Walter Hagen was the greatest professional golfer during the Roaring Twenties and he holds the Jungle course record score of 64. He lived at 320 Park Street South, about one mile from the Jungle golf course, and was president of the Bear Creek Country Club (now the Pasadena Yacht and Country Club).
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1924: Walter Hagen (pictured with wife Edna) wins his second British Open. He was president and part owner of the Bear Creek Country Club in Pasadena-on-the-Gulf at this time. _________________________________________________________ Walter and Edna seemed to be a happy couple in 1924, but by 1927 the marriage had unraveled, much like the Pasadena-on-the-Gulf development. In divorce papers, Hagen claimed that Edna left him on March 5, 1927 in St. Petersburg. |
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His company was the first to manufacture a club called a sand wedge. This club had a unique design with a concave face for hitting/scooping a ball out of a sand trap.
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| Concave sand wedge drawing from 1928 patent application. |
From 1928 to 1930, the sand wedge was popular. But in 1930 golf organizations banned concave clubs because the ball often made contact twice with the face of the club.
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The sand wedge originally sold for $10. Production stopped in 1930, but used clubs occasionally are listed on eBay for about $400.
Here are some photos of Steve of the Jungle with his Walter Hagen concave sand wedge on the former Jungle golf course. Ironically, a sign at that location now reads "Hitting Golf Balls Prohibited."
