Harry Obitz

Harry Obitz has always called Red Cloud home, but his influence and impact on the game of golf has been world-wide. Although copied by hundreds of others since, he was the first to introduce the idea of golf schools to the public, a concept that revolutionized the teaching process.

His “Swing’s the Thing” golf schools were followed by his instructional book with the same title. His many pupils have been President Kennedy and Eisenhower, Fred Waring, Ed Sullivan, Neil Simon, and Mickey Mantle. At the time of his induction, he had been the instructional editor for Golf Magazine since 1953.

Obitz was the golf course architect for the Palm Are Country Club in Boca Raton, FL; Montauk Country Club in Long Island, NY; and Nebraska’s Lochland Country Club in Hastings and Heritage Hills in McCook. He also served as Vice President for the PGA of America from 1947 to 1962.