Otto Gustave Albert Hackbarth (March 11, 1886 – July 24, 1967) 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 ...

and club maker who played in the early-to-mid 20th century. His best performances in

major golf championships The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the major championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the most prestigious tournaments in golf. Historically, the national open and amateur championships of Great Britain a ...

were a T7 finish in the 1912 U.S. Open and a T9 showing in the 1919 PGA Championship. Hackbarth placed fourth in the 1913 Western Open and finished T4 in 1919.

Early life

Hackbarth was born on March 11, 1886 in

Granville, Wisconsin Granville was a town located in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. One portion was incorporated as the village of Brown Deer in 1955; the remainder consolidated with the City of Milwaukee in 1956, and became a neighborhood of Milwauk ...

, "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6FS-D89 : accessed 8 February 2016), Otto Gustava Albert Hackbarth, 1917-1918; citing Cincinnati City no 2, Ohio, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,819,800. the son of Carl Friedrich Hackbarth (1837–1893) and Henrietta Sylvester Hackbarth (1854–1952). He came from a family of golfers—his three brothers, Herman, John, and Alfred were also golf professionals. His brother Herman served as the professional at Little Rock Country Club from 1907–56 and designed a number of courses in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. Among his three brothers Alfred had the best tournament results, posting a number of good U.S. Open finishes including an 11th-place result in

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

when he shot a 69 in the final round at

Columbia Country Club The Columbia Country Club, located in Chevy Chase, Maryland, is the successor of the Columbia Golf Club, which was organized on September 29, 1898 by nine men. Originally there were twenty members. The golf course, which opened in 1911, was desig ...

Golf career

In 1903, Hackbarth was playing out of

Oconomowoc Oconomowoc ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall." The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oc ...

Country Club when he was a contestant in the Western Open in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

that year. He worked as a golf professional at the Hinsdale Golf Club in Chicago and also in St. Louis, Missouri, but his longest posting—from 1916 through 1951—was at Cincinnati Country Club. An expert club maker, he was known for his patented putter design called "the Hackbarth" that he created circa 1910. The putter was

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...

-shafted and had a forked hosel. One example of the collectible putter sold for a

hammer price In auctions, the buyer's premium is a charge in addition to the hammer price (i.e. the winning bid announced) of an auction item, or lot. The winning bidder is required to pay both the hammer price and the percentage of that price called for by the ...

of $5,000 in a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

auction in 2007. The great amateur,

Chick Evans Charles E. "Chick" Evans Jr. (July 18, 1890 – November 6, 1979) was an American amateur golfer of the 1910s and 1920s. Evans, who won the 1910 Western Open, became the first amateur to win both the U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur in one year, a f ...

, used the putter as did prolific tournament winner Arthur Bartlett from Iowa.

1912 U.S. Open

The 1912 U.S. Open was held August 1–2 at the

Country Club of Buffalo A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. Amherst is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. This represents an increase from 122,366 as reported in the 2010 census. The second ...

, a suburb east of Buffalo. Hackbarth carded rounds of 77-77-75-76=305 and finished tied for seventh place with Jack Dowling. Both players won $45 in prize money. John McDermott won the tournament finishing two strokes ahead of runner-up Tom McNamara. Otto Hackbarth Golf Clubs

1919 PGA Championship

In the 1919 PGA Championship Hackbarth nearly upset eventual tournament winner

Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) to win three di ...

in the second round, losing by the slim margin of 3 and 2 after being 3 holes up after the first 18 holes of a 36-hole

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

pairing. In the second 18-hole portion of the match Hackbarth experienced some difficulties. At the 4th hole his approach shot landed in a bunker and he hit his next shot thin, launching the ball into another bunker on the other side of the green; he scored 6 losing the hole. On the lengthy 9th hole Hackbarth battled back by laying a fine

stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

and won the hole, Barnes being unable to hole a chip shot over the ball of Hackbarth which was blocking the hole. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the match as "the proverbial close shave". Hackbarth also played in the

1920 PGA Championship The 1920 PGA Championship was the third PGA Championship, which is now considered one of golf's major championships. It was held August 17–21 at the Flossmoor Country Club outside Flossmoor, Illinois, a suburb south of Chicago. The field of 32 ...

, losing in the first round.

PGA Seniors' Championship

Hackbarth won the 1940

PGA Seniors' Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

held at the North Shore Club in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, beating

Jock Hutchison Jack Falls "Jock" Hutchison (June 6, 1884 – September 27, 1977) was a Scottish professional golfer. Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the son of William and Helen (née Falls). His name was registered as John Waters Hutchis ...

in a second 18-hole playoff. The players had tied on 74 in the first playoff and were required to play another 18 holes to determine the winner. In the second playoff, Hackbarth carded another 74 to Hutchison's 75. In 1938 Hackbarth finished second in the same event, losing in a playoff on that occasion to Fred McLeod.

Death and legacy

Hackbarth died on July 24, 1967 in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, aged 81. He was buried in Summit Cemetery in Summit, Wisconsin. In his Last Will and Testament he bequeathed $1,000 each to a number of friends and relatives but left others nothing at all. In the Will, he fully explained why each of those not receiving money were being left out. He said quite matter of factly, "they will understand". In 2004, he was inducted into the Southern Ohio PGA Hall of Fame.

Results in major championships

''Note: Hackbarth never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.'' NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
? = Unknown
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackbarth, Otto American male golfers Golfers from Wisconsin People from Granville, Wisconsin 1886 births 1967 deaths