Club-throwing Tommy Bolt (winner of
1958 US Open) dies at 92

CHEROKEE VILLAGE, Arkansas – Tommy Bolt, known as much for his fiery temper as for his 15 US PGA Tour victories, died on August 30. He was 92.
Bolt’s career highlight was his United States Open victory in 1958 when he defeated Gary Player by four shots at Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa in Oklahoma.
Bolt was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. He played on Ryder Cup teams in 1955 and 1957.
Bolt was born March 31, 1916, in Haworth, Oklahoma., and served in the US Army during World War II.
His introduction to golf was through caddying and he did not become involved actively until he was 34.
Bolt is also credited with teaching a young Arnold Palmer and anyone who would listen “to always throw clubs ahead of you. That way you won’t waste any energy going back to pick them up.”
“I launched far more (clubs) because they expected me to than I did because I was mad at anything that had gone wrong with my golf,’’ Bolt once said in an interview.
“After a while, it became showmanship, plain and simple.”
Bolt later went on to write a book about his golfing experience called “The Hole Truth.”
He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou, and one son, Tommy W.
A private graveside service was held September 2 at the Evening Shade Cemetery.