Perhaps the most surprising thing about Jim McLean being inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame recently is how unsurprising it was. In fact, many people thought the 75-year-old native of the Pacific Northwest was already a member of that august shrine. And that makes sense when one considers all that McLean has accomplished in golf.
Start with a playing career in which he won multiple tournaments as a junior and then earned a full golf scholarship in 1968 to the University of Houston, where his teammates included Fuzzy Zoeller, John Mahaffey, Bruce Lietzke and Bill Rogers. Blonde and blue-eyed, McLean won three college tournaments as a Cougar and was an All-American in 1972. He also qualified for four U.S. Amateurs and a pair of U.S. Opens and competed in the 1972 Masters, making the cut and finishing tied for 43rd.
By the time he received his degree from Houston, having studied economics and business, McLean figured he would make his living on the PGA Tour. But after coming up short in two attempts to earn his card, he decided instead to concentrate on teaching.
“Up to that point, I had only been about playing for a living,” said McLean, who had grown up a pitch shot away from the Rainier Golf & Country Club in Seattle, Washington. “But after trying to get through Q-School in 1974, I realized I was kind of mentally fried. I had probably made competitive golf too important in my life and too much a part of my identity.”
So, he decided to pivot, taking a job as an assistant professional at the Westchester Country Club in New York.
“I had never taught before,” McLean said. “But I had picked up a lot about it just by being around the game so much. The club put me in charge of the junior program, and I liked it immediately. Westchester was a wonderful old place with 1,800 members, two 18-hole golf courses and a nine-hole course that was a great place to work with young players. It also hosted an annual PGA Tour event.
“Teaching was a big thing at Westchester, and in the Met [PGA] Section in general,” McLean added. “I taught non-stop at Westchester and found that I really liked it.”
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