NJSGA March Hall Of Fame Spotlight: Vic Ghezzi, Chet Sanok, Ralph Engel

The NJSGA recently announced the formation of the NJSGA Hall of Fame. An induction ceremony is planned for May 1 at Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth. Over the next two months, three inductees biographies will be featured every two weeks as part of our handicap revision EBulletins.

Below are the biographies of three distinguished inductees:

VIC GHEZZI (1910 – 1976)

Born in Rumson on October 19, 1910, Victor J. Ghezzi showed great promise as a teen golfer in the 1920’s and honed his game at the Deal Golf & Country Club. Ghezzi turned pro in 1932 and won his first tournament at Los Angeles Country Club in 1935, defeating John Revolta in an 18-hole playoff to win the Los Angeles Open.

Ghezzi went on to win a total of 11 times on the PGA Tour, including one major title: the 1941 PGA Championship, where he defeated Byron Nelson in 38 holes in the final match. Two of Ghezzi’s tour wins came in four-ball events, where he partnered with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. His non-tour victories included three New Jersey State Opens (1937, ’43, and ’44) and two New Jersey PGA Championships (1939 and ’49).

He was selected for three Ryder Cup teams (1939, ’41 and ’43) but each was cancelled due to World War II. At the U.S. Open in 1946, he was in an 18-hole Sunday morning playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and Byron Nelson. It ended in a three-way tie, forcing another 18 holes. Mangrum won that afternoon by a single stroke over both Ghezzi and Nelson.

Following his playing career, he became a sought-after teacher in the NJ/NY-Metro area in the 1950’s and 1960’s, working out of Englewood Golf Club. In 1965, Ghezzi’s greatness was recognized by his peers when he was enshrined in the PGA of America’s Hall of Fame.

CHESTER (CHET) SANOK (1919-1996)

A native of Belleville, Sanok worked as a caddie at Forest Hill Field Club in the 1930’s and finished runner-up in the 1938 State Junior Championship at Echo Lake. Winning five State Amateurs, Sanok also won the State Open in 1951 and 1956. In 1952, he became the first amateur to win the Met Open.

While most of his success came in the 1950s (playing out of Upper Montclair Country Club), he remained a threat on any golf course well into the 1970s. In 1974, he became the only man to win both the State Amateur and the State Senior Amateur in the same year. In 1975, he won both the Ike and his final State Amateur.

Sanok defeated Ben Hogan in an exhibition match at Forsgate in 1953, the same year Hogan won the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open. Sanok defeated him by two strokes.

DR. RALPH ENGEL (1915-1995)

Dr. Engel initiated the two-year Rutgers Winter Turf Management Course in 1962, and as program administrator and as an instructor, he graduated over 1,000 students. The native of Nebraska earned his doctorate at Rutgers (1951) and devoted his life to turf development. His research focused on improving the quality of turfgrasses, and he spearheaded early research in the areas of weed and insect control. Dr. Engel’s efforts gained universal recognition and in 1993, he won the USGA's Green Section Award.

During his early years in New Jersey, Dr. Engel pioneered the concept of turfgrass visitation service, conducting consulting visitations with superintendents at MGA and NJSGA clubs. These visitations became the basis for the current USGA Green Section Turf Advisory Service. Through his 40-plus years of work, Dr. Engel received many honors, including the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award, election into the New Jersey Turfgrass Hall of Fame, Professor Emeritus from Rutgers University, and the John Reid Lifetime Achievement Award from the MGA Golf Course Superintendents Association.