfield. His childhood home sat beside the 17th green and 18th tee at the old Memorial Golf Course, a rugged but popular working-class golf layout. Winters were spent flying model airplanes, the root of his other, now-relinquished passion for piloting light aircraft.
When the weather turned, he and his friends drifted onto the course, first sneaking on, then caddying, and eventually learning the game.
“I had to be a golfer,” he said, recalling a photo he still has from his childhood bedroom that overlooked the course, an origin story not unlike Francis Ouimet’s upbringing beside The Country Club.
Caddying became his first classroom and like many, he tended to benefit from those he carried for. “If it was a good player, we’d try to mimic the swing,” he said. “If we caddied for a poor player, we’d go out and look for the balls we lost.”
It didn’t take long for him to emerge as one of the region’s top young players. At Springfield Tech, he won two straight individual titles in the Western Mass Interscholastic Golf Tournaments.
However, his breakout moment came during summer of 1947, when 15-year-old “Little Joe”, as the papers called him, qualified for the Hurst New England Junior golf championship at Woodland Golf Club. Advancing to match play, he knocked off recent Mass Junior Amateur winner John Nies in the quarterfinals, and in the final match, rallied from 5 down to earn the victory and a cross-country trip to nationals in Los Angeles.
“My practice round [in LA] was a pro-am, and Lloyd Mangrum [the defending U.S. Open champion] was in my group,” he recalled, adding that Arnold Palmer played in the field, long before he became a household name.
Grochmal was crafty with his preparation and learned to form a close relationship with individuals he’d emulate himself. To access faster greens, he needed to seek out the local private courses. One day, he decided one day to bike down to the old 9-hole Oxford Country Club in Chicopee to practice on their faster greens that Memorial couldn’t offer.
There he ran into the head pro Frank Kringle, whose son Francis was sitting nearby our conversation to help add some color to Grochmal’s story. When Grochmal asked Kringle if he could practice, he gave the required speech about members only but added a caveat.
“He said, take your bike by the second hole and go practice where nobody can see, and if members hide, just go in the woods,” Grochmal recalled. Kringle added: “He knew his dilemma and wanted to help out.”
Despite his success, Grochmal wasn’t long for making a living on tour, though he did make two starts on what is now the Champions Tour. Like many of his era, golf came secondary to work. He worked in a Smith & Wesson factory for nearly 40 years, and would then head to the golf course, sometimes working into the late evening at lighted facilities.
Teaching eventually became his way forward. He began at now defunct driving ranges on Riverdale Road (Route 5) in West Springfield and Boston Road (Route 20) in Springfield. In doing so, he gave up his amateur status, but not his connection to golf.
“I didn’t want to give up golf,” he said. “I loved it.”
Grochmal built his teaching philosophy the same way he learned the game: by observing and adapting. As a young player, he sought out glimpses of great swings wherever he could.
“When Ben Hogan won tournaments, it’d be on a newsreel between the movies,” he said. “I didn’t care about the movie, I just wanted to see Hogan.”
He also related to Hogan’s background. “He dug it out of the dirt. He didn’t have a wealthy family. He was a kid caddie.”
Decades later, that same curiosity defines his teaching. “I love developing people who are going to be golfers,” he said. “It’s a wonderful thing.”
His career has included several stops, notably working for Bontempo at The Orchards in South Hadley for eight years, before heralded pro Harry Mattson Jr., who spent 37 years at Springfield Country Club, brought him to Springfield. In 1995, he earned coveted Class A status with the PGA of America.
Grochmal very well could’ve sought out opportunities to take on a head professional role himself, but, “I had two young boys I wanted to spend time with,” he said.
From those long drives and local competitions grew a tight-knit community. Events like the Western Mass “Tee Party” and Hall of Fame gatherings became traditions that connected generations of players and professionals.
Grochmal was part of all of it and still is.
On most busy days in-season at Springfield Country Club, he moves between lessons, junior clinics, and time spent working with veterans through PGA HOPE programs. His schedule often stretches from morning into late afternoon, regardless of conditions.
Kringle, who has come to reconnect with Grochmal in recent years, sees something rare in that consistency.
“When I think of Joe, I’m in awe,” Kringle said. “He’s forgotten more about golf than most people will ever know. If he’s spending time with you, he’s focused on you. He’s a rare breed.
“It’ll be 95 degrees, he’ll run a three-hour junior clinic, then come back and work with veterans,” he added. “His devotion is incredible.”
Grochmal, humble as always, shrugs that off. “I’ve been in worse places,” he said.
Just as the conversation was wrapping up, and I was setting up to grab a few pictures before trekking back eastward, Grochmal stopped me and wanted me to demonstrate my grip using one of his clubs.
So, there we stood out in the elements, smiling, offering some of his advice to somebody he had just met, pointing out the three pressure points the way a man might if his life’s work had never really felt like work at all.
When it comes down to it, Grochmal doesn’t frame his career in terms of accomplishments, even though there’s plenty to point to. It’s his never-ending motivation to share his knowledge and let that and the bonds he’s made over the years define his legacy.
“They’re all friends,” he said of his students. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
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