Notable Profiles

William Stephen Flynn

(December 25, 1890 – January 24, 1944)

A prominent golf course architect during the early part of the 20th century.

Flynn was born in Milton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Milton High School, where he had played interscholastic golf and competed against his friend Francis Ouimet. He laid out his first course at Heartwellville, Vermont in 1909 and was then hired to assist Hugh Wilson with completion of the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. He worked as the construction supervisor at Merion and remained on as superintendent for a short time, helping establish the course.

Flynn continued his involvement with Merion for 25 years, perfecting the course. He and Wilson had hoped to form a design partnership, but Wilson’s failing health prevented it. Instead, Flynn partnered with Howard Toomey just after World War I with Flynn the designer and Toomey handling the engineering side of the work. They started their own golf architectural firm, Toomey & Flynn. William Gordon, Robert Lawrence, and Dick Wilson all started out as assistants with the firm of Toomey and Flynn; all later became prominent designers in their own right. Flynn was particularly active around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, producing numerous highly rated courses which compete with each other for attention. Although his body of work is found around Philadelphia, his most recognizable work is outside the area, in places like Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, The Cascades in Virginia, The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and Shinnecock Hills on Long Island.

Edward Bishop Dudley

(February 19, 1901 – October 25, 1963)

An American professional golfer of the late 1920s and 1930s. He was given the nickname, “Big Ed,” in acknowledgment of his 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) frame.

Born in Brunswick, Georgia, Dudley was a 15-time winner on the PGA Tour. After winning both the Los Angeles and Western Opens in 1931, Dudley had his best year in 1933, when he was a quarter-finalist in the PGA Championship and won selection to the Ryder Cup team (having also played on the 1929 team). He won two key matches in the 1937 Ryder Cup, to help the United States win for the first time in England. In a total of four Ryder Cup matches played, Dudley compiled a record of three wins and one loss, across three Cup series; all three U.S. teams he played for (1929, 1933, and 1937) had to travel to Great Britain.

Dudley finished 24 times in the top ten at major championships, and this is a record among players who did not win at least one major. His high finishes in majors include third place at the PGA Championship in 1932 and at The Masters in 1937. In 1937, he became the first player to finish in the top-10 in all four majors in one year, a feat not repeated until Arnold Palmer in 1960.

Dudley served as the first head golf professional at Augusta National Golf Club, from 1932 to 1957, and also served as president of the PGA of America from 1942 to 1948. He was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1990. He was also the club pro at the Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs for over two decades; this shared arrangement was possible because of the mainly mid-autumn through early spring season at Augusta National.

Among Dudley’s most famous students were President Dwight Eisenhower, singer Bing Crosby, and comedian Bob Hope.

Dudley died of a heart attack in Colorado Springs one week after undergoing surgery to remove blood clots from his leg.

Irenee Du Pont

(December 21, 1876 – December 19, 1963)

A U.S. businessman, former president of the DuPont company and head of the DuPont trust.

Lammot du Pont Copeland

(May 19, 1905  – July 1, 1983)

Son of Charles Copeland (March 30, 1867 in Englewood, New Jersey – February 3, 1944) and Louisa d’Andelot du Pont (January 25, 1868 in New Castle County, Delaware – August 10, 1926). They were married February 16, 1904 at St. Amour in Wilmington, Delaware. He was the great-great-grandson of DuPont-founder Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, and the company’s 11th president from 1962 to 1967. He married Pamela Cunningham (May 5, 1906 – January 25, 2001) on February 1, 1930 at Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Seymour Cunningham of Litchfield. Lammot and Pamela had three children: Bouchaine Vineyards winery owner Gerret van Sweringen Copeland, Lammot du Pont Copeland, Jr., and daughter Louisa du Pont Copeland, who married James Biddle.In 1962 Lammot established the Andelot Fellowships at the University of Delaware. He had his portrait painted by artist Salvador Dalí.