The Chicago area had its first 18-hole course in 1892 – sooner than any other area in the country. Understandably, that led to an array of notable golf professionals coming through the area. Some were fine players, others great teachers or simply boosters of the sport. And then there was Ed Oldfield, Sr.
Oldfield, who died in Arizona on Jan. 25 at the age of 91, was survived by his wife Lori and three sons, one of whom – Ed Jr. – was a long-time successful teaching professional, too. But there were no other golf professionals in the Chicago area – or probably anywhere else – who built quite the resume that Ed Sr. did.
Oldfield, whose first name was Dwight (no one called him that), ran the golf operation at one of Chicago’s most historic facilities, Glen View Club in Glenview, from 1961 to 1989. That was a major accomplishment in itself, but Oldfield’s legacy goes far beyond that. He was a pioneer in teaching, particularly for the premier women players in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
The best of his proteges was LPGA Hall of Fame member Betsy King, who won 34 times on the LPGA circuit after Oldfield began coaching her in 1980. She worked with him through 2005, when King ended her stellar career as a tournament player.
King started working with Oldfield at the back of the range at Orange Tree, an Arizona facility where Oldfield spent many of his winters. Over the years he worked with many more LPGA players, including Jan Stephenson, Shelley Hamlin, Alice Miller and others.
“When I met him, he was already in his 40s,’’ King said in an interview following his death. “I knew he had played in a few [PGA] tour events, but there were probably 15-20 pros who worked with him. He really enjoyed teaching and helping people, but he connected more with women than men. He was unusual for club professionals. He’d spend all day on the lesson tee, and he was very special to me. He was part of about every one of the tournaments I won, to be honest.’’
Especially one, however.
King caught some flak when she arrived late for the 1989 U.S. Women’s Open at Ironwood, in Michigan.
“I had an outing the week before and didn’t get to the tournament until Tuesday,’’ said King, “so I didn’t play all the holes in practice before the tournament started. I had stayed over in Chicago to get a lesson with Ed. Back then we had a group of pros who would fly Ed out to a tournament for a couple days. Now everybody does that.’’
King won at Ironwood and Oldfield joined her again in the days before her title defense. That stirred a controversy, too, as USGA o icials barred him from walking inside the ropes during practice rounds. King would have none of that. She wanted Oldfield walking with her, and he did.
“Now everybody has their pros inside the ropes,’’ said King. King went on to win another U.S. Women’s Open in 1990.
King’s biggest win was in Bethesda, Maryland, when she took the 1992 Mazda LPGA Championship by 11 strokes and wrapped up the day by high-fiving the fans much like Hale Irwin did during his 1990 win in the men’s U.S. Open at Medinah.
“That was probably my best event over four days as a professional,’’ she said. “He was pretty confident in what he was doing, and one thing was that he was OK with having a swing thought when you went out to play. He didn’t agree with the feeling that you just practiced it first. I found that helpful.’’
King won six major titles, was the LPGA leading money winner three times and became a member of both the LPGA and World Golf Halls of Fame.
Oldfield’s contributions to golf didn’t end with his retirement at Glen View. He moved on to Merit Club in Libertyville where he worked with owner Bert Getz to get the club up and running, including collaborating on the course design. Don Pieper, now in his 33rd year at Merit Club, came with Oldfield after being his assistant at Glen View.
Pieper and Oldfield had connected long before that.
“When I was 11 years old in 1973, I caddied at Glen View Club,’’ said Pieper. “He brought me along to the Merit Club. I owe my professional career to him. When Merit Club opened on July 5, 1992, Ed was the president, and I was the golf professional. He was like a second father to me, and he gave me all the foundation I needed for my career.’’
Oldfield and Getz had an early goal for Merit Club. They wanted to bring the U.S. Women’s Open there, and they did. Australian Karrie Webb won that major title in Libertyville in 2000 (see preceding story).
After that Oldfield spent most of his time in the Phoenix area and was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame in 1997.
“Teaching was Ed’s passion, along with building Merit Club,’’ said Pieper. “Teaching gave him his best job. He realized early on that you were either a player or a teacher.’’
Oldfield turned out to be a great teacher – and a lot more in the golf world.
“He had a unique way of thinking about things,’’ said Pieper. “He always believed that in teaching you trust the process and the results will take care of themselves. He taught that way for 40 years.’