Harvey Morrison Penick (October 23, 1904 – April 2, 1995) 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 p ...

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 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 ...

in 2002, seven years after his death.

Golf career

Penick was born in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. He began his golf career as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

at the Austin Country Club at age eight. He became the club's assistant pro five years later, and after his graduation from high school, was promoted to head professional in 1923, where he remained until 1971. From 1971 on Penick continued teaching at the club, serving as “Professional Emeritus” until his death in 1995. Penick was the

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 ...

coach at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

from 1931 to 1963, coaching the Longhorns to 21

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

championships in 33 years, including 20 out of 23 seasons from 1932 to 1954 (1932–38; 1940–47; 1949–52; 1954). He coached the following members of the

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Career Kite w ...

Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is a retired American professional golfer who has won 19 events on the PGA Tour, including two major championships: the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. He is nicknamed '' Gentle Ben''. Profession ...

Mickey Wright Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright (February 14, 1935 – February 17, 2020) was an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She became a member of the tour in 1955 and won 82 LPGA Tour career events including 13 major champion ...

Betsy Rawls Elizabeth Earle "Betsy" Rawls (born May 4, 1928) is an American former LPGA Tour professional golfer. She won eight major championship and 55 LPGA Tour career events. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Early life and education Raw ...

, and

Kathy Whitworth Kathrynne Ann Whitworth (September 27, 1939 – December 24, 2022) was an American professional golfer. During her playing career she won 88 LPGA Tour tournaments, more than anyone else on the LPGA or PGA Tours. Whitworth was also a runner-up ...

. Other outstanding players coached by Penick include: Sandra Palmer,

Judy Kimball Judy Kimball Simon (born June 17, 1938) is an American professional golfer, best known for winning the LPGA Championship in 1962, a women's major championship. Amateur career Born in Sioux City, Iowa, Kimball graduated from the University of K ...

Wes Ellis Wesley Ellis, Jr. (January 27, 1932 – June 4, 1984) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Ellis was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the University of Texas in Austin and was ...

Terry Dill Terrance Darby Dill (born May 13, 1939) is an American professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and most recently, the European Seniors Tour. Dill won one tournament on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour), the 1 ...

Don Massengale Donald Ray Massengale Sr. (April 23, 1937 – January 2, 2007) was an American professional golfer who won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Career Massengale was born in Jacksboro, Texas. He won the 1958 Texas Amateur ...

Rik Massengale } Rik Massengale (born February 6, 1947) is a former American professional golfer who played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1970–1982. Massengale was born and raised in Jacksboro, Texas. He developed an interest in golf as a result of his older ...

, Davis Love Jr., and Ed White. In 1989, Penick was honored by the

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

as Teacher of the Year.

Author

In 1992, he co-authored (with

Bud Shrake Edwin A. "Bud" Shrake, Jr. (September 6, 1931 – May 8, 2009) was an American journalist, sportswriter, novelist, biographer and screenwriter. He co-wrote a series of golfing advice books with golf coach Harvey Penick, including ''Harvey Peni ...

) ''Harvey Penick's Little Red Book''; filled with insightful, easily understood anecdotes, it became the highest selling golf book ever published. While Penick was a strong all-around teacher of the game, he was perhaps the most gifted instructor of the mental game who ever lived. He advocated that "once you address the ball, hitting it to the desired target must be the only thing in your life. Allow no negative thoughts, and focus on your goal." Penick and Shrake collaborated on four more golf books on similar themes; all sold well. The final three Penick-Shrake books were published after Penick's 1995 death, based on Penick's extensive notes from his lifetime of golf instruction.

Death

During his final illness, he gave lessons from his deathbed to longtime student

. The day after serving as a pallbearer at Penick's funeral, Crenshaw began play in the 1995

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 ma ...

. With the memory and spirit of his longtime friend and mentor to guide him, he became the second oldest Masters champion, winning his second Masters at the age of 43. In the post-tournament interview, Crenshaw said: "I had a 15th club in my bag," a reference to Penick. (The "15th club" reference is based on the golf rule that limits a player to carrying 14 clubs during a round.) Penick died in Austin in 1995. Seven years after his death, in 2002, he was inducted into the

Major works

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penick, Harvey American male golfers Texas Longhorns men's golf coaches American golf instructors Golf writers and broadcasters World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Austin, Texas Writers from Austin, Texas Austin High School (Austin, Texas) alumni 1904 births 1995 deaths