Congrats to Scottie Scheffler

A special congratulations to Scottie Scheffler on his amazing golf year of 2024. A list of his wins:

2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational

2024 Players Championship

2024 Masters

2024 RBC Heritage

2024 The Memorial

2024 Travelers

Olympic Gold Champion

2024 Tour Championship

Scottie, congrats on your historic golf year!

The Professional Who Helped Shape Our Game

There is a good chance that without a Scottish Golf Professional by the name of Stewart Maiden, that East Lake Golf Club would be just another private golf club in the state of Georgia. It would have the pedigree, in the sense that it was founded at the turn of the 1900s and was renovated by Donald Ross in 1913, but the lore of East Lake was built on the backs of two legendary teenage prodigies.

We all know that East Lake was the home of the great Bobby Jones who won 5 U.S. Amateurs, 4 U.S. Opens, 3 Opens and 1 British Amateur. Fewer know that it was also home of Alexa Stirling who claimed 3 U.S. Women’s Amateurs. These two amazing golfers helped put East Lake on the map, but it was a Scottish professional by the name of Stewart “Kilty” Maiden who helped mold these two wunderkinds into champion golfers.

How big was Kilty’s impact on their games? In the word’s of Bobby Jones himself:

"The best luck that I ever had in golf was when Stewart Maiden came from Carnoustie to be pro at the East Lake Club. Stewart had the finest and soundest style I have ever seen. Naturally I did not know this at the time, but I grew up swinging like him. I imitated his style.”

And what about the swing of Miss Alexa Sterling? A wonderful news article from 1924 shares a lovely antidote:

“Miss Alexa Stirling, three times national women’s champion and generally regarded as the leading feminine stylist in golf, also has Stewart Maiden’s swing. In the gallery at Mayfield Country Club, where she won the National Championship of 1920, was a man from Carnoustie, watching her play from a distant tee.

“I don’t know that young woman,” said he, “but I can tell you her teacher . It’s Stewart Maiden.”

From a distance members at East Lake would commonly mistake Bob Jones playing golf, for that of Kilty. Alexa was no different - the blueprint of these two teenage phenom’s swing was that of their Scottish Pro.

It has been said that Bobby Jones never took a golf lesson in his life. Like many things in life, this statement is a grey area. He may have never paid for a lesson, but whenever Jones struggled with his swing he would have good ol’ Kilty to help him find his way- after all it was Kilty’s swing.

A special thanks to the golf professionals out there who helped and still help shape our game.

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Yours in Golf History,

Connor T.