Sam Snead

Lore & Background

Snead's nicknames included 'The Slammer', 'Slammin' Sammy Snead', and 'The Long Ball Hitter from West Virginia', and he was admired by many for having a 'perfect swing', which generated many imitators. Snead was famed for his folksy image, wearing a straw hat, and making such statements as 'Keep close count of your nickels and dimes, stay away from whiskey, and never concede a putt,' and, 'There are no short hitters on the tour anymore, just long and unbelievably long.' Fellow West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Campbell has said of Snead, 'He was the best natural player ever. He had the eye of an eagle, the grace of a leopard, and the strength of a lion.' Gary Player once said, 'I don't think there's any question in my mind that Sam Snead had the greatest golf swing of any human being that ever lived.' Jack Nicklaus said that Snead's swing was 'so perfect ... and the most fluid motion in the game of golf'.

In Their Own Story

The August air at Augusta hung thick and still, the azaleas long past their bloom. Snead stood over a twelve-foot putt on the 12th green, the flagstick trembling in a breeze that had no business existing in a Georgia summer. He was sixty-two. His knees ached. The gallery had gone quiet in that particular way that means they were holding their breath, waiting to see if the old man would finally let the moment slip.

He didn't look at the cup. He looked at the line, felt the break in his feet, and then he turned his shoulders — a full, unhurried turn that seemed almost casual, like a man winding up to toss a ball to a dog. The putter swung through with a crack that made a young spectator flinch. The ball tracked true, kissed the edge of the cup, and dropped.

Snead didn't cheer. He simply nodded, tucked his putter under his arm, and walked toward the next tee with the unhurried gait of a man who had been doing this for forty years and intended to do it a few more. Behind him, the roar built, but he was already thinking about the 13th, about the wind, about the line. The Slammer had spoken. The rest was just golf.

Reader's Guide

Born in Ashwood, Virginia, near Hot Springs, Snead began caddying at age seven at The Homestead's Old Course in Hot Springs. He worked as an assistant pro at The Homestead at 17 in 1929, then moved to the Cascades Course and turned professional in 1934. During the depression, Snead taught himself the game of golf from a set of clubs carved from tree limbs. Snead joined the PGA Tour in 1936 and achieved immediate success by winning the West Virginia Closed Pro tournament. In 1936 he won two matches at the Meadow Brook Club, earning a $10,000 prize. In 1944 he became resident playing professional at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and maintained ties to Hot Springs and The Homestead all of his life. During the winter, he was a resident playing pro at the Boca Raton Resort from 1956 to 1969. Each spring he returned to the Mid-Atlantic, stopping at The Masters Tournament on his way back to The Greenbrier. Snead served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1942 to 1944. He was an athletic specialist in Cmdr. Gene Tunney's program in San Diego, and was given a medical discharge for a back injury in September 1944. Snead appeared as himself in an episode of The Phil Silvers Show, 'The Colonel Breaks Par', in 1957. His nephew, J. C. Snead, was also a successful professional golfer, winning tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Did You Know?

• Snead never won the U.S. Open, though he was runner-up four times.
• He was credited with winning 82 PGA Tour events, tied with Tiger Woods.
• Snead won seven major championships, including three Masters, one Open Championship, and three PGA Championships.
• He was born in Ashwood, Virginia, not Kentucky.
• Snead last won the Masters in 1954, not 1975.