Marty Leonard

Class of 2011

Marty Leonard

Lifetime Achievement

Biography and Legacy Video

In 1936, the town of Fort Worth saw the birth of two Texas golf legends - Colonial Country Club and Martha V. Leonard. The father of both was 1993 Texas Golf Hall of Fame inductee, J. Marvin Leonard. Because Marty was born into the world of golf and shares her father’s passion for the game, her accomplishments are often linked with those of her father. While that connection is undeniable, Marty has created her own legacy by her choices to continue her family’s tradition of both giving back to her community and creating opportunities for golfers of all skill levels to learn and love the game. It is Marty’s lifelong commitment to serving, giving and intentional philanthropy that earned her this Hall of Fame induction.

Marty Leonard began playing golf as a young girl and played frequently at all three of the golf courses her father built (Colonial C.C., Shady Oaks C.C., and later Starr Hollow G.C.). She was an accomplished amateur golfer at both the local and state level. The scope of her impact on the game broadened significantly when she was invited to join the USGA Women’s Golf Committee, where she was a member for 18 years.

The list of Committees and Boards she has served is lengthy. In addition to those at the family’s golf courses, she supports several other notable non-golf organizations. Marty has been on the Board of the Lena Pope Home for over 60 years and was instrumental in building a chapel to serve the children and families within the Lena Pope community. It is appropriately named the Marty Leonard Community Chapel. Marty’s love for animals and nature is also well-noted and the Marty Leonard Boardwalk at the Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge is a tribute to her long-term contributions. She is also an active Board member of Baylor, Scott & White’s All Saints Foundation, whose mission includes serving all people through excellent healthcare and education.

While clearly busy off the golf course, Marty still has golf in her blood and cherishes her role as a keeper of her family’s slice of Texas golf history. She is the owner of Leonard Golf Links, a Ft. Worth driving range and practice facility that ranks among the biggest and best in the country. Marty also manages and cares for the final golf course her father created, the private and pristine Starr Hollow Golf Club. In a nod to her love of nature, bluebird boxes mounted on cedar posts are used as fairway yardage markers and every hole on the course has an animal name like “Jack Rabbit Jump”, “Catfish Cove”, and “Duck’s Downfall”. As excited as people are to get to play golf at Starr Hollow, its fishing draws just as much acclaim and its hamburgers are reportedly world-class. In the tradition of her family, Marty works faithfully to preserve the private, peaceful, and unhurried golf experience where simple pleasures are an art.

Legacy Video

Inductee Highlights

  • SMU Graduate and Elite Amateur Golfer
  • USGA Women's Committee Member/Chair
  • Board - Lena Pope Home; Baylor, Scott & White All Saints Foundation; and Ft. Worth Nature Center & Refuge
  • Owner - Leonard Golf Links
  • Owner/Manager - Starr Hollow Golf Club

Joining the Club

Fort Worth native Martha V. “Marty” Leonard’s election into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2011 was historic, giving the exclusive group its first and only father-daughter duo. Marty took to golf at a young age thanks to her 1993 inductee father, Marvin. Marvin founded Colonial Country Club in 1936, the same year that Marty was born, and years later also built Shady Oaks Country Club and Starr Hollow Golf Club. Nearly 90 years after Colonial’s establishment, Marty has served as a key consultant for the venerable course’s renovation.

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Links to Her Father

In 1994, Marty’s ties to her father and the game golf became even stronger when she built her own golf facility, Leonard Golf Links, west of Fort Worth. Her vision was to build a public practice area for community members that would be on par with the best offered at private courses. The lighted, 52-acre facility features a driving range, chipping greens and putting greens, and is home to lessons, clinics, club fittings and equipment sales. It also included space for Nike Golf’s research and development facility, “The Oven,” that hosted tour professionals, including Tiger Woods.

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Hogan A Hero and Friend

When Marty’s father, Marvin, took up golf as an adult, one of the caddies he encountered at Glen Garden Golf & Country Club was a young Ben Hogan. The two established a close, lifelong friendship and Marvin helped Hogan get his start as a professional. Marty knew Hogan well as a dear family friend and still cares for his last car, a 1989 Cadillac Brougham. Additionally, she is a longtime member of the Board of Directors for the Ben Hogan Award, which has been given annually at “Hogan’s Alley” since 2002 to the nation’s top college and amateur golfer.

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A Player Herself

An accomplished golfer herself, Marty became the women’s club champion at both of her father’s Fort Worth venues, claiming the Shady Oaks crown three times and winning the Colonial honor as well. One of the top amateurs in the state of Texas, she was a three-time runner up at the Women’s Texas Amateur. Her achievements extended beyond the Lone Star State’s border, as she was the 1955 California Girls Junior Alumni Championship and also played in the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst, where she finished second.

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Fort Worth-y of High Expectations

Emulating her parents’ commitment to others, Marty has been active in and around Fort Worth, serving on numerous boards and committees, including Junior League of Fort Worth, Lena Pope Home, the Fort Worth Nature Center, and the Baylor, Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation. In the sporting arena, she also has spent time on the USGA’s Women’s Committee and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She lives by the motto “To much is given, much is expected. To much more has been given, much more is expected.”

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Keepsake: Gift from Ben Hogan

According to Valerie, Ben Hogan's wife, he picked this gift out by himself to give to Marty.

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Quick Nine

Deep Dive Interview

More wonderful historic stories from Texas Golf legend Marty Leonard

1 of 35

Marty Leonard - Father & Daughter TGHOF

Deep Dive Video Interview

Marty Leonard - Father & Daughter TGHOF
0:27

Marty Leonard - Father & Daughter TGHOF

Marty Leonard - Support of Golf
1:23

Marty Leonard - Support of Golf

Marty Leonard - Life Advice
1:37

Marty Leonard - Life Advice

Marty Leonard - Shady Ladies
1:10

Marty Leonard - Shady Ladies

Marty Leonard - Golf Links Part 2
3:00

Marty Leonard - Golf Links Part 2

Marty Leonard - What Golf Links Offers
0:58

Marty Leonard - What Golf Links Offers

Marty Leonard - Women's West Texas Golf Association
0:18

Marty Leonard - Women's West Texas Golf Association

Marty Leonard - Exposure To Golf
0:24

Marty Leonard - Exposure To Golf

Marty Leonard - City Junior Championship
1:12

Marty Leonard - City Junior Championship

Marty Leonard - Department Store Museum
2:03

Marty Leonard - Department Store Museum

Marty Leonard - Fort Worth Nature Center
0:47

Marty Leonard - Fort Worth Nature Center

Marty Leonard - SMU Program
0:26

Marty Leonard - SMU Program

Marty Leonard - Water District
0:48

Marty Leonard - Water District

Marty Leonard - Quick 9
0:47

Marty Leonard - Quick 9

Marty Leonard - Power Golf Book by Ben Hogan
1:11

Marty Leonard - Power Golf Book by Ben Hogan

Marty Leonard - Fellowship of Christian Athletes
0:35

Marty Leonard - Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Marty Leonard - Club Championships
0:49

Marty Leonard - Club Championships

Marty Leonard - Marvin Leonard
0:35

Marty Leonard - Marvin Leonard

Marty Leonard - Star Hollow
2:46

Marty Leonard - Star Hollow

Marty Leonard - Member of Texas Golf Hall of Fame
0:27

Marty Leonard - Member of Texas Golf Hall of Fame

Marty Leonard - Future of Texas Golf
0:36

Marty Leonard - Future of Texas Golf

Marty Leonard - Leonard Golf Links
0:52

Marty Leonard - Leonard Golf Links

Marty Leonard - Growing Up
0:07

Marty Leonard - Growing Up

Marty Leonard - Early Influences
0:15

Marty Leonard - Early Influences

Marty Leonard - Ben Hogan
2:56

Marty Leonard - Ben Hogan

Marty Leonard - Fort Worth Community
1:36

Marty Leonard - Fort Worth Community

Marty Leonard - Golf Club Style Pin
0:58

Marty Leonard - Golf Club Style Pin

Marty Leonard - Lena Pope
1:05

Marty Leonard - Lena Pope

Marty Leonard - Amateur Career
0:35

Marty Leonard - Amateur Career

Marty Leonard - Competitive Golf
0:57

Marty Leonard - Competitive Golf

Marty Leonard - 3X Runner Up
0:56

Marty Leonard - 3X Runner Up

Marty Leonard - Jr. League
0:30

Marty Leonard - Jr. League

Marty Leonard - 1941 US Open Medal
0:55

Marty Leonard - 1941 US Open Medal

Marty Leonard - Family
0:16

Marty Leonard - Family

Marty Leonard - Golf Advice
0:42

Marty Leonard - Golf Advice

Marty Leonard Artifact Gallery

Young Marty Leonard with father Marvin

Young Marty Leonard with father Marvin

Marty Leonard with Sandra Haynie, Mickey Wright & Polly Riley

Marty Leonard with Sandra Haynie, Mickey Wright & Polly Riley

An engraving on the gift from Ben Hogan reading, "BH to ML"

An engraving on the gift from Ben Hogan reading, "BH to ML"

Marty with Ben Hogan at Shady Oaks CC

Marty with Ben Hogan at Shady Oaks CC

Marty Leonard with Ben and Valerie Hogan

Marty Leonard with Ben and Valerie Hogan

Marty Leonard and father Marvin

Marty Leonard and father Marvin

Marty with Ben Hogan at Shady Oaks CC

Marty with Ben Hogan at Shady Oaks CC

Marty Leonard with George W. Bush

Marty Leonard with George W. Bush

A small pin gifted to Marty Leonard by Ben Hogan

A small pin gifted to Marty Leonard by Ben Hogan

Young Marty swinging a club

Young Marty swinging a club

Marty Leonard and Ben Crenshaw

Marty Leonard and Ben Crenshaw

Marty with fellow players

Marty with fellow players

Marty Leonard and Mary Ann Morrison

Marty Leonard and Mary Ann Morrison

Young Marty lays in the grass at a golf event

Young Marty lays in the grass at a golf event

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