Next on the Tee: 9-time PGA, Champions Tour champion Tom Purtzer shares golf memories

On this week’s episode of Next on the Tee, host Chris Mascaro welcomes golf instructor Tom Patri; as well as Tom Purtzer, a nine-time winner between the PGA and Champions tours; Pittsburgh Field Club head golf professional Chris Sheehan; and David Moore, the curator of history at Oakmont and Allegheny Country Club.

Patri talks about his 1981 Division II National Championship while he was at Florida Southern and the penalty levied on him and his team in 1980 that cost them the National Championship and how they used that to fuel them to win it the next year. He shares some advice for kids looking to play college golf (and their parents), and he talks about greatness of Andy Bean, who died last month.

Purtzer won tournaments over the course of three different decades, winning in 1977, ‘84, ‘88 and ‘91. We get into one of his professional wins not on the PGA Tour, a 10-stroke victory at the 1979 Japan vs. USA Golf Matches. He also takes us inside his conversation with Ben Hogan at the Champions Dinner prior to the Colonial National Invitational.

Sheehan has worked at some of the most prestigious courses in the country, including Oak Hill, Inverness and Lebanon Country Club. Along his golf journey, he got to work with Bill and Craig Harmon. He talks about the rich history of Pittsburgh Field Club, which is 142 years old and beginning preparation for its 150th anniversary in 2032. We hear about Alexander Findlay’s original course design, plus the Hall of Fame designers who have tinkered with the course over the years like A.W. Tillinghast, Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and Tripp Davis. We also hear the tale of the 18th hole which was transformed from a 275-yard par 4 into a par 3 after a few members died climbing up the steep elevation change from the tee to the green.

Moore tells some fantastic Arnold Palmer stories that give great insight into who Palmer was. He also details the history behind the first 25 years at Oakmont and shares his insights on the origin of the Stimpmeter, the Golf Heritage Society’s National Convention, the work he did at Montclair Golf Club in New Jersey, and an inexpensive DIY project to display autographed golf balls.

Listen: Next on the Tee with Chris Mascaro