Stewart Maiden (February 13, 1886 – November 4, 1948) was the head golf professional at

East Lake Golf Club East Lake Golf Club is a private golf club 5 miles east of downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1904, it is the oldest golf course in the city. East Lake was the home course of golfer Bobby Jones and much of its clubhouse serves as a tribu ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was best known for teaching grand slam winning golfer Bobby Jones.

Early life

Maiden was a native of

Carnoustie Carnoustie (; sco, Carnoustie, gd, Càrn Ùstaidh) is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of 11,3 ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and followed his brother

James Maiden James Cameron Maiden (1 October 1881 – 13 January 1958) was a Scottish-American professional golfer. He was born in Carnoustie, Scotland, the son of a payroll clerk at a local foundry. He emigrated from Scotland to the United States in 1901. He ...

to the United States, succeeding him as the head professional at

in 1908. Maiden was the son of James Maiden and Elspeth Maiden née McLean. His father James worked as a payroll clerk at a metal foundry in Carnoustie.

Golf career

Along with Jones, Maiden is known for teaching other golfers such as

Watts Gunn Watts Gunn (January 11, 1905 – November 5, 1994) was an American amateur golfer. He had a long golf career that began in his high school days at Lanier High School in Macon, Georgia. He went on to become a successful player in college at Ge ...

and

Alexa Stirling Alexa Stirling Fraser (September 5, 1897 – April 15, 1977) was an American-Canadian amateur golfer. She won the U.S. Women's Amateur golf championship in 1916, 1919, and 1920. She also won the Canadian Women's Amateur title in 1920 and 1934. ...

. Maiden made Jones his first set of matched clubs. As a young boy, Jones followed Maiden around the course at East Lake and fashioned his swing after the professional. In 1919 Maiden left East Lake, having been replaced by

Willie Ogg Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...

, to accept a post as professional at the

St. Louis Country Club St. Louis Country Club (SLCC) is a country club located in Ladue, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is recognized by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as one of the first 100 Clubs in America. Club history Founded in 1892 as a polo cl ...

Ladue, Missouri Ladue is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,989. Ladue has the highest median household income of any city in Missouri with a population over 1,000. Geo ...

. Jones said about Maiden later in his life, "The best luck that I ever had in golf was when Stewart Maiden came from Carnoustie to be pro at the East Lake Club. Stewart had the finest and soundest style I have ever seen. Naturally I did not know this at the time, but I grew up swinging like him. I imitated his style, like a monkey I suppose". Maiden opened an indoor golf school in New York in 1930 and then returned to Atlanta to become the first professional at the then newly opened Peachtree Golf Club in 1948.

Death and legacy

Maiden died on November 4, 1948 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Harvey Penick Harvey Morrison Penick (October 23, 1904 – April 2, 1995) was an American professional golfer and coach, who coached many Hall of Fame players. Late in life, he became a best-selling writer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in ...

said of Maiden: "I've always said the best golf teacher of all has to be Stewart Maiden."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maiden, Stewart Scottish male golfers American male golfers Golfers from Carnoustie Sportspeople from Angus, Scotland Golfers from Atlanta Scottish emigrants to the United States 1886 births 1948 deaths