Hoos, an Erie native and longtime resident of Boulder, had been battling leukemia.

“It’s with a very sad heart to say that my very best friend, a loving husband and dad, George Hoos, passed away today, surrounded by his family,” son Eric wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “He’s affected so many people’s lives in such a positive way it’s unbelievable. He was a great teacher and mentor and will be sorely missed but never forgotten. Love you so very much and everyone already really misses you. Play away dad.”

(George Hoos is pictured with wife Jean.)

Hoos played golf at CU under coach Les Fowler from 1953-55, with the Buffs winning the Big 7 Conference title in 1954, when Hoos placed third individually and teammate Keith Alexander won the tournament. CU shared the conference crown in 1955. Hoos also played on two Buffs’ teams that competed in the NCAA Championship Finals as CU placed 15th in 1954 and 31st in ’55. Hoos was CU’s top finisher at the ’55 nationals.

Hoos served as the boys golf coach at Fairview High School in Boulder for 30 years, starting in 1960, and led the Knights to state team titles in 1969 and ’73. In addition, three Fairview players won individual state championships in a five-season stretch — Pete Dawson in 1969, Tim Brauch in 1970 and Bob Byman in 1973.

Byman remains one of the most accomplished junior golfers in state history. Now a Colorado Golf Hall of Famer, he won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 1972 while still in high school, defeating Scott Simpson in the finals. That same year, he qualified for the U.S. Open, which was held at Pebble Beach, where Jack Nicklaus won.

Also during his high school years — age 16 to 18 — Byman won three consecutive CGA Amateurs, joining Hale Irwin as the only players to have pulled off that feat. And in 1973, he earned the individual state high school title while Hoos’ Knights earned the team championship.

“Bob was 16 going on 26,” Hoos once said. “He was a very mature player at that point. He had all the shots, and the head to go along with it. He was a hard worker, good competitor, super organized and mature beyond his years. We had other kids that played very well, but they weren’t the whole package that Bob was.”

Hoos also helped establish the girls golf program at Fairview.

Two of Hoos’ own kids became very accomplished golfers in their own right and were tour professionals for a time. Son Eric won a Web.com Tour event in 1991 and was the longtime head coach of the University of Denver men’s golf program. And daughter Kristine (now Kristine Franklin) won the CGA Women’s Stroke Play in 1986 and recently captured the title in the CGA Women’s Senior Stroke Play.

After that win in August, Franklin dedicated the victory to her dad.

“I really wanted to do this for my dad,” said Franklin, who returned to competitive golf just last year after a layoff of 18 years. “I just can’t wait to tell my dad (about winning).

“I get so much joy from watching my kids play. I didn’t realize that back when I played that my parents got that much joy.”

One of Franklin’s sons — and George Hoos’ grandsons — is Walker Franklin, who’s among the top junior golfers in the state and who plays his high school golf at Prospect Ridge Academy. Franklin’s other son, Jaxon, used to play golf at Prospect Ridge, where Eric is now the head coach of the boys program and Kristine an assistant coach. Jon Hoos, another son of George Hoos, has had three of his kids play golf at Legacy High School — Morgan, Andrea and Grant — and Andrea currently competes in college golf at The Citadel in South Carolina. Jon Hoos himself played golf at Fairview and at Scottsdale Community College before later becoming a club professional.

Services for George Hoos are planned for Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Boulder (3485 Stanford Ct.).
 

Jack Vickers, who founded both Castle Pines Golf Club and The International PGA Tour event that was held there for 21 years, passed away on Monday in Castle Pines. He was 93.

Vickers, who also made his mark on a variety of other sports in Colorado, was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1995. As a Denver Post headline aptly called Vickers in a 2013 story, he was a “Colorado sports shaker and mover”.

“We lost a tremendous friend today in Jack Vickers — not only a friend to Barbara and me, but a great friend to the game of golf,” Castle Pines course designer Jack Nicklaus said on Facebook Monday. “I have known Jack Vickers since I was 18 years old, when I played in the 1958 Trans-Miss. at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. It would be pretty hard not to remember the first time Jack and I played golf. It was at Muirfield Village Golf Club in the mid-70s — not long after it opened. Jack made a hole-in-one on the 16th that day. I think it was the first one made on the golf course.

“Jack was someone who cared deeply about the history and the traditions of the game of golf, and wanted to protect them for the future. Jack was always a huge supporter of the game — whether it was in Colorado or nationwide; whether it was the game played at the highest level or his support of grassroots programs. Simply put, Jack Vickers was very good for the game of golf. Jack was a good man, and very well-liked by all.
Jack always handled himself incredibly well, and always with integrity. He was a very good man, and I’m blessed to say he was my friend.

“When Jack got ready to do his own golf course at Castle Pines Golf Club, I was flattered and honored that he asked me to be his designer. The golf course at Castle Pines is a very good one — challenging, beautifully maintained, and located in a fantastic spot. People seem to love it and we’re proud of it. My hope is Castle Pines will forever stand as a tribute to Jack Vickers. I know that through Castle Pines, a wonderful relationship with Jack Vickers only grew. He was involved from day one and until his passing. Everyone at Castle Pines loved Jack Vickers.”

Vickers’ most visible contribution to golf in Colorado was, of course, The International at Castle Pines Golf Club, which opened in 1981. The event ran from 1986 through 2006. It featured a unique modified Stableford scoring system, which promoted aggressive play as a birdie and a bogey were worth more than two pars. The tournament produced quite a few big-name champions including including Greg Norman, Davis Love III (twice), Phil Mickelson (twice), Vijay Singh and Ernie Els.

In addition, among the competitors over the years were Tiger Woods (twice), Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Hale Irwin, Nick Faldo, Ray Floyd, Ben Crenshaw, Payne Stewart, Bernhard Langer, Nick Price and John Daly. (Vickers and Nicklaus are pictured at left.)

“The words that come to mind (when reflecting on Vickers’ legacy) are ‘visionary’ and ‘innovation’,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate. “I have a much greater appreciation today than I did when The International started about how much courage it takes to do some of the things he did. He really pushed the envelope and tried to create something brand new and outside the box. That’s who he was.

“Those were arguably the best years in terms of the profile of golf in Colorado when we had a regular Tour stop here. Having just started working at the CGA in 1988, I just sort of assumed that that was normal. Now I’ve seen since The International has gone away that it was not normal.

“It’s a loss for sure. He was also smart enough to recognize at the end that (golf) can’t compete with football. He had very good instincts for sure.”

In an interview with the Denver Post in 2013, Vickers reflected fondly on The International. The event formally went into the history books in early February 2007, when PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and Vickers announced the event’s demise at a Denver-based news conference. The end came due in large part to the lack of a title sponsor, with Woods’ often bypassing the tournament being another significant issue.

“I miss it,” Vickers told the Post in 2013 regarding The International. “I still think about The International a lot. If I got involved and there were the right circumstances, I’d like to revive it. I belong to a lot of clubs around the country, and I’ll put (Castle Pines) up against any of them. If I did another tournament tomorrow, it would go right on and it would be first-class.” (Vickers is pictured at left, in a red tie, at a 90th birthday celebration for journalist Kaye Kessler, who’s sporting a beige pullover.)

Beyond the entertainment The International produced, over the years its non-profit arm donated about $14 million to charities in Colorado and elsewhere.

“The other thing The International did that I was always appreciative of was that they became a very big sponsor of the CGA,” Mate said. “The Boys & Girls Clubs were always talked about (as beneficiaries), but they also made annual contributions to the CGA that (Vickers) was responsible for which led to a nice junior golf endowment fund, which now has about $300,000 in it that we use for junior golf. A good chunk of that money came from The International. And when we started our newsletter, The International sponsored it. They did a lot of great things for us for sure.”

Vickers’ contributions to the PGA Tour were acknowledged in 2014 when he became the 11th recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award on Sept. 4 during the BMW Championship that Cherry Hills Country Club hosted that year.

The Tour’s Lifetime Achievement Award honors individuals “who have made outstanding contributions to the PGA Tour over an extended period of time through their performances on the golf course as well as their actions off the course in serving as ambassadors of the game.”

Prior recipients had included some of golf’s biggest names: Gene Sarazen (1996), Byron Nelson (1997), Palmer (1998), Sam Snead (1998), Jack Burke (2003), Pete Dye (2005), Deane Beman (2007), Nicklaus (2008), President George H.W. Bush (2009), and Gary Player (2012).

“Jack Vickers was a gracious host of The International for 21 years and remains a great ambassador for golf with a strong commitment to charity,” Finchem said at the time. “Castle Pines’ spectacular mountain setting and the modified Stableford scoring system made The International one of the most unique tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule and a favorite among our players for its unmatched hospitality. Jack’s selection will be celebrated by everyone he touched, including the many hundreds of Tour players he befriended at his tournament.”

When the inaugural International was announced, it featured a $1 million purse, the largest in PGA Tour history at the time.

Even in its post-International days, Castle Pines Golf Club is considered one of the top courses in the U.S., currently checking it at No. 42 on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 100 greatest courses.

Golf was by no means Vickers’ only foray into sports in Colorado. He was a majority owner of the NHL’s Colorado Rockies; helped found the University of Colorado’s Flatirons Club, a major fundraiser for the school; and helped sponsor Irwin at the beginning of his professional career. He also was involved in early attempts to bring major league baseball to the Centennial State.

Besides the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, Vickers was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame and the Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame.

Vickers also was named the 2003 Ambassador of Golf by Northeast Ohio Charities as part of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

(Updated Oct. 3: Memorial services for Vickers will be held Oct. 12 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Englewood, 8035 S. Quebec St. Donations in Vickers’ honor can be made to Catholic Charities through the Archdiocese of Denver, 6240 Smith Road, Denver, Colorado 80216, or the Jack A. Vickers Boys & Girls Club, 3365 Holly Street, Denver, Colorado 80207.) 
 

Bolster served as president, the CWGA’s top volunteer position, in 1992. She played a key role in the hiring of Robin (Elbardawil) Jervey as executive director, leading the search committee. Jervey, who succeeded the CWGA’s first executive director, Maggie Giesenhagen, went on spend 22 years as the association’s top staffer, by far the longest tenure of anyone in that position. (Bolster, at right in photo, is pictured in 2014 with Jervey.)

Bolster, who was elected CWGA president in November 1991, was a strong leader of the association. Besides being president, she was a vice-president, chaired the association’s Rules Committee and served on the Course Rating and Handicap Committee at various times. She proudly volunteered for the CWGA until she and husband Bill moved to Arizona in 1998, and a CWGA necklace was her pride and joy.

While in Colorado, Bolster was a longtime member and ardent golfer at Fox Hill Country Club in Longmont.

Bolster grew up in Huntington, W. Va., and attended Marshall University. Hannah and Bill married in 1961 and spent the next 17 years in Saginaw, Mich., before moving to Colorado. Bill predeceased Hannah.

Dr. Homer McClintock, a former member of the CGA Board of Governors who played a key role in the acquisition of the Evans Scholars house for caddies at the University of Colorado in the late 1960s, passed away on Thursday. He was 11 days shy of his 100th birthday.

Just last year at his home club of Cherry Hills Country Club, McClintock received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

McClintock played an important role behind the scenes in the CGA’s Eisenhower Scholarship linking up with the Western Golf Association’s Evans Scholarship in the 1960s. And he was one of three CGA officials on hand back in March 1969 when the E.S. house at 1029 Broadway in Boulder was first dedicated after being purchased from the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity the previous November.

Back in the ’60s, McClintock served as scholarship chairman of the CGA, and he and then-CGA president Dick Campbell and chapter house committee chairman Sonny Brinkerhoff played pivotal roles in finding and acquiring the house and getting it ready for the group that was then known as the Eisenhower-Evans Scholars. With the CU E.S. house having undergone a $6 million renovation and expansion in recent years, McClintock’s grandson, Keane, is an Evans Scholar there after caddying at Cherry Hills.

“The Evans Scholars program is really good, and it was run in the best way possible,” McClintock told coloradogolf.org last year. “The selection meetings (in which scholarship finalists are interviewed) are always very interesting, understanding what some of these kinds have gone through to get the scholarship. It’s fascinating and unbelievable.

“It’s such a great opportunity (for caddies). They don’t just get tuition, but they become part of a program that’s great.”

McClintock served on the CGA board of governors from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, a time when the association was greatly expanding its reach and services.”¨”¨In addition, McClintock was the club president at Cherry Hills in 1963 and ’64, and in 1977 leading up to the 1978 U.S. Open. He also played a key role in the hiring of Warren Smith as PGA head golf professional at the club. In 2005, Smith was inducted into the national PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame.

McClintock received a lifetime membership in the Colorado PGA in 1977. Homer’s son, Rich, served as chairman for the 1983 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 1990 U.S. Amateur, both at Cherry Hills.

At one of the most historic clubs in Colorado, McClintock had been a member about 65 years and was the oldest living member at Cherry Hills, according to current PGA head golf professional John Ogden.ӬӬ

“He’s probably one of the most respected members in the history of that club,” Ogden said last year before McClintock received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. “He’s the most inspirational guy you’ll ever see — 98 years old (at the time), plays golf whenever he can, hits balls, works out every day, still goes to medical conferences. He was one of the first neurologists in Denver. He’s a neat guy. I love Homer. He’s just the best.”¨”¨

“If I’m that sharp (as McClintock was) in 10 years I’ll be happy. He’s a treasure at Cherry Hills, a true treasure. There’s not one person in that club who will speak anything but great (things) about Homer McClintock.””¨

McClintock was a Navy physician in the Pacific during World War II — he served with amphibious forces — before going on to become a neurosurgeon. A resident of Colorado since the early 1950s, McClintock was a very good golfer for most of his long life. He played on the University of Pittsburgh golf team in the late 1930s and was good enough to compete in the British Amateur in 1960.

McClintock first shot his age (or lower) when he was 79 years old as he carded a 74 in a member-guest. Last year, he said he’s managed the feat “over 25 times”.

“My lowest handicap was about a 3,” McClintock said then. “I was never a great golfer, but I enjoyed it.

“Golf is a great game. You play it in great locations and you meet nice people. It’s a great game for everybody.”

The McClintock family has asked that, in lieu of flowers, donations in Homer McClintock’s memory be made to the Evans Scholarship program in care of the CGA (5990 Greenwood Plaza Blvd #102, Greenwood Village, CO 80111).

(Updated Oct. 18: A celebration of life for McClintock is scheduled for Nov. 3 at 11 a.m. at Cherry Hills Community Church, 3900 Grace Blvd., Highlands Ranch. A reception will follow at Cherry Hills Country Club.)
 

A Denver native and a former member at Denver Country Club and Hiwan Golf Club, Sweeney once dominated the senior amateur competition at the Colorado Open. When the tournament was held at Hiwan, Sweeney claimed seven senior amateur titles from 1983 to ’91.

Sweeney also teamed with now-Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Larry Eaton to win two of the first three CGA Senior Four-Ball championships — in 1983 and ’84.

In addition, Sweeney was a member of the inaugural senior amateur team for the Colorado Cup Matches in 1983, when the senior ams defeated their professional counterparts.

Sweeney was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1933 and graduated from Regis University. He helped run the advertising agency Fox, Sweeney & True in Denver.

A burial mass for Sweeney will be held Thursday (April 6) at 10 a.m. at Risen Christ Catholic Church (3060 S. Monaco Parkway in Denver), with a reception immediately following at the same site.

Memorial donations can be made to Porter Hospice Foundation, 2525 S. Downing Street; Mason Hall — 2nd Floor; Denver, CO 80210. For online donations, CLICK HERE.

For more information on Sweeney’s life, CLICK HERE.
 

Hamer, a Mississippi native and Lakewood High School alum who played golf for the University of Colorado from 1962 to ’64, was one of Colorado’s top amateur players in the 1960s and early ’70s — an era which also featured such luminaries as Hale Irwin, Les Fowler, Larry McAtee and Jim English.

Hamer, a longtime member at Boulder Country Club, won the CGA Amateur in both 1969 and ’70 and he remains one of just four players since 1960 to have captured that title in back-to-back years, joining Irwin, Bob Byman and Kane Webber.

“It’s a sad day for BCC and the Colorado golf community,” Boulder Country Club director of golf Kevin Bolles said in an email.

“I just remember how great a competitor he was,” added longtime friend and fellow Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gary Potter, with whom Hamer won three CGA senior team championships.

Indeed, Hamer at one time had aspirations of becoming a PGA Tour player. And he certainly had some game. At the 1963 CGA Amateur (then known as the CGA Stroke Play), Hamer posted a very respectable score of 6 under par for 72 holes. The only problem was, there was one player better than him in the field — a guy named Irwin, who was 15 strokes in the distance.”¨ “I remember thinking there was probably a few other guys out there like Hale, so that ended those thoughts (of turning pro),” Hamer later told the (Boulder) Daily Camera. “If I had known how good Hale was, though, I might have tried it.” Irwin, of course, went on to win three U.S. Opens.

But Hamer, who worked as an investment advisor in Boulder, more than held his own in the Colorado amateur ranks. Besides winning the ’69 and ’70 CGA Amateur, he prevailed in the 1992 and ’96 CGA Senior Amateur and qualified for the 1993 U.S. Senior Open that Cherry Hills Country Club hosted. In addition, Hamer finished third in the Colorado Open in 1969, the year he was named state amateur of the year.

And at Boulder Country Club, competing against players such as Fowler and 1962 CGA Match Play champion Ray Pierson, Hamer won 15 BCC club championships.

Hamer was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

“His record of championships won speaks for itself and his conduct on the course speaks to his character as a gentleman,” fellow Hall of Famer Gary Longfellow once noted.

No services are planned for Hamer, who lived with wife Gayle in Surprise, Ariz., in recent years. The Hamers’ son Ty is the general manager and head golf professional at Quail Dunes Golf Course at Fort Morgan. Also surviving John is daughter Shannon.
 

For the fourth time since late May, the Colorado golf community lost one of its most notable members as Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Bill Bisdorf passed away last Monday (Sept. 19) in Denver at the age of 87.

Ironically, the man who was born exactly four months before Arnold Palmer in 1929 died just six days before The King did on Sunday.

In winning three of the first four Colorado Opens at Hiwan Golf Club in Evergreen, Bisdorf is one of just three players who have captured that title at least three times, along with Dave Hill (four wins) and Bill Loeffler (three).

Bisdorf (pictured) was runner-up to Bob Pratt in the 1966 Colorado Open, meaning his first four finishes in the tournament were first, first, second, first. He was also second in 1975 (placing just in front of Peter Jacobsen), third in 1971 and fifth in ’72.

Add it up and that’s seven top-five finishes in the first dozen Colorado Opens. He also won the the 1959 and ’66 Colorado Section PGA Championships, the 1960 Wyoming Open and the 1965 Mile High Open.

Ronn Spargur, a former longtime executive director of the Colorado Open, noted that Rocky Mountain News golf writer Dave Nelson — who’s also in the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame — had a nickname for Bisdorf back in his prime.

“He called him ‘the blacksmith’ because (Bisdorf) could hit the ball two or three miles,” Spargur said. “He was really strong.”

Indeed, it’s said that Bisdorf out-drove Jack Nicklaus during practice leading up to the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine Country Club.

Not surprisingly, Bisdorf was named the Colorado PGA’s Player of the Year following his first two Colorado Open victories (1964 and ’65). He also claimed the championship in 1967. Interestingly, Bisdorf didn’t receive any official prize money for winning the first Colorado Open as there was no purse that year. And it’s notable that the runner-up that first year, amateur Jim English, also passed away in the summer of 2016. In ’65 and ’67, Bisdorf won $1,000 and $1,200, respectively, for his Colorado Open victories.

Bisdorf competed in 46 events on the PGA Tour from 1956 to ’71, including a career-high 14 in 1957. He posted two top-10 finishes, including a third place in 1956.

Bisdorf played 16 major championships over the years — 10 PGA Championships and six U.S. Opens. He finished tied for 20th — along with Raymond Floyd — in the 1967 PGA Championship at Columbine.

And after the creation of the Senior Tour — now known as PGA Tour Champions — Bisdorf competed in nine events on that circuit from 1980 to ’86, recording three top-25 finishes.

A member of the PGA of America since 1955, Bisdorf served as the head professional at Green Gables Country Club from 1959 through ’67. He later owned Denver Capitol Golf, where golfers could receive year-round lessons, then was head professional at Twilight Golf Course from 1979 to ’89.

Bisdorf was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 1989. Since May, fellow Hall of Famers Will Nicholson Jr., English and Ed Nosewicz have also passed away.

Norma Bisdorf, Bill’s wife, said there will be no services, but half of his ashes will be placed at Fort Logan Cemetary. Bill Bisdorf served in the Navy and played on Naval Championship teams along with Billy Casper and Gene Littler during the early 1950s. 

Bisdorf is survived by Norma, five children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
 

Almost annually, Heiny qualified for and competed on the CGA’s senior amateur teams that played the Colorado PGA professionals in the Colorado Cup matches. In fact, he made the CGA senior Colorado Cup team 15 times from 1992 through 2008.

And Bob and son Erik were one of the most successful teams in the history of the CGA Father/Son (now known as the CGA Parent/Child). The Heinys won the event three times (1989, ’91 and ’92). Only Gary and Alex Kephart (four-time champions) have claimed the title more.

Bob Heiny also won more than 10 club championship at Highland Hills Golf Course in Greeley.

Earlier in life, Heiny played both golf and basketball at Colorado College. While at CC, he won two conference titles and qualified twice for the NCAA tournament.

Heiny, who earned degrees over the years from Grand Junction High School, Mesa College, Colorado College and Colorado State University, spent his 48-year career teaching at the University of Northern Colorado, serving as a professor of mathematical sciences.

While at UNC, Heiny served as NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative for 23 years and was the interim athletic director in 2004. The school inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

This week, UNC announced it will honor Heiny during the 2016-17 athletic season. As Heiny was a big fan of wearing shorts regardless of the weather, all UNC coaches will wear shorts during the first regular-season home contest for each sport. And game-day staff also will don shorts during UNC’s football opener on Sept. 3 in Greeley. Also, UNC created an honor, the Dr. Bob Heiny’s Bear Pride Award, which will be given annually to the person who has made the greatest impact on UNC student-athletes.

In the wake of Heiny’s passing, donations may be made to the UNC Foundation-Bob Heiny Memorial or to TRU Hospice of Northern Colorado in care of Allnutt Funeral Service, 702 13th St., Greeley, CO 80631.