FEATURE
By John Beisser
New Jersey’s own John Joseph “Johnny” Kinder, head professional at the esteemed Plainfield Country Club in Edison, N.J., from 1936 to 1956 until his untimely death at age 47, holds the distinction of being one of two golfers to tee off in the first group at the first Masters Tournament played in 1934.
In some accounts, it’s been reported that Kinder struck the very first shot. Other media reports say his playing partner, Ralph Stonehouse, hit the first drive.
Regardless, Johnny Kinder is far more than the answer to a trivia question. His name is pronounced “Kinn-der,” but the more obvious pronunciation (“kind-er”) might have suited him just as well. By all accounts, he carried himself with a genuine warmth, putting people at ease and leaving a lasting impression on those he encountered.
Whether he was teeing it up with his close friend, Yankees great Phil Rizzuto, or sharing a room with entertainers like Jimmy Durante, Kinder had an easy, quick wit and a natural sense of ease, equally at home in any company.
Oh, and he could play some golf too.
What’s known to be fact is that on March 22, 1934, at 10:02 a.m., the first group to tee off at the inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament (the name was changed to the Masters in 1939) consisted of Kinder and Stonehouse. At 10:36 a.m., the incomparable Masters founder Bobby Jones teed off alongside two-time PGA champion and fellow World Golf Hall of Fame member Paul Runyan.
Horton Smith won the initial event by sinking a birdie putt at No. 17 (now No. 8 as the nines were reversed the following year) for the win over Craig Wood to take home the winning prize of $1,500. Kinder carded a 32nd-place finish at 15-over par in what ultimately stood as his only appearance at the Masters.
At Plainfield Country Club, history tends to stick. It shows up in the names attached to events, in stories passed from one generation to the next, and in the standards set by those who came before. Few figures are tied more closely to that identity than Kinder, who first announced his arrival on the New Jersey golf scene while a student in 1923 at Bloomfield High School when he won the New Jersey Caddies Tournament.
For two decades, Kinder served as the club’s head golf professional, building a reputation as both a top-level competitor and a steady leader. His résumé includes four New Jersey PGA championships, three New Jersey State Open titles, and a long run representing the club in regional and national events.
But around Plainfield, the Bloomfield, N.J., native’s impact is measured just as much in relationships as it is in trophies.
When Plainfield went looking for a head professional in late 1935, not surprisingly, the position drew serious interest. Among the applicants were stars that included the likes of Byron Nelson, Vic Ghezzi, and Jug McSpaden.
The club chose Kinder.
He was just 26 years old when he was named head pro on January 1, 1936, after serving as an assistant at several New Jersey clubs, including Green Brook, Glen Ridge, Montclair, and Jumping Brook.
Kinder would remain in his role at Plainfield until his death in 1956, following a brief illness related to an ulcer condition. It’s no coincidence that Kinder’s leadership came during a period when Plainfield was well on its way to establishing itself as one of the top clubs in the state, featuring a Donald Ross-designed layout that, to this day, is perennially ranked among the top 100 courses in the nation.
“I remember hearing his name early in my tenure here as we’ve had for many decades a prize fund event (the O’Loughlin-Kinder Cup) named for the club’s first two professionals that still goes on today,” Paris continues. “And both of them (Marty O’Loughlin was Plainfield’s first head professional from 1918 to 1935) were incredible players and represented the club extremely well.”
Shortly after Kinder arrived, he teamed with Plainfield member Charles Whitehead to form one of the most successful pro-am combinations in state history as their names frequently appeared together on leaderboards and in newspaper headlines across New Jersey.
David Walker, 91, a longtime Plainfield member who won the club’s first junior club championship in 1954, is one of the few people still living who knew Kinder personally.
“I was very young (21 years old) when he died, so I didn’t have a lot of exposure to him on a social level,” Walker says. “I remember him as an outgoing individual and a very good teacher. We played some rounds together, but mostly I caddied for him. I also caddied for Whitehead on occasion. At some point, I started taking lessons from Johnny Kinder.”
Asked to describe his game, Walker replies, “I would say Kinder was a shotmaker, like a Lee Trevino-type. He was a very good iron player and a good short game player and putter.”
Asked if he preferred to fade or draw the ball, Walker remarked, “He could hit it any way he had to or wanted to.”
One example stayed with him.
The story takes place on the tee box at the famed 11th hole at Plainfield, a saddle-shaped, severely sloped 148-yard, do-or-die par 3, featuring a dramatic false front and significant back-to-front tilt. If there’s one hole guests recall from a round at Plainfield, it would likely be the 11th.
Landing a ball short guarantees it rolling back into the front bunkers. A shot struck long is worst of all as there’s a steep cliff just over the green inviting double-bogey – or worse. For decades, the hole has been referred to jokingly as “the shortest par-5 in New Jersey.”
Kinder’s tournament record included wins in the New Jersey State Open in 1930, 1931, and 1940, along with appearances in PGA Tour events throughout the 1930s and 1940s. On the national level, he qualified for multiple U.S. Opens, with strong finishes, like T21 in 1931 and T40 in 1936, and PGA Championships that included a host of match-play wins.
Away from competition, Kinder kept things simple.
“My father was a very down-to-earth person, and we never felt celebrity in our house,” says his lone surviving daughter, Helen DeMarco, 86, who was just 16 years old when he died. “He was just Dad who went to work every day on a golf course.
“I will always be indebted to the members of the Plainfield Country Club,” she adds, “because after my father died, they paid for my entire college career at the University of Delaware.”
Some of her clearest memories came from time spent outside the farmhouse where Plainfield’s head professionals lived, located on the West Nine, a nine-hole public course owned by the club, located directly across the street, which remains operational to this day.
“He called me ‘Stretch’ because I had long legs,” DeMarco recalls. “After dinner he would say, ‘I’m going to shoot a few balls so come on, Stretch. We’re going to go outside, and you’re going to catch them for me.’”
He would give her a bag, and then she would have to get the ball after he hit it. “I’d say, ‘Daddy, can’t you shoot them all in one place,’ and he’d laugh and say, ‘Honey, then you’d never get any exercise.’”
She also remembered how people responded to him.
“My father was a very kind and very fair person. And I know that anyone who worked under him became extremely loyal. They would do just anything for him.”
One memory in particular stands out vividly some 70 years later.
“I remember at his funeral, there was a young black gentleman in line, all alone, and when he got up to the coffin, he saluted, bowed, and left,” she recalls. “The next day, I see him outside the window of the car on his bicycle following us up to the cemetery. I never knew who he was. But he was someone, perhaps a caddie, who was obviously affected by my father. So, that always stayed with me.”
This story echoes a line from Rudyard Kipling’s 1910 poem If that reads, “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch … you’ll be a Man, my son!” Kinder was clearly such a man.
His name remains attached to club traditions. His impact is still reflected in how the club operates and how it views its members.
During his tenure at Plainfield, Kinder was elected president of the New Jersey PGA, reflecting the deep respect he earned for his integrity, skill, and able leadership. In 1983, he was posthumously inducted into the New Jersey PGA Hall of Fame, honoring his lasting impact as a champion, mentor, and ambassador for the game.
An exceptional player, respected professional, and steady-handed leader, Johnny Kinder’s story isn’t defined by a tee time at the Masters Tournament or the trophies he collected but by the quiet, enduring imprint he left on Plainfield Country Club during a lifetime cut way too short.