A View From the Nineteenth

John M. Ross has been a familiar byline to golf readers for almost three decades. He was the editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Golf Magazine for some 20 years, and earned numerous awards for the magazine's editorial excellence. His crusade against slow play received a special citation from the National Golf Foundation. Ross has also been heavily involved in other aspects of the game. For eight years he was executive director of the International Golf Association, which conducts the 67-nation World Cup of Golf program. He directed tournaments in 17 countries and brought the big event to places like Indonesia, Hong Kong and Thailand for the first time. He also introduced the World Cup to television in 1984.

He was a director and chaired the committee that set the format for election to the first World Golf Hall of Fame at Pinehurst. And he also served on the Board of Advisors for the revised Hall, now located in Jacksonville, Florida. In work with the game's governing bodies, Ross was a member of the Communications Committee of the United States Golf Association for 18 years, and has served with a similar committee for the Metropolitan Golf Association for more than 20 years. He is currently doing a series of books for the USGA, editing the oral histories for leading players and officials of the game. On the pro side, he helped computerize the statistical program of the PGA Tour while he was its Director of Public Information.

Ross is a former governor and lifetime member of the Golf Writers Association of America, and is a past president of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. He is also a member of the Association of Golf Writers, the British and overseas wing, and is a charter member of the American Society of Magazine Editors.

A long-time writer on the national scene, his work has appeared over the years in Sports Illustrated, Readers Digest, Life Magazine, The American Weekly and Saturday Evening Post, among others. His honors include the Christopher Award for his story on Babe Zaharias' heroic battle against cancer, and the Lincoln Werden Award from the Golf Writers Association for outstanding contribution to golf journalism.

His book, The Encyclopedia of Golf, is a substantial reference volume. Ross plays his golf at The Patterson Club in Fairfield, Connecticut, where he is a member.

ARCHIVES:

• Heavy Traffic on the Sports Calendar
  
• Thoughts at the Start of a New Year
  
• The Year that Was
  
• Dealing with the Young and the Old
  
• How to Lose the "Loser" Image
  
• That Blank Line in the Record Book
  
• Needed: An American Beauty who can Play
  
• Rocky Economy Threatens PGA Tour
  
• For Golfers, More than the Leaves are Ablaze
  
• You've Got to Believe the Gypsies!
  
• Butch and the Tiger - Hardly an Odd Couple!
  
• America's Classic Courses at Risk
  
• Tiger's Cash Flow In Jeopardy
  
• A Telephone Call in the Midst of Doom and Gloom
  
• A Breath of Fresh Air From Golf
  
• The Challenge of The Belfry
  
• Payback Time at the Belfry?
  
• Welcome Change in the Majors
  
• Golfers Are Still Walking the Walk
  
• Is It Just a Game?
  
• Custer Had An Excuse
  
• At Last, a Smile from the Man Behind the Mask
  
• More Millions for the PGA Tour
  
• Remembering the Winds of Royal Lytham
  
• Three to Remember
  
• Why the Driving Ranges Are Crowded!
  
• A Memorable Open - For the Wrong Reasons!
  
• Golf's Mid-Season Report Card
  
• Supreme Court's Gavel Opens a Can of Worms
  
• Phil Mickelson and His Disasters on Sunday
  
• "And A Little Child Shall Lead Them..."
  
• British Open Forecast: Long-ball Contest!
  
• The Slow Motion Ballet on the Greens
  
• Discovery of New Youth on Senior Tour
  
• Wearing Out the LPGA's Welcome Mat!
  
• A Masters to Remember!
  
• A Good Name and Great Riches!
  
• The Redwood, the Dogwood, and The Masters
  
• Does Golf Really Need a Fifth Major?
  
• The Youth Uprising on the PGA Tour
  
• And It Started with a Kick in the Pants from His Wife!
  
• The Tail Is Wagging the Dog!
  
• All the World Loves a Tour Golfer!
  
• Is The Club War Simmering Down?
  
• The Doctor Who Put a Smile on Golf Scores
  
• Look, Ma, Here's Another Golfer Who Can Break Records!
  
• A Vote for Calling The Crosby by its Right Name
  
• First Tee Program Opens New Horizons for Game
  
• The World Golf Championship That Wasn't
  
• So You Think 2000 Was Exciting...
  
• Getting on the PGA Tour Is No Piece of Cake!
  
• A-Rod and Tiger: The Changing Face of Sport!
  
• Can the Ladies Rescue Japan's Failing Golf?
  
• Golf Brass Takes Dead-Aim on NFL
  
• And The Winner Is...
  
• Remembering the World Cup of Yesterday
  
• A Tiger Who Can Roar and Cry at the Same Time!
  
• Bill Clinton's Golf Legacy and Other Thoughts
  
• Palmer Stirs Confusion in Ranks of His Army!
  
• What Ever Happened to Golf's Hushed Galleries?
  
• Watching and Waiting Becomes Part of the Game!
  
• Are the Winds of a Golf War Blowing?
  
• Q School - Not Exactly the Little Red Schoolhouse!
  
• Golf In the Olympics? Why Not?
  
• Good Listening Doesn't Always Pay!
  
• Bird-watchers Give CBS a Bogey on Birdies
  
• A Fortnight Worth Waiting For!
  
• A Fortnight Worth Waiting For!
  
• The Elusive Solution to Crowded Courses
  
• The Private Club: An Endangered species?
  
• TV Goes For Another Tiger "Showdown"
  
• The Foreign Invasion and the Bruised U.S. Image
  
• Remembering Jack and How Great He Was!
  
• Big Money Isn't Always Enough to Hook the Pros.
  
• Pebble Beach Returns to the Fold.
  
• All Aboard for St. Andrews!
  
• The Last Bastion of The True Sportsman!
  
• Wanted: Someone to Challenge the Tiger!
  
• The U.S. Open That Has Everything
  
• He Stopped to Smell the Flowers Often!