Class of 2016

Joe Finger

Lifetime Achievement

This Exhibit is Generously Sponsored by the Albert and Margaret Alkek Foundation

Biography

Joe Finger was born in Houston, Texas, where he lived until retiring to Kerrville in 1988.

Mr. Finger earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rice Institute and a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at Rice, he was a four-year golf letterman, serving as Co-Captain of the golf team that won the Southwest Conference Championship.

In 1941, Mr. Finger began his professional career as a chemical engineer with positions at Pan America Refining Corp (AMOCVO), J.S. Abercrombie & Company, where he was instrumental in the design, startup, and operation of the 100 octane aviation gasoline refinery at Old Ocean, Texas. Despite many attempts to get into the armed forces, he was consistently deferred by the Petroleum Administration for War.

After the war, Mr. Finger began work for Corrulux, where his innovative work with plastic was lauded. Corulux was eventually sold to Libbey Owens Ford Glass Company, where he remained President of the Corrulux Division for four years. He held several patents on the manufacturing process, which is used all over the world. He then turned to his favorite pastime, golf, for his next venture.

Mr. Finger was an accomplished golfer who held the Westwood Golf Club championship for 13 years while developing golf course architecture as a serious hobby. Starting as an unpaid superintendent and doing all of the engineering work for the golf course, he was hired by Ralph Plummer, the Westwood architect, to assist in adding nine holes to their course. Mr. Plummer eventually recommended Mr. Finger apply at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio to lead the renovation. He got the job.

From that humble beginning, he became one of the top golf course architects in the country, as judged by the number of his works included in Golf Digest list of America’s 100 Greatest Courses. His courses from New York, through the southeast, southwest, and into California and Mexico, earned him many honors over the 45 years he spent in the business. He also built nine courses for the Air Force, and his consulting work took him to Canada, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, Spain, Italy, and Germany.

He was particularly honored when Byron Nelson asked him to help rebuild the eighth green at the Masters. During his career, he was a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and served as Director of the National Club Association.

In 1988 he retired, moved to Kerrville, and worked with Byron Nelson to redesign the Riverhill Country Club golf course. His final undertaking was the complete remodeling of the Scott Schreiner Municipal Golf Course in Kerrville.

Birthplace: Houston, Texas

Born: June 4, 1918

Died: September 28, 2003

Legacy Video

Inductee Highlights

Four-Year Letterman Rice University Golf Team.
1939 Co-captain Southwest Conference Championship Team.
Masters from M.I.T. in Chemical Engineering.
Westwood Golf Club - Club Champion Age 17.
Architect of 49 Golf Courses, including 9 Air Force Courses and 36 renovations.
Instrumental in the design, startup, and operation of the 100-octane aviation gasoline.
Holds several Patents for fiberglass-reinforced polyester panels known as "Corrulux," which are commonly used in skylights and awnings worldwide.
Member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
Director of the National Club Association.
Lifetime member of the National Society of Professional Engineers.
1996 Rice University Distinguished "R" Award.

8th Hole at Augusta National - Yellow Jasmine

According to family and friends, one of Joe Finger's proudest moments was when Byron Nelson invited him to assist in redesigning the 8th green at The Masters. The long and narrow green is bunkerless, and Nelson and Finger restored the distinctive greenside mounds in 1979. The 8th Hole is named Yellow Jasmine. Texas Golf Hall of Fame member Bruce Devlin scored the second double eagle in Masters history on this hole in 1967.

Distinguished "R" Award

Joe Finger received the Distinguished "R" Award from Rice University in 1996. Rice University describes this award as "bestowed upon a Rice University alum and member of the “R” Association who has led an exemplary life; is well-adjusted with respect to his or her personal, family, civic and public responsibilities; and has achieved distinction and success in his or her chosen field of business or profession, while maintaining an interest in athletics at Rice after graduation."

The Corrulux Story

Ever had heavy duty fiber glass plastics over an awning, storage area or even skylights in the roof of your home? You can thank Joe Finger for this technology! Joe's work in developing this practical product in the early 1950's made it easy to use in residential and commercial applications and holds true today.

Renovating a Donald Ross Design

In 1967, Joe Finger was hired to renovate River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. He retooled all of the greens and tees and rerouted some of the holes. He built four new lakes that brought water into play on five holes. Donald Ross designed the course at River Oaks back in 1923, which is now the architect’s only surviving course in Texas, and was renovated again in 2014 by Tom Fazio.

https://linksmagazine.com/river_oaks_country_club/

Original Golf Course Designs by Joe Finger and Collaborators

Joe Finger Original Designs (photo Starr Hollow Golf Club by Avid Golfer)

Amarillo Municipal, 1962 Amarillo, Texas
Atlanta Athletic Club (4th Nine), 1972 Duluth, Georgia
Atlanta Country Club, 1965 Atlanta, Georgia - with Willard Byrd
Battlement Mesa Golf Club 1987 Parachute, Colorado with Ken Dye
Bayou Golf Club 1973 Texas City, Texas
Bella Vista Country Club 1966 Bella Vista, Arkansas
Blue Lake Estates Golf Club (9 holes) 1962 Marble Falls, Texas
Bosques Del Lago Country Club 1974 Mexico City, Mexico
Cabo Real Golf Club 1992 Baja California, Mexico
Cedar Ridge Country Club 1969 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Cedar Creek Golf Club 1989 San Antonio, Texas with Ken Dye
Clear Creek Golf Club 1987 Houston, Texas with Baxter Spann
Club Atlas Campo de Golf 1970 Guadalajara, Mexico
Club Campestre de Leon 1988 Leon, Mexico
Club de Golf Tequisquiapan 1985 Queretaro, Mexico
Club de Golf (new nine) 1993 Tampico, Mexico
Colonial Country Club (North & South) 1971 Cordova, Tennessee
Concord Hotel Golf Club (The Monster)1964 Kiamesha Lake, New York
Cottonwood Creek Municipal 1985 Waco, Texas with Ken Dye and Baxter Spann
Cypress Lakes Golf Club 1960 Travis AFB, California
Deerfield Golf Club 1980 Madison, Mississippi with Byron Nelson and Ken Dye
Deerwood Club 1983 Kingwood, Texas with Byron Nelson and Ken Dye
Ellendale Country Club 1967 Houma, Louisiana
Glen Oaks Country Club 1971 Old Westbury, New York
Golfcrest Country Club 1970 Houston, Texas
Grapevine Municipal 1978 Grapevine, Texas with Byron Nelson and Ken Dye
Hacienda San Gaspar Golf Club 1984 Cuernavaca, Mexico
Hackberry Creek Country Club 1986 Irving, Texas with Ken Dye
Hearthstone Country Club (9-hole addition) 1985 Houston, Texas with Baxter Spann
Keesler AFB Golf Club 1964 Gulfport, Mississippi
Kingwood Country Club (Island Course) 1974 Kingwood, Texas
The Laredo Country Club 1983 Laredo, Texas with Ken Dye and Baxter Spann
Las Colinas Country Club 1964 Irving, Texas
Laughlin AFB Golf Club 1962 Del Rio, Texas
Marina Vallarta Golf Club 1986 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Meadowbrook Country Club 1969 West Memphis, Arkansas
Moody AFB Golf Club 1968 Valdosta, Georgia
Myrtle Beach AFB - Whispering Pines Golf Club (new nine) 1987 Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with Baxter Spann
Nuevo Vallarta Golf Club 1993 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Perrin AFB Golf Club 1962 Sherman, Texas
Picacho Hills Country Club 1979 Las Cruces, New Mexico with Ken Dye
Piney Point Golf Course (Par 3) 1961 Houston, Texas
Pleasant Valley Country Club 1969 Little Rock, Arkansas
Riverhill Country Club 1974 Kerrville, Texas with Byron Nelson
Starr Hollow Golf Club 1967 Tolar, Texas
Stonebriar Country Club 1987 Frisco, Texas with Byron Nelson and Ken Dye
Tejas Golf Club 1966 Houston, Texas
Williamson Creek Municipal Golf Course 1973 Austin, Texas

Renovations by Joe Finger and Collaborators

Joe Finger Renovations (photo Westwood Country Club where Joe was club champion at age 17).

Arizona Country Club 1960 Phoenix, Arizona
Atlanta Athletic Club 1971 Duluth, Georgia
Augusta National Golf Club (8th Green)1979 Augusta, Georgia with Byron Nelson and Ken Dye
Bacon Park Golf Club 1973 Savannah, Georgia
Baton Rouge Country Club 1973 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Blytheville Country Club 1968 Blytheville, Arkansas
Brae Burn Country Club 1966 Houston, Texas
Burns Park Municipal Golf Course 1965 N. Little Rock,Arkansas
Country Club of Little Rock 1965 Little Rock, Arkansas
Columbian Club 1971 Carrollton, Texas
Galveston Country Club 1972 Galveston, Texas
Grossinger's Golf Club 1970 Grossinger, New York
Highland Country Club 1972 La Grange, Georgia
Lackland AFB Golf Club 1968 San Antonio, Texas
Lakeside Country Club 1968 Houston, Texas
Lawrence Park Village Golf Club 1970 Lawrence Park, New York
Montammy Country Club 1971 Alpine, New Jersey
Muttontown Golf & Country Club 1971 East Norwich, New York
Oak Hills Country Club 1961 San Antonio, Texas
Oakbourne Country Club 1986 Lafayette, Louisiana with Ken Dye
Panorama Country Club 1985 Conroe, Texas
Peachtree Golf Club 1973, Atlanta, Georgia
Pine Bluff Country Club 1968 Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Preston Trail Golf Club 1977 Dallas, Texas
Prestonwood Country Club 1979 Dallas, Texas
Randolph AFB Golf Club 1958 San Antonio, Texas
Richland Country Club 1967 Nashville. Tennessee
River Oaks Country Club 1969 Houston, Texas
San Felipe Country Club 1960 Del Rio. Texas
Scott Schreiner Golf Course 1999, Kerrville, Texas
Shalimar Pointe Country Club 1986 Shalimar, Florida with Ken Dye and Baxter Spann
Shreveport Country Club 1960 Shreveport, Louisiana
Valley International Golf Club 1966 Brownsville, Texas
Victoria Country Club 1985 Victoria, Texas with Baxter Spann
Westchester Country Club 1971 Rye, New York
Westmoreland Country Club 1967 Export, Pennsylvania
Westwood Country Club 1970 Houston, Texas