hello there I’m Shane odono and I’m about to go on a golfing Voyage of Discovery to find out more about an iconic American golfer who was massively famous in the 1920s but what’s most intriguing about him is his backstory because his parents came from a little town about 50 mil from here [Music] I’m leaving my home county of tieri headed due north to neighboring County leash and the town of Baris and oer where the real story of Hall of Fame golfer Johnny Farrell truly begins so in May of 2020 I was contacted by a lady called Mary Kay Wilson who it turns out was the granddaughter of the great Johnny Farrell the winner of the US Open in 1928 now what she was curious about was any extra detail that I could glean about the exhibition match that he played in The Hermitage Golf Club in 1929 when he was the reigning US Open Champion so I was intrigued not only about his golfing prowess but also about his Irish roots for a kid in rags to grow up and experience this luxurious lifestyle because of the game of golf gave him tremendous Pride but also a sense of Duty to the game’s an incredible player player of 1927 and had eight wins in a row a three-time Ridder CER US Open winner and then a legendary career as a club professional as well and famous character and famous gentleman without a question one of the finest G I ever met in my life and above all an extremely extremely conscientious family man what a man Johnny frell is an old friend I first met Johnny frell at balol but I knew of his record Johnny was a good player everybody had great respect for and had a great record in his days now I’m driving to a townland called Kyle about 3 miles from Boris to the graveyard where Johnny’s grandparents are buried and to meet four of his cousins to begin with I didn’t know anything about Johnny until an uncle of mine he told me the story about Johnny and then as as years went by I began to sort of research it more and more Johnny’s dad and Johnny’s mother left at a very young age to go to America they weren’t married at the time and they married in the states for these young people to head off to America at that time must have been like something you know movie James Farrell and Katherine Breen immigrated from Ireland in 1895 they married and settled in New York and had three children James Margaret and young Johnny after James’s untimely death the young family found themselves alone in a new world under pressure as immigrants struggling to make ends meet by the time Johnny was eight he decided to leave school to earn money and followed his older brother Jimmy to saoi Country Club to run errands shag balls and learn to caddy so Johnny had to go out and seek work at a very young age and that’s what he did taught himself how to play golf and then gradually over the years it was apparent that he had a fantastic aptitude for golf it must be in the jeans because it’s percolated down our side of the family over here there’s a lot of good golfers there as well spotted by the renowned amateur Jerome Travers he availed of lessons from the great man who would go on himself to win the US Open in 1915 at balter’s role Travers was the one who rounded up a group of investors from from the Quaker Ridge membership to fund Johnny Farrell’s initial exploits on the new PGA circuit although windless for his first couple of years he continued to improve and won the admiration of all of the top players like Jean sarzen and Tommy armor pictured here so much so that when he entered the 1927 season he was almost Unstoppable who play a better game and you folks that are just about to take up the game my game pointed by observing my play but it was 1928 that would define his career the 1928 US Open was held at Olympia Fields outside of Chicago and Johnny found himself tied with the crown favorite and iconic figure amateur Bobby Jones after 72 holes this me a 36-hole playoff the next day which was a Sunday that Sunday the final 36 hole playoff with Bobby Jones was going to interfere with mass Bobby Jones agreed that Johnny should attend bass as a result Bob and Johnny started the playoff a little later than they had planned I think it’s safe to say he had a very blessed round after that for Johnny Farrell to win the 1928 US Open he beat the great Bobby Jones at the peak of his powers he birdied the final two holes of the 36 hole playoff to beat Jones by one quite frankly it’s the stuff of fairy tales this is the seventh tea at Hermitage Golf Club in Lucan just a couple of miles from Dublin City Center and it was here in 1929 that Johnny Farrell took part in an exhibition match Johnny Farrell retired young aged 33 from the grind of tournament play he settled into a new life with his wife Katherine and their family as the head pro at the prestigious baltis Ro Golf Club in New Jersey a position he would hold with distinction for 43 years during his time there he would coach celebrities like Joe dagio the former King of England Edward VII and was tutored to five US presidents the rise of Johnny Farrell is the quintessential American success story but its roots lay here on the emerald aisle Irish as Irish can be of course nature and nurture is genes are Irish and then molded by America and the opportunities that America gave to a young boy like him we didn’t have anything and had to go out and fend for himself and learn something and make something of himself and that’s the American story extraordinary story when I did my research it became clear to me that there was an oversight and that he absolutely deserves to be in in the World Golf Hall of Fame so I’m so glad that I was approached back then and that the committee agreed with the history books that Johnny is a totally deserving member of the Hall of Fame to start in rags and to have this story end in riches it’s just more than anybody could have ever imagined
Golf Babe
