George Von Elm

George "Gix" Von Elm (March 20, 1901 – May 1, 1961) was an American professional golfer most noted for his amateur career. He was selected by Golf Digest as Utah's greatest amateur golfer, and in the early 1960s was named Utah Golfer of the Century.

From 1924 to 1931, Von Elm was among the best players in the world. In the 1920s, he worked primarily in the financial and insurance industries, and later designed several golf courses.

Early life Born in Salt Lake City to Jacob H. and Marie Demmer Von Elm, he began his golf career as a caddie on the old Salt Lake Country Club course, where he was coached by professionals Louis Berrien and Willie Lock. He later refined his game at the Forest Dale Golf Course.

Von Elm attended West High School,

Amateur career In 1921, Von Elm won the Pacific Northwest Men's Amateur in a final round that pitted the young Utahn against veteran Chandler Egan in what was described by the Salt Lake Tribune as "one of the most sensational matches in the history of northwest golf." He repeated as winner of that tournament the following year. He captured the 1920 Trans-Mississippi Amateur title, and lost in the finals of that event the next year.

Von Elm settled in the Los Angeles area in the early 1920s, but moved back to Utah shortly afterwards, taking a job in a bank. He was suspended by the United States Golf Association from amateur competition for one year, in late 1921, for accepting golf tournament expense money from friends who were Utah golf club members; this was against the rules.

After serving his suspension, and returning to the Los Angeles area, he joined the Rancho Golf Club, at that time a private facility, and was coached there by pro Arthur Clarkson. He successfully represented Rancho in interclub matches, leading to several team titles in southern California, and won many of the prestigious club invitational titles in the region. Von Elm often played exhibitions and team matches with 1921 British Amateur champion Willie Hunter, also a Rancho member and the club secretary. As his fame grew, he was invited to join such legends as Walter Hagen and Tommy Armour for exhibition and challenge matches, raising significant sums for charity; as an amateur, Von Elm could not accept prize money from these events. The following year Jones eliminated Von Elm in the semifinals, at the Oakmont Country Club. But Von Elm persisted, and in 1926 succeeded in defeating Jones, who had already won the British Open and the U.S. Open that year, to collect the U.S. Amateur title in September at the Baltusrol Golf Club in northeastern New Jersey. A record-breaking crowd of 10,000 erupted with cheers as, in the words of an Associated Press reporter, "The monarch of golf was toppled from his amateur throne...by flaxen-haired George Von Elm...in one of the most stunning upsets of links history." Von Elm, who became the first champion from west of the Mississippi River, was presented with a new car by members of the Rancho Park Golf Course, his home club, upon his return to Los Angeles following the Amateur victory; Jones received a similar gift from Sarasota, Florida golfers that same year, following his wins in the two major Opens.

The win in the national championship capped a superb golf year for Von Elm. Earlier he had played a key role in the American defeat of the British in Walker Cup competition, by halving the final and decisive match over the Old Course at St Andrews, and had tied for third place in the British Open with the famous professional Walter Hagen at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.

Von Elm's most sensational result was as runner-up to pro Billy Burke in the 1931 U.S. Open at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. After tying Burke with a birdie on the 72nd and final hole of regulation, he competed the next day in a 36-hole playoff, again tying with a birdie on the last hole. This set up a second 36-hole playoff the next day, which Burke won by a stroke. Steel shafts had been legalized in the U.S. beginning in 1924. Von Elm had used his normal hickory-shafted clubs in this championship, and complained afterwards that the true essence of the sport of golf was being diminished by the new shaft technology, which took away from traditional shotmaking talent, and made missed shots significantly less penalizing. However, steel shafts were much cheaper and were easier to replace, making the sport much more accessible for a greater range of the population.

Von Elm ran a successful non-golf business, selling insurance and investments, which generated enough income to fund his amateur golf career during the 1920s. Von Elm stated in 1930, when he turned professional immediately following the U.S. Amateur, that it had cost him an average of $10,000 per year to play his extensive amateur golf schedule; being based in California raised his expenses significantly, since most important American events were held in the East during this era. Von Elm stated that the 1929 stock market crash hurt his business success, and led to his decision to become a businessman golfer the next year, thereby leaving amateur competition, but he retained his business interests. One letter, from after Von Elm's death in 1961, indicated the depth of Von Elm's hatred.

Professional career Von Elm turned professional in September 1930,

As a professional, he played out of the Los Angeles area, and won some big-money tournaments, including the 1936 Southern California Open and the 1938 California State Open. The latter event was classified as an official PGA Tour event during the 1920s and 1930s.

Von Elm also remained in the financial services industry, but business became difficult due to the Great Depression.

For his record in PGA Tour events, Von Elm is officially credited with five victories, eight second-place finishes, and five third-place finishes, along with 37 finishes in the top ten and 55 finishes in the top 25.

Von Elm moved to the Lakeside Golf Club in the late 1930s, after the Internal Revenue Service shut down the original Rancho club. He oversaw the reconstruction of five holes at Lakeside following damage caused by flooding in 1939. In the late 1940s, he consulted to the City of Los Angeles, in the development of an entirely new Rancho club—this time called Rancho Park Golf Course—which became a municipal facility; it was designed and built from scratch by William P. Bell and William Johnson.

Von Elm was invited to the Masters Tournament by his great amateur rival Jones in 1951, well past his playing peak, but a significant honor. In 1952, he was named the tenth most important amateur golfer in U.S. history, by a panel of PGA members and sportswriters, marking the half-century list. Later he moved to nearby Pocatello, where he directed the design and construction of golf courses in adjacent Alameda and at the Sun Valley resort near Ketchum. According to the important golf course design reference The Golf Course, written by Geoffrey Cornish and Ronald Whitten in 1981, Von Elm is credited with designing the Airport GC in Idaho (1957) and the Mount Ogden municipal course in Utah, the original nine holes at Sun Valley in Idaho, and with remodeling the Hacienda Country Club in California. He is credited with developing the Shadow Mountain club in Palm Springs, California, as well as the Juniper Hills and Highland courses in Idaho. and Billie Dunn (m. 1957).

Two George Von Elm Memorial golf tournaments are played in his honor. From 1962, the Memorial event at the Blackfoot GC in Idaho has been played annually, while the Rancho Park Golf Course, now a municipal facility, in Los Angeles also holds an annual Memorial event named for him. He was inducted in 2007 in the inaugural class to the Southern California Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins this list may be incomplete 1917 Utah Amateur 1920 Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Utah Amateur 1921 Pacific Northwest Amateur, Utah Amateur 1922 Pacific Northwest Amateur, 1925 Southern California Amateur, California State Amateur, Hillcrest C.C. Invitational 1926 U.S. Amateur 1927 Southern California Amateur

Other wins (1) this list may be incomplete 1936 Southern California Open

Major championships Amateur wins (1) YearChampionshipWinning scoreRunner-up 1926 U.S. Amateur 2 & 1 Bobby Jones

Results timeline Amateur Professional Note: Von Elm did not play The Open Championship (as a professional) or the PGA Championship.

NYF = Tournament not yet founded NT = No tournament CUT = missed the half-way cut R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play "T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances Amateur Walker Cup: 1926 (winners), 1928 (winners), 1930 (winners)