Ernest Orville Vossler (November 29, 1928 – February 16, 2013) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

; he later prospered in the fields of

golf course design A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The ...

and construction,

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

management services and

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

. Vossler was born and raised in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, where he played on the Pascal High School

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

team. Vossler turned professional in 1954 and began play on the PGA Tour in 1955. His best finish in a major championship was T-5 at the 1959 U.S. Open. As his full-time touring days were winding down, Vossler became a club pro and worked at

Southern Hills Country Club Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. History The club was established in 1935 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips (Frank Phillips, Waite's brother, was the namesake and fo ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, and later Quail Creek Golf & Country Club in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. He was named "PGA Golf Professional of the Year" in 1967.Inaugural PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame prepared to open its doors
/ref> He later became involved in a series of businesses relating to golf course development starting in 1971. Some of his business partners include former tour players Joe Walser, Jr. and

Johnny Pott John Francis Pott (born November 6, 1935) is an American professional golfer. Pott was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and reared in southern Mississippi, where he learned to play golf on the course where his father was the club professional. He ...

. In 1974, Vossler and Walser founded the Oak Tree Golf Club, now known as

Oak Tree National Oak Tree National, formerly called Oak Tree Golf Club, is a golf and country club located in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma. The course was designed by Pete Dye, and it opened in 1976. It plays to a par 71. The course Like other cour ...

, which has hosted the 1988 PGA Championship and is scheduled to host the 2014

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

. He was the Chairman of Landmark Golf, a golf/real estate development firm serving the southwestern United States. Vossler was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005. Vossler was married to

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

Marlene Hagge Marlene Hagge (née Bauer; born February 16, 1934) is an American former professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA in 1950. She won one major championship and 26 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the Worl ...

. He died in

La Quinta, California La Quinta ( Spanish for "The Fifth") is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells and Indio, it is one of the nine cities of the Coachella Valley. The population was 37,467 at the 2010 c ...

in 2013.

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (1)

* 1960

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossler, Ernie American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Texas Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas People from La Quinta, California Deaths from dementia in California 1928 births 2013 deaths