A hallmark of longevity, Lincoln Park had just three men at the helm for 99 of

Three men provide 99 years of leadership

by john rohde

In the 1960s, Steve Carson was a 15-year-old high school golfer at Midwest City. He was informed a highly respected former golf architect and club pro named Arthur Jackson often would visit Carson’s home track of Midwest City Municipal Golf Course, a nine-hole layout with six par-3s and three par-4s.

“He was by himself and I said, ‘Mr. Jackson, do you mind if I play with you?’ He said, ‘Nah, come ahead,’ ” Carson recalled. “He helped me with my chipping that day. Knowing what I know now, I would have asked him a lot more questions.”

A teen-aged Carson had no idea the significance of that day.

Almost three decades later, Carson became director of golf at Lincoln Park Golf Course, the very same place Jackson designed and built 36 holes in the 1920s and 1930s.

From the time Jackson designed the West Course (1922) and East Course (1932) and was in charge of all things in the Land of Lincoln, only two other men have served as the golf course’s head pro -- U.C. Ferguson Jr., who died in 1999, and Carson, who retired from the position last September.

So, in a span of 99 years (1922-2021), a place long considered the state’s preeminent public golf facility has employed precisely three head pros (or directors of golf) – Jackson from 1922-52, Ferguson from 1952-1991 and Carson from 1991-2021.

A century of golf has been triangulated at one venue among three dedicated club pros. Feel free to find another golf course, particularly a public one, where the average reign has been 33 years.

Someone please explain why this happened. What is Lincoln’s allure?

“It’s the place,” said Carson, now 70. “It’s the people. It’s the support you receive from the city leaders. It’s a combination of many things.”

The Lincoln formula has remained constant. Their club pros have similar personality traits. Ferguson had the utmost respect for Jackson and Carson had the same for Ferguson.

“U.C. was just a dynamic person,” Carson said. “Everybody was U.C.’s friend. He was the constant to greet everybody. Make sure they know they’re welcome. And he wanted you to leave feeling good. He was great. He was the best.”

Steve Carson

Art Jackson

See PROS on page 26

under 80,000, but in the Covid boom of 2021 rebounded to 93,652, the most since 1993, with 58 percent of those rounds played on the West Course.

From an architectural standpoint, much of what Art Jackson created in 1922 has stood up for the century. Yes, high school and college players can overwhelm it with their incredible length and shoot in the mid-60s, but that is true of just about every course. Public course golfers enjoy the challenge and the conditions, or it would not be pulling in over 90,000 rounds. Lincoln Park’s first nine holes opened on July 4, 1922. A second nine was built in 1925 and the second 18 added in 1931. Then known as the North and South courses, the names changed when a new clubhouse was built and several holes shifted in 1961.

Jackson was a native of North Berwick, Scotland, and the stepbrother of pro Les-

lie Brownlee of Edinburgh, who designed The 15th hole at Lincoln Park West. some of the first courses in Oklahoma, including nine holes at Muskogee in 1903, 100 continued from page 24 four years before statehood. Jackson was a dedicated, though not a great player. After Jackson’s first 18 at Lincoln Park proved popular, the city appropriated $20,000 to build a second 18. The price tag on the new clubhouse in 2015 was close to $10 million.

The new clubhouse honors U.C. Ferguson.

Pros cont. from page 25

Ferguson’s admiration for Jackson was so strong, he considered him “a hero as far as I was concerned,” Fergie told Del Lemon, who authored The Story of Golf in Oklahoma. “He was real quiet, easy-going, serious and, most important of all, he wanted to see you succeed. He had talent to be a good player, but he seldom won. I’m quite certain it was because he hated to see anybody lose. He would rather get beat by you than beat you.”

Fergie’s love for Lincoln Park was never questioned. He essentially was homeless at age 14 when he started working as a caddy at the course for Jackson in 1928.

“U.C. had two sisters and his father said, ‘We can’t afford to maintain the size of this family,’ ” explained Michael, Ferguson’s grandson. “So U.C. basically had to fend for himself at 14. He started sleeping on the roof at Lincoln Park. The reason that place became so successful, I think, was because he treated it like his home every day. Lincoln Park was his salvation. It was his therapy. It was his passion. Junior golf was his passion and, man, what better stage than Lincoln Park to go out and expose people to the game. And he was great with people.”

Ferguson was a 1996 inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and a 2012 inductee into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame. As high as his achievements rose, Ferguson could have gone even higher. However, he feared acceptance among his peers would be difficult to obtain given his eighthgrade education.

“My dad told me U.C. turned down potential offers to be the head pro at big-time places, including Southern Hills (in Tulsa) and other top clubs in the country,” Michael said. “The PGA of America wanted him to be in line to become president, but he was so embarrassed that all he had was an eighth-grade education. Grandpa said, ‘I didn’t want to go up there and embarrass myself in front of all these well-educated, successful people.’ But all the club pros said, ‘Hell, Fergie never embarrassed himself. In

fact, he was the only one to get things done whenever there was a dispute.’ I’m very honored and proud to have him as a grandfather. He was amazing.”

Ferguson’s undeniable popularity coincided with the growth of golf, for which he was a lifetime contributor. Fergie was a perpetual promoter of the game. He served as vice president of the PGA of America from 1955-57. In 1978, the association decided to present its first-ever national PGA Merchandiser of the Year. The award went to Ferguson.

“He gave free lessons, free range balls, free rounds of golf,” Michael said. “In today’s world, that’s theft. You can’t treat people how you want to treat them because somebody sitting behind a big oak desk in corporate is saying, ‘U.C. you can’t give away golf.’ U.C. would say, ‘What do you mean I can’t give away golf? Are my numbers good? Is my budget? Is everybody happy? Well then don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.’ ”

Perhaps the most telling example of Ferguson’s generosity and commitment to golf is Susie Maxwell Berning, who last March was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame during the same ceremony as Tiger Woods.

A 1991 inductee into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and an inaugural inductee into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame in 2005, Berning was an 11-time LPGA Tour winner and a four-time major champion. She captured the U.S. Women’s Open three times (1968, 1972 and 1973) and won the 1965 Western Open when it was considered a major championship. The LPGA later recognized Maxwell as one of its top-50 players and teachers of all-time.

It was Ferguson who coaxed a 13-yearold Berning toward golf. At the time, Berning was living across the street from Lincoln Park when the colt she was caring for got spooked by a train whistle, broke free, dashed across the street and proceeded to run wild at Lincoln Park Golf Course, damaging a couple of greens on a summer

U.C. Ferguson with his prize pupil, Susie Maxwell Berning, circa 1989.

day in 1954.

Ferguson asked Berning if perhaps she was interested in playing golf. “That silly game?” Berning responded.

Berning took an interest when LPGA star Patty Berg came to OKC for a clinic. Berning attended, immediately was intrigued and Ferguson promptly provided plenty of bait to keep his new pupil drawn toward the game.

“He was a gentleman and a half,” Berning has said of Ferguson. “As far as I’m concerned, Fergie made Lincoln Park what it is. It definitely was the start of my career at Lincoln Park and Fergie had 100 percent to do with it. He was such a wonderful person. So kind. He didn’t charge me for any golf lessons or charge me to play golf. He gave me golf clubs, which was probably against USGA rules [laughing], I don’t know. The young people who worked for Fergie, many became quite successful. He was a good mentor.”

Berning captured three consecutive state high school titles while attending Northeast and three straight Oklahoma City Women’s Amateur Championships from 1959-61. She then received $500 a semester to attend Oklahoma City University, where she competed on the men’s golf team when the school had no women’s team. OCU legendary basketball coach/humorist Abe Lemons oversaw the golf team and listed her in the lineup as “S. Maxwell.” Berning said Lemons called her “Sam” at competitions.

An open-arms approach that worked for Jackson also worked for Ferguson then transferred to Carson.

“Every day brings new people,” Carson said. “Every day, those faces change. That new face needs to feel just as welcome as the face you’ve seen 4-5 times a week. I made sure that happened. Try to know as many names as you can.”

Lincoln Park’s facilities grew under each man. Jackson was the founder and original architect. The original clubhouse sat on a hill at what eventually became the par-3 second hole on the West. The second clubhouse began being built in 1959 and somehow survived until the current clubhouse – a 32,000 square foot, $10 million facility – was completed in 2015.

Carson chuckles at all the challenges he faced.

“It was torture keeping the old clubhouse going,” Carson said. “There was almost a daily failure. There was a time I asked an electrician to replace a light fixture. He said, ‘Steve, if I open this up, we’re going to have to rewire the entire building because none of it meets the current code.’ There were days we couldn’t get it under 90 (degrees) in there.”

Carson paused and said, “But the cheeseburgers at Fergie’s Place always tasted so good. How was this possible?”

Now holding the director of golf reins is Aaron Kristopeit, who served a decade under Carson. “I had the right person underneath me,” Carson said of Kristopeit. “He really is a great golf professional. I recommended him to the golf commission, and fortunately they agreed with me. I just thought it was the right time for me to leave. The timing was right.”

In another 32 years or so, perhaps Kristopeit might be ready to step aside.

Arnold Palmer plays an exhibtion at Lincoln Park.