Jerry Stolhand (April 17, 1935 – February 1, 1989) was an American golfer. Stolhand turned pro in the mid-1950s and quickly had success, winning the Louisiana State Open. However, he ultimately regained his amateur status and moved to Hawaii. While working as a car salesman, Stolhand played a number of notable amateur events in the state, culminating with a win at the 1968 Hawaii Amateur. Shortly thereafter, he turned pro once again and moved to Australia. Stolhand played on full-time Australian circuit during the late 1960s and early 1970s, recording a number of high finishes but failed to win. For the remainder of his career, he worked as a club professional though had some success as a senior, winning the 1988 Australian PGA Seniors Championship.
Early life Stolhand was raised in Ponca City, Oklahoma. His father, Charlie, was one of state's top amateurs, winning the 1951 Oklahoma State Amateur. His brother, Charley Jr., also had much success as amateur golfer. In addition, Stolhand's uncle, Harold, was also a champion golfer. Due to the family's success at golf, The Ponca City News referred to the Stolhands as "Ponca City's ruling family of the links."
Stolhand first received media attention in August 1946 at the Ponca City Golf Tournament. In the first round of the "Championship Flight" he lost to Leroy Wilks 10 & 8. Three years later, at the age of 13, he qualified for the Oklahoma State Junior Championship. He made it to the class C finals. There he lost a "tough" finals match to Mervin Buchanan, 1 up. Two months later, in August 1949, Stolhand earned entry into the Oklahoma Invitational Sub-Junior Golf Tournament. He shot a 79 to finish in fourth place, three back. The only players to defeat him were champion Johnny Johnson, runner-up Orville Moody, and his brother Charley. The following year, in June 1950, Stolhand qualified for the Oklahoma State Junior Championship again. In the first round, Stolhand recorded the first hole-in-one in tournament history but still lost his match and was eliminated. Later in the month he qualified for the Oklahoma Amateur.
In the early 1950s, Stolhand won a number of local amateur tournaments. In July 1950, he played a one-round Jaycees tournament at Lakeside. Playing among 66 contestants, Stolhand "breezed" through the tournament, shooting a 74 to win by one. In June 1951, Stolhand played the Oklahoma State Junior Championship once more. He won the tournament for the first time. Later in the summer, Stolhand won the inaugural Lakeside Invitational Golf Tournament. Later in the year Stolhand played in the Ponca City Municipal Golf Tournament. He made it to the finals where he was set to face Bud Creveling. Stolhand defeated Creveling, 3 & 1.
In the spring of 1952, Stolhand started receiving attention for his play on the Ponca City High School's golf team. In late March, he was medalist in a match against Stillwater High School. A few days later, he shot a "sterling" even-par 70 to lead his team to a victory over Enid High School. Partly due to these good performances, he earned the "No. 1 position" for his team.
Amateur career Late in the 1952 school year, it was announced that Stolhand's family was moving to Lake Charles, Louisiana. His father was transferred there by his corporation, Continental Oil Company. In the summer, Stolhand had much success in amateur events across the United States. In June, he returned to Oklahoma to defend his Oklahoma State Juniors Championship. He "breezed past" two early competitors to reach the semifinals. In semifinals, Stolhand shot under-par, including a "sizzling" 32 on the back nine, to again win easily. He was scheduled to play Fred Lawson in the finals. On June 8, he won the event for the second straight year. Later in the summer, Stolhand won the men's golf championship of his new hometown, Lake Charles. In August 1952, Stolhand attempted to qualify for the Jaycee National Junior Golf Tournament, one of the top amateur golf tournaments in the United States. The event was held at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon. Stolhand easily qualified at the two round qualifier. He was in the top ten after the second and third rounds and in contention entering the final day. Though he shot a 79 in the final round he still finished in a tie for tenth.
Stolhand intended to enter Oklahoma A&M, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in the fall of 1953 for college. The summer prior to college he won a number of amateur events in Oklahoma. In early July, he was committed to play the Lakeside Invitational Golf Tournament, the event he won two years previous. He "assaulted" the Lakeside course, breaking the course record twice, to win the event. Later in the month, he won a Jaycee-sponsored golf meet in Ponca City, Oklahoma. In August, he played the "championship flight" of the Lakeside golf championship. He reached the finals where he was scheduled to play Ozzie Newell. Stolhand defeated Newell to win the tournament. During this era, Stolhand also served in the military.
Professional career As of the summer of 1955, Stolhand had turned professional. He was living in Sulphur, Louisiana at the time. The first time Stolhand received significant media attention as a pro was in November 1955. That month he played the three-round Louisiana-Mississippi Open Invitational Golf Tournament. Stolhand opened with one-under-par 71s to move into a tie for second, three back of leader Frank Champ. However, he shot a "disastrous" final round 80 to fall out of contention. Despite the poor finish, however, he earned "a lot of admiration" from the pros at the event, including from Champ, who won the event. In July 1956, Stolhand captained a four-man team at a pro-am in Jal, New Mexico. Playing against a number of past and future PGA Tour players like Labron Harris and Jacky Cupit, Stolhand's team won the event. In the fall of 1956, he became the assistant pro at L.W. Clapp Golf Course in Wichita, Kansas. In November, he teamed up with Dean Adkisson, the head pro at Clapp, for the Wichita Pro-Assistant Golf Tournament. Stolhand and Adkisson won three of their four matches in extra holes, including the final, to win the event.
As of 1958, Stolhand had moved back to Louisiana. He worked as a car salesman. Stolhand still played notable events, however. In October, he played the three-round Louisiana State Open. Stolhand opened with rounds of 67 and 69 to put him in solo second, two back of leader Jay Hebert, a recent PGA Tour winner. In the final round, he birdied the first two holes to tie Hebert for the lead. Stolhand scored high in the middle of the round but it remained close as Hebert also struggled. Stolhand then finished birdie-par-birdie "to ease by" Hebert and amateur Shirley Picard by one. In addition, he defeated fourth-place finisher Lionel Hebert, a recent major championship winner, by two strokes and PGA Tour pro Bert Weaver, the fifth-place finisher, by three strokes. At the event, Stolhand also won the Louisiana Professional Golf Organization's championship, played concurrently, by seven strokes over Ivan Sicks.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Stolhand moved around the country, from Louisiana to Texas to Washington state. Stolhand occasionally played in notable tournaments across North America during this era but his results were erratic. In March 1959 and the following year, he played the Gulf Coast Invitational Golf Tournament. In both cases Stolhand opened near the lead. However, both years he scored significantly over-par for the remainder of the tournament and finished out of contention. In the middle of 1963, Stolhand once more played the Odessa pro-am, a pairs event, in Odessa, Texas. Stolhand team's opened with a six-under-par 66, one off the lead, but faded from there. In late August 1964, Stolhand played the two-round Trail Open in Trail, British Columbia. Stolhand was at even-par after the first 26 holes and had a good chance to win. However, he then made four consecutive bogies to fall "out of contention." He finished at 146, in a tie for third, three back.
Re-instated amateur status In 1965, Stolhand moved to Hawaii as a "newcomer from Seattle, Washington." He continued to work as a car salesman. He also regained his amateur status as a golfer. Stolhand first received media attention in Hawaii for his play at the Mid-Pacific Open in March. He closed with a two-under-par 70 to finish at 294, in a tie for fifth, placing second among amateurs. In April, he played the Hawaii Amateur at Waialae Country Club. In the second round, Stolhand shot a 71, the day's only under-par round, to move into a tie for second, two back. After a third round 73 he moved into a tie for the lead. However, with a final round 79, "Stolhand shot [himself] out of contention." He finished in solo third, two back. Despite the poor finish, Stolhand had a number of top performances later in the year. In May, he played the Hawaii Public Links Four-ball Medal Golf Tournament at his home course, Ala Wai. Pairing with John DeMello, the team shot 67 and 70 to finish in third place, four back. Later in the month Stolhand tied for the win at another fourball tournament, this time at International Golf and Country Club with Charles Veregee. In July, he won a charity event benefitting Kaneohe Bay Youth Activities Association. In August, he played the Army Open Invitational Golf Tournament. In the first round, Stolhand shot an even-par 72 to position himself in fourth place and tie John DeMello the amateur lead. In the second round, he again shot even-par to maintain a share of the amateur lead and remain in the top five overall. In the third round Stolhand "took over sole possession of first place" in the amateur division with a 74 (+2) and remained in fifth place overall. In the final round, Stolhand shot a 71 to finish fourth overall though lost amateur honors as Masa Kaya, a local bus driver, shot a 67 to defeat all competitors.
In 1966, Stolhand had the chance to win several tournaments. However, he often fell short down the stretch. In March, Stolhand once more played the Hawaii Amateur, again held at Waialae. In the second round, Stolhand shot a one-under-par 71, the day's second best round, to move into a tie for fourth, three back of leader Masa Kaye. In the third round, however, Stolhand scored a "disastrous" 10 on the 6th hole "to knock himself out of contention." He closed with rounds of 84 and 81 to finish well back. In May, he played the Navy-Marine Golf Tournament. Stolhand opened with a 66 (−6), including two eagles and two birdies, to take the lead. He tied the course record set by Smiley Quick. He stated after the round, "It was the best competitive round I ever had in my life." However, in the second round Stolhand "soared" to a 78 and "dropped well behind the leaders." In August, Stolhand played the Army Open Golf Championship. Stolhand opened with a 73, one-over-par, holding solo second overall and leading the amateurs. In the second round he shot a three-under-par 69 to take the solo lead. Stolhand shot a third round 75 (+3) but on the more challenging, "stretched out" course he actually increased his lead to two strokes. In the final round, however, Stolhand "skied" to a 79 finishing well back of champion Paul Scodeller. Despite the poor finish Stolhand still finished solo second and won the amateur division by a wide margin. In September, he played the Barber's Point Open. Stolhand opened with a 69 (−3) to tie for the lead. In the second round, he continued "to hold his own with the pros," shooting a 71 (−1), to remain tied for the lead. However, Stolhand "soared" with a 79 (+7) in the third round to fall significantly behind. In the final round he again shot over-par but still earned amateur honors. Despite the poor finishes, at the end of the year the Honolulu Star-Bulletin referred to Stolhand as one of "the best amateurs" in the state.