Colorado PGA Loses Two Significant Professionals

Warren Smith and Marv Mazone Pass Away

Colorado PGA

In the span of three days Colorado golf lost two of its most prominent PGA Professionals: Warren Smith and Marv Mazone.

One of the most esteemed PGA Professionals the Colorado PGA has ever had, Smith passed on Sunday, May 3, 2015 in La Quinta, Calif., at the age of 99.

Smith's professional career began in 1943 at Seiberling Country Club in Akron, Ohio where he worked for the Goodyear Tire Company during the morning and as the Head Professional of the club in the afternoon and evenings.  Upon returning from service in WWII, Smith took over the Head Professional position at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio, Texas in 1946. He went on to serve the membership at Oak Hills for 16 years before moving to Colorado and becoming the Head Professional at Cherry Hill Country Club in 1963.

Smith was the longest serving Head Professional at Cherry Hills Country Club, having held that position from 1963 to 1990.  He took pride in helping those around him succeed.  During his time at Cherry Hills, sixteen assistant professionals under Smith went on to head professional positions.  In his book, The Pro’s Pro, Smith was noted as saying “I think I have learned as much from my people as they have learned from me.”

No stranger to major championship golf, he played in two U.S. Opens (1963 and '66) and two PGA Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals of match play in 1957. Smith and Cherry Hills Country Club played host to the 1976 U.S. Senior Amateur, the 1978 U.S. Open, 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur , the 1985 PGA Championship, and the 1990 U.S. Amateur.

In 1973, Smith became the first Colorado PGA Member to receive an honor from the PGA of America as he was named the 1973 Golf Professional of the Year.  That same year he was awarded a red jacket and honorary lifetime membership from the Cherry Hills—a distinction that, at the time, had been granted to President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Arnold Palmer, who presented Smith with his jacket. In 1978, six years after its inception, Smith was named to the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.  The Colorado PGA’s lifetime achievement award was named in his honor and he was its first recipient in 1986. Smith was named to the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

Known far and wide as “Marvelous,” Marv Mazone passed away Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

Marv served the Hyland Hills Parks and Recreation District for 32 years before he retired in 2009.

The first twenty of those years he served as the Head Professional and the final twelve as the Director of Golf. Under his direction, the Courses at Hyland Hills expanded from the original 18-hole layout with a 9-hole par-3 course, to its current 27-hole regulation, plus two par 3 course configurations. During his tenure at Hyland Hills Mazone was the recipient of honors, awards and recognition on the local, regional and national level, hosting a great many prestigious golf events, including national championships such as the 1990 USGA Women's Public Links.

Marv Mazone has mentored accomplished golfers, including 16 of his staff who have gone on to become PGA Head Golf Professionals – as well as young golfers. His commitment to young players through the District's Junior Golf Program has made him a beloved figure in the neighborhood and golf community.

In 1989, Mazone won his first Colorado PGA award as he received the Public Merchandiser of the Year award.  In 2009 the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011, he was named the Colorado PGA’s Warren Smith Award Winner, honoring achievements throughout a PGA Professional’s entire career.

RELATED LINKS

Charlie Sifford Was a True Pioneer

The Greatness of Billy Casper

Calvin Peete Dies at 71

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.