Ernest Orville Vossler (November 29, 1928 – February 16, 2013) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

; he later prospered in the fields of

golf course design A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

and construction,

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

management services and

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

Early life

Vossler was born and raised in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, where he played on the

Paschal High School R. L. Paschal High School is a secondary school in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is part of the Fort Worth Independent School District, and is the oldest and largest high school in Fort Worth ISD. The school is ranked 322nd in Texas and 3, ...

golf team.

Professional career

In 1954, Vossler turned professional. He began play on the PGA Tour in 1955. His best finish in a major championship was T-5 at the 1959 U.S. Open. As his full-time touring days were winding down, Vossler became a club pro and worked at

Southern Hills Country Club Southern Hills Country Club is a private golf and country club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. History The club was established in 1935 from land donated by multimillionaire oilman Waite Phillips (Frank Phillips, Waite's brother, was the namesake and fou ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

and later

Quail Creek Golf & Country Club Quail Creek Golf & Country Club is a private golf and country club located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Founding of the Club The Club is situated on 158 acres with 125 acres devoted to the golf course. The plans for Quail Creek Golf & Country Club ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. He was named "PGA Golf Professional of the Year" in 1967.Inaugural PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame prepared to open its doors
/ref> Vossler later became involved in a series of businesses relating to golf course development starting in 1971. Some of his business partners include former tour players Joe Walser, Jr. and

Johnny Pott John Francis Pott (born November 6, 1935) is an American professional golfer. Pott was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and reared in southern Mississippi, where he learned to play golf on the course where his father was the club professional. H ...

. In 1974, Vossler and Walser founded the Oak Tree Golf Club, now known as Oak Tree National, which has hosted the

1988 PGA Championship The 1988 PGA Championship was the 70th PGA Championship, held August 11–14 at Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma, a suburb north of Oklahoma City. Jeff Sluman shot a final round 65 (−6) to win his only Men's major golf championships, maj ...

and is scheduled to host the 2014 U.S. Senior Open. He was the Chairman of Landmark Golf, a golf/real estate development firm serving the southwestern United States.

Personal life

Vossler was married to

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

Marlene Hagge Marlene Hagge (née Bauer; February 16, 1934 – May 16, 2023) was an American professional golfer. She was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA in 1950. She won one women's major golf championships, major championship and 26 LPGA Tour career ...

. He died in

La Quinta, California La Quinta (a Spanish language, Spanish idiom meaning "the wikt:Quinta#Spanish, country villa") is a desert resort town, resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells, California, Indian Wells and Indi ...

in 2013.

Awards and honors

Vossler was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2005.

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

Other wins (1)

*1960

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 19 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vossler, Ernie American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Fort Worth, Texas Sportspeople from La Quinta, California Deaths from dementia in California 1928 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen