Schmidt, Walker make the Hall
Golf administrators earn fame the old-fashioned way
he two newest members of the
But there are other ways to earn golf
fame, and now former WSGA executive
director Tom Schmidt of Brookfield and
longtime rules official, volunteer and ad-
ministrator Arnold Walker of Fox Point
have been recognized for their behind-
the-scenes efforts to enrich the game in
Wisconsin. Schmidt and Walker were
elected in May as the 81st and 82nd in-
ductees into the WSGA Hall of Fame,
which was established in 1964.
Schmidt, 65, retired as WSGA executive
director last year. A former dentist, Schmidt
joined the WSGA in 1997 as tournament
director after giving up his practice because
of degenerative arthritis in his elbow. He
succeeded Gene Haas as executive director in 2000 and served in that capacity
through the end of 2010, when new
WSGA executive director Rob Jansen was
hired to replace him.
When the WSGA Hall of Fame committee
T
gathered in May, something strange
happened.
“I was asked to leave the room, and I
didn’t know what was going on,” Schmidt
said.
The reason? He himself was being considered for induction.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Schmidt
said. “It’s a very humbling experience. I
guess it wasn’t really ever something I
thought about.”
A native of Mukwonago, Schmidt was
caddie master at Rainbow Springs GC
when the Mukwonago club hosted the
1966 Women’s Western Open. Schmidt
carried the bag of tournament winner
Mickey Wright himself as she won the last
of her 13 major championships.
As a player, Schmidt won the Midwest
Collegiate Conference title while at Mar-
quette University and was club champion
at Merrill Hills CC in 1972. In 1984, he
won the WSGA Bestball title and played
“It’s a very humbling experience. I
guess (the Hall of Fame) wasn’t really
ever something I thought about.”
— Tom Schmidt
Tom Schmidt
Arnold Walker
to a 2-handicap. Unfortunately, arthritis in
his elbow forced him to learn to play left-
handed. That’s when he decided to remain
involved in the game, but solely behind
the scenes.
“I certainly think that one of them was
the fact that we were able to get the
(Wisconsin) PGA and the large golf
associations in Wisconsin under one roof,”
Schmidt said of the WSGA’s move to Golf
House in West Allis in the fall of 2006. “It
took a number of years to get that accom-
plished. The other is the fact that we have
expanded our golf tournaments to include
more handicapped events, so now there
are tournaments available to more players.”
After all of his years of service, Schmidt
will take his place alongside Wisconsin
greatest golfers.
