Sept. 6, 1929–Nov. 5, 2022
It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Pikewood National Golf Club Pro Emeritus, Dow Finsterwald.
Dow was a wonderful person and we shall be eternally grateful for having known Dow as a friend and colleague. We will miss his smile, his appearance, his etiquette, both on and off the golf course, his respect for others and his beautiful stories of golf and life. His mere presence gave everyone who had the opportunity to meet him a glimpse of greatness and of a life well-lived. To all of our friends, his passing marks the end of an era.
Dow was 93 years old at the time of his death. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame, joining his father, Russell Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach. He was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2006. In addition, he was honored by fellow Ohio native, Jack Nicklaus, at the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, as an Honoree of the Captains Club. Moreover, in 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Dow was 93 years old at the time of his death. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame, joining his father, Russell Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach. He was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2006. In addition, he was honored by fellow Ohio native, Jack Nicklaus, at the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, as an Honoree of the Captains Club. Moreover, in 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
When Dow was 14, his father Russell was able to get a job for him at Athens Country Club. From this beginning, he went on to play for the Ohio University Golf team, played on the PGA tour as an amateur, and turned pro in 1951. He was runner-up to Lionel Hebert in the 1957 PGA Championship, the last time this championship was played at match play. The following year was his stroke play championship at Llanerch, where he outdueled Sam Snead and Billy Casper at the finish.
Dow narrowly missed winning two Masters in agonizing fashion. At the 1960 Masters, he was about to take a practice putt when his playing companion, Billy Casper, warned him that this was prohibited by local course rules. Dow, unaware of this prohibition, told Casper he had done so in the first round after holing out. He reported his rules transgression to the rules officials who retroactively imposed a two-stroke penalty but did not invoke automatic disqualification of a golfer who turns in an incorrect scorecard. In the end, this rules gaffe cost him mightily. Palmer birdied the last two holes to beat Ken Venturi by one, Dow by two — the two strokes he had lost due to his penalty. Four years later, Finsterwald and Gary Player lost the 1962 Masters in a playoff to Arnold Palmer.
Dow was an expert on the rules of golf and served as rules official for many years at the Masters. When Tiger Woods made an improper drop on the 13th hole in 2013, Dow mentioned his 1960 misadventure to the head of the competition committee, believing that it might serve as a guide. Woods like Dow was given a two-stroke penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard but was not disqualified because the penalty was imposed after the second round had ended.
After retiring in 1963 from tournament play, Dow went on to serve for 28 years as Director of Golf at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. During this time, he became a television personality as the host of a series of more than 150 television vignettes known as Dow’s Golf Tip of the Day in which he gave pointers to athletes and show-business personalities. Dow’s Golf Tip of the Day appeared in the Pittsburgh Market on Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time, which included in its programming The Three Stooges and The Little Rascals. It was through this show that got the attention of John Raese and Bob.
Rest in peace old friend.
