John McIntyre Forrester (19 February 1894 – 4 August 1964) was a Scottish-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 in the early-to-mid 20th century. His best finish in a major championship was fourth in the 1923 U.S. Open. He won the 1929

New Jersey PGA Championship The New Jersey PGA Championship is a golf tournament that is the section championship of the New Jersey section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1928 at a variety of courses around the state. The format from 1932 to 1934 a ...

while serving as head professional at

Baltusrol Golf Club The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield, New Jersey, about west of New York City. It was founded in 1895 by Louis Keller. In 1985, Baltusrol became the first club to have ...

Early life

Forrester was born at 85 Port Street,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of James Forrester (died 1957) and Jane McIntyre (died 1916). His father was a ship

rigger Rigger may refer to: * One who attends to the rigging of a sailing ship * Rigger (entertainment), those who tend rigging in stage performance (theater, film, concert, etc.) * Rigger, a digital media artist who creates character rigs for animation ...

and boatman in the Coastguard Service. The family home was at Cairnryan House, Inch,

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); ) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. It is known as "Scotl ...

. Forrester and his siblings attended the Nicholson Institute at

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

. In May 1905, he moved to

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

and the family lived in the Coastguard Cottages on Melbourne Road. In 1905, Jack and his younger brother William toted bags as

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

s on the West Links. Jack attended North Berwick Public School before becoming a postman. As a member of Rhodes Golf Club in North Berwick, he won the Haldane Cup and Maxwell Shield in 1911 at the age of 17. He also posted an amateur record score of 71 for the Glen Course in 1913.

Military service in WW I

At the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Forrester enlisted in the 3rd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in North Berwick on 29 August 1914 and was subsequently posted with the

Royal Gurkha Rifles The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR) is a rifle regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Unlike other regiments in the British Army, RGR soldiers are recruited from Nepal, which is neither a dependent territory of the Unit ...

and fought in France and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

for almost a year before being transferred to

Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

for three years. He contracted

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

in 1916 and spent time in hospital.

Emigration to the U.S.

Forrester emigrated to the United States from Glasgow, sailing aboard the S.S. ''Columbia'', and arrived in New York on 8 March 1920. In 1921 he took up an appointment as professional at

Meadow Brook Golf Club The Meadow Brook Club is a private golf club in Jericho, New York, Long Island, New York, United States. From 1894 to 1954 it was part of a hunting club, which soon evolved into a major polo club. After the original grounds were expropriated fo ...

, in Jericho, New York. Later he moved to Hollywood, New Jersey (1923–25); then to

Baltusrol, New Jersey Springfield Township is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. ...

(1926–29);

Oradell, New Jersey Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,244, an increase of 266 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 7,978, which in turn reflected a decline ...

(1929); and

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

(1930–34).

Golf career

Forrester qualified for the

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

from 1921 to 1935 with his best finish being fourth place in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

. He was a contestant in the

1921 PGA Championship The 1921 PGA Championship was the fourth PGA Championship, held September 27 to October 1 on Long Island at Inwood Country Club in Inwood, New York. The match play field of 32 consisted of the defending champion and the top qualifiers from the ...

, suffering a first round defeat against

Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional Men's major golf championships, majors is third behin ...

. He did better in the

1923 PGA Championship The 1923 PGA Championship was the sixth PGA Championship, held September 24–29 in New York at Pelham Country Club in Pelham Manor, Westchester County. The field of 64 qualified by sectional tournaments, and competed in six rounds of match pla ...

when he won a first round match against Herbert Nicoll 6 and 4, but lost in the round of 32 against Jack Stait by the slim margin of 1 up. Also in 1923, Forrester came third in the

New Jersey Open The New Jersey State Open Championship is the New Jersey state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the New Jersey State Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1921 at a variety of co ...

. He had great success in the years from 1926 through 1936 and won the Mid-South Open at

Pinehurst, North Carolina Pinehurst, officially The Village of Pinehurst, is a village in Moore County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,581, up from 13,124 in 2010 United States census, 2010. "Pinehur ...

, in 1928 and the New Jersey State Pro/Am on a number of occasions. Not unlike other professionals in his day, Forrester traveled south in the winter months to play in tournaments to stay sharp and earn money. He played events in Texas, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, and California.

1923 U.S. Open

The 1923 U.S. Open was the 27th

, held 13–15 July at

Inwood Country Club Inwood Country Club is a private Golf, Tennis & Beach Club in Inwood, New York, located adjacent to Jamaica Bay and just southeast of John F. Kennedy International Airport. Originally established as nine-hole course in 1901, it is one of the olde ...

Inwood, New York Inwood is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 11,340 at the time of the 2020 census. It is considered part of Long Island's Five Towns area and is located wi ...

, a suburb east of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Bobby Jones, age 21, captured his first career

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

championship by defeating

Bobby Cruickshank Robert Allan Cruickshank (16 November 1894 – 27 August 1975) was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He competed in the PGA of America circuit in the 1920s and 1930s, the forerunner of the PGA Tour. He was twice r ...

in an 18-hole Sunday playoff. Forrester played excellent golf himself and finished in fourth place, winning $200 in prize money. He carded rounds of 75-73-77-78=303 (+15) and finished one stroke behind third-place finisher

Jock Hutchison Jack Falls "Jock" Hutchison (June 6, 1884 – September 27, 1977) was a Scottish-born professional golfer who was based in the United States. Early life Hutchison was born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, the son of William and Helen (née Fa ...

Death and legacy

Forrester died on 4 August 1964 in Chatham and is interred in Chatham cemetery. He was elected president of the New Jersey PGA (1933–35). From 1955 until his death, Forrester was the pro at Eastward Ho! Country Club in

Chatham, Massachusetts Chatham () is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. Chatham is located at the southeastern tip of Cape Cod and has historically been a fishing community. First settled by th ...

, which reminded him of North Berwick in his birth country of Scotland.

PGA Tour wins (2)

*1928 Mid-South Open *1929

Source:

Results in major championships

''Note: Forrester never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for a place
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play Sources:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrester, Jack Scottish male golfers American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golf administrators Golfers from Glasgow People from Oradell, New Jersey Sportspeople from Hackensack, New Jersey Golfers from Bergen County, New Jersey People educated at the Nicolson Institute Scottish emigrants to the United States 1894 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Scottish sportsmen