01선수와 설계가로 골프계에 헌신한 빌리 마틴데일의 생애
PGA 투어에서 활동했던 전설적인 골프인 빌리 마틴데일(Billy Martindale)이 향년 88세의 나이로 별세했다. 그는 현역 시절 선수로서 활약했을 뿐만 아니라, 은퇴 후에는 골프 코스 설계가로서도 독보적인 업적을 남기며 평생을 골프 발전에 헌신해 왔다.
마틴데일은 과거 PGA 투어 무대를 누비며 프로 골퍼로서 탄탄한 경력을 쌓았다. 투어 선수로서 치열한 승부의 세계를 직접 경험하며 얻은 필드에 대한 깊은 이해와 통찰력은 그가 나중에 코스 설계가로 성공적으로 변신하는 데 핵심적인 밑거름이 되었다.
선수 생활을 마친 뒤 그는 골프 코스 설계 분야에 뛰어들어 수많은 명문 코스를 설계하며 제2의 전성기를 누렸다. 그는 자연과 조화를 이루면서도 골퍼들의 도전 정신을 자극하는 전략적인 코스들을 설계해 많은 이들로부터 찬사를 받았으며, 현대 골프 코스 디자인의 수준을 한 단계 높였다는 평가를 받는다.
그의 별세 소식에 PGA 투어와 동료 골프인들은 깊은 슬픔을 표하며 고인의 명복을 빌고 있다. 선수이자 설계가로서 골프 역사의 한 페이지를 풍성하게 채운 빌리 마틴데일의 정신은 그가 남긴 수많은 골프 코스와 함께 후대 골퍼들에게 오래도록 기억될 것이다.
02Original (English) — PGA TOUR
Billy Martindale sat in the clubhouse at Lakewood Country Club on Sunday afternoon at the 1964 Greater New Orleans Open, watching the action unfold. He had just shot a final-round 68, capping a 10-under weekend, and the Texan was the clubhouse leader. Martindale, in his second year on Tour, knew how much it would help his career if both Bruce Devlin and Dick Mayer could find ways to par the closing hole. That would get him into a sudden-death playoff.
Things didn’t work out as Martindale hoped. Mayer made his last stroke of the day count as the veteran chipped in for birdie from 30 feet to dramatically win the title over Martindale and Devlin.
As it turned out, that week in New Orleans was one of several close calls for Martindale during his brief PGA Tour career.
The native of Jacksonville, Texas, died Nov. 4 at age 88 from complications of a lung-related disease. Martindale claimed two other second-place finishes on Tour, always while wearing his trademark horn-rimmed glasses. At the 1965 Sahara Invitational in Las Vegas, Martindale shot the best closing-round score by any player that season, a 63, on the strength of birdies on eight of his final 11 holes, only to finish behind Billy Casper. His other runner-up performance of 1965 came at the Almaden Open, where he fell two strokes shy of winner Bobby Verwey. A year later, Martindale tied for third at the 1966 Thunderbird Invitation Classic after holding the 54-hole lead.
Explaining his distinct eyewear, he told Golf Digest in 1965, “I wore contact lenses until I got caught in a little sand storm (in Oklahoma) in 1964. Sand got in my eyes, and it was irritating. I’ve used regular glasses since.”
Born Sept. 10, 1938, Martindale first made a name for himself by shooting a gun. In 1947, he finished second at the National Junior Skeet Championship. A year later, he won top honors, and he was a national champion again in 1950. At the 1948 nationals in Houston, Martindale set a sub-juniors world record by hitting 96 of 100 targets.
While excelling at shooting, Martindale also began playing golf at Jacksonville Country Club. He eventually put down his 20-gauge shotgun to focus on golf, taking lessons in nearby Tyler, Texas. In 1956, he led his Jacksonville High School team to the state golf championship, won the Texas State Junior Amateur and finished fourth at the Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota.
Martindale originally signed to play collegiate golf at Southern Methodist University, but he transferred from the Dallas school during the middle of his freshman year to play for Texas A&M coach Henry Ransom, a former PGA Tour player. Martindale helped lead the Aggies to a sixth-place team finish in the 1960 national championship and a fifth-place showing during his final season. In September 1961, he joined the U.S. Army as a commissioned second lieutenant based at Fort Benning in Georgia. While in the service, Martindale won the Columbus (Georgia) City Golf Championship and finished second at the 1963 Army Golf Championship. Upon discharge, he joined the PGA Tour as a rookie for the 1964 season.
In 1968, during his final full Tour season, Martindale and fellow pro Don January began discussing building a golf course together, which led to his retirement from the Tour and a pivot in career plans. The duo purchased land in Dallas, and construction began almost immediately. Along with course architect J. Press Maxwell, the threesome created Royal Oaks Country Club, which the Texas Golf Hall of Fame inducted into its Historic Register of Courses. Royal Oaks is the longtime home course of Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer.
Following his touring days, Martindale served as SMU’s head golf coach for five seasons, from 1970-74. He led the Mustangs to top-10 NCAA finishes in both 1972 (eighth) and 1973 (10th). Throughout the remainder of his life, Martindale continued his business career, building, designing or redesigning more than 20 golf courses and working in oil and gas exploration, real estate and ranching.
Martindale is survived by his wife, Sharon; daughter Molly Barns (John), son Mart (Corey) and his sister, three-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress Margo (Bill). He also leaves four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.