Harvey Penick (1904-1995), golfer, the youngest of five sons of Daniel, a city employee, and Molly Miller Penick, was born in Austin on October 23, 1904. At age eight he began caddying at the Austin Country Club; at thirteen he became an assistant professional; and in 1923, upon graduating from Austin High School, became head professional of the club, then located at the site that became Hancock Park. In 1929 he married Helen Holmes, of Whitesboro, and they had a daughter and a son. A solid competitor in regional tournaments, Penick often claimed that watching young sensation Sam Snead convinced him to concentrate on teaching. From 1931 to 1963 Penick coached, mostly without pay, the University of Texas golf team to twenty-two Southwest Conferenceqv titles and from 1932 to 1934 was president of the Texas chapter of the Professional Golfers Association. He moved to ACC's Riverside Drive location in 1950, retired to Golf professional emeritus status in 1971, and in 1984 relocated with the club to its present site on Lake Austin. A broken back in 1972 resulted in degenerative arthritis and increasing immobility and pain in later years. He died on April 2, 1995, at his home near ACC. Penick was part of the first American generation to succeed the English and Scottish professionals who brought the game to the United States. His conversation was frequently flavored with firsthand references to Jimmie N. Demaret, Mildred "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias,qv Walter Hagen, and other pioneers of the big-money professional tour. His regional, national, and then international fame, however, came as a teacher, who mastered and conveyed the fundamentals to beginners, duffers, and tournament professionals, including Texans Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite and six of the thirteen members of the Ladies Professional Golfers Association Hall of Fame. His instruction emphasized clear communication, devoid of complex analysis and attuned to each pupil's makeup. His use of real-life images, like swinging a bucket of water, allowed him to "guide learning" rather than dictate. Among others, Tommy Armour, often considered the greatest teacher, bestowed that title on Penick. In the 1930s Penick began recording observations in a red Scribbletex notebook, tabbed according to subject, i.e., "hooks," "slices," "putting." Intended strictly as a teaching aid, he decided to confide its contents to writer Bud Shrake. The result, despite Penick's deteriorating physical condition, was the collaborative Harvey Penick's Little Red Book (1992), the all-time best-selling sports book that remained on the New York Times best-seller list for fifty-four weeks. There followed two more books (with Shrake), And If You Play Golf You're My Friend (1993) and For All Who Love the Game: Lessons and Teachings for Women (1995), instructional tapes, a teaching facility named for him, and three lines of clubs. He was inducted into both the Texas Golf Hall of Fame (1979) and the Texas Sports Hall of Fameqv (1984), was the PGA's first National Teacher of the Year (1989), and received a posthumous resolution in the Texas House of Representatives (1995).

(By James A. Wilson)

From Publisher

Harvey Penick's life in golf began when he started caddying at the Austin, (Texas), Country Club at age eight. Eighty-one years later he is still there, still dispensing wisdom to pros and beginners alike. His stature in the golf world is reflected in the remarkable array of champions he's worked with, both men and women, including U.S. Open champion and golf's leading money winner Tom Kite, Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, and LPGA Hall of Famers Mickey Wright, Betsy Rawls, and Kathy Whitworth. It is not for nothing that the Teacher of the Year Award given by the Golf Teachers Association is called the Harvey Penick Award.

Now, after sixty years of keeping notes on the things he's seen and learned and on the golfing greats he's taught, Penick is finally letting his Little Red Book (named for the red notebook he's always kept) be seen by the golf world. His simple, direct, practical wisdom pares away all the hypertechnical jargon that's grown up around the golf swing, and lets all golfers, whatever their level, play their best. He avoids negative words; when Tom Kite asked him if he should "choke down" on the club for a particular shot, Harvey told him to "grip down" instead, to keep the word "choke" from entering his mind. He advises golfers to have dinner with people who are good putters; their confidence may rub off, and it's certainly better than listening to bad putters complain. And he shows why, if you've got a bad grip, the last thing you want is a good swing.

Throughout, Penick's love of golf and, more importantly, his love of teaching shine through. He gets as much pleasure from watching a beginner get the ball in the air for the first time as he does when one of his students wins the U.S. Open.

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book is an instant classic, a book to rank with Ben Hogan's Modern Fundamentals of Golf and Tommy Armour's How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time.