Marvin Stahl was the golf professional at Blythefield Country Club near Grand Rapids and worked in California in the winters becoming known as the golf pro of the stars.
He counted Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Jimmy Cagney among his students, and screen actor Buddy Rogers was a lifelong friend. He also played with Crosby several times in the “Clambake,” now known as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Crosby was the founder of the unique PGA Tour event.
Stahl was a player before becoming a teacher, and one of the best in the state during the 1930s. He won three Michigan Open Championships (1936, ’38 and ’39) and in 1942 won the Michigan PGA Professional Championship. He also claimed a Southern California PGA Professional Championship in 1943.
Abandoned by his father as a youngster, Stahl dropped out of high school, worked as a caddie at Cascade Hills Country Club in Grand Rapids and learned the game. He is one of three former Blythefield head professionals in the Hall of Fame (John Barnum, Buddy Whitten).
After his golf career he became a prominent Grand Rapids businessman. He died at the age of 93 in Palm Springs in 2002.
Year inducted: 1988
| Last Name | Stahl |