Herbert H. Ramsay

Herbert Hartley Ramsay (February 16, 1887 - January 27, 1939) was an American attorney and golf administrator. He was president of the United States Golf Association and was responsible for enacting policies that were key in shaping competitive golfing as it is known today.

Early life

Ramsay was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but lived in Lake Charles, Louisiana while growing up and moved to Los Angeles, California after his freshman year of college. He was the son of Katherine Penoyer and William E. Ramsay, a lumberman with The Bradley, Ramsay Lumber Company which operated in both Michigan and Louisiana. His nickname was "Tack" because his older brother was "Spike", and he was a littler version of a spike or a tack. While at Phillips, he was captain of the golf team and manager of the football eleven. He attended Yale University, receiving a B.A. in philosophy in 1908. He was the USGA secretary in 1925 and vice president in 1928 through 1930. He also chaired every USGA committee. In both 1929 and 1930, in addition to being elected vice president, he was also chairman of the rules of golf committee, chairman of the championship committee, chairman of the publicity committee, and a member of the implements and ball committee. In 1930, his duties took him from the Walker Cup matches in Britain to the U.S. Open in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to the women's championship in Los Angeles, California.

Ramsay was also USGA president when the size and weight of the golf ball were reduced. Ramsey said, "We believe the 1932 ball, from all aspects, is the most desirable golf ball that can be built." Ramsay said, "If it weren't for the Green Section we wouldn't have any golf."

Ramsay was the CBS Radio sports announcer for the 1934 Masters Tournament, stepping in for Graham McNamee who was unavailable. This first Masters and only the second time that a golf tournament was broadcast live—the first being the 1930 U.S. Open. Ramsay not only "put on a swell job of broadcasting, [but also] pronounced it one of the greatest golf shows he had ever seen."

Personal Ramsay married Constance McCall, the daughter of New York Supreme Court Justice Edward Everett McCall, on September 12, 1925, in East Hampton, New York. They had two sons: Allan Ramsay and Hartley Ramsay.

He was a member of the Cloud Club, the Coffee House Club, the St. Anthony Club of New York, and the Yale Club of New York City.

In 1939, he died at the age of 52 in Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.