dale hayes column
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The Henning family have given so much to golf in South Africa. I would love to see a Sunshine Tour event in their name, says DALE HAYES
In many ways the four Henning brothers flew under the radar. They were born in Johannesburg and grew up near Observatory Golf Club, which is where they learned their golf.
Harold, the oldest of the four brothers, was born in 1934 so he was just a little older than Gary Player. He turned professional while still in his teens and worked at Royal Johannesburg as an apprentice professional.
It wasn't long before he started winning golf tournaments. In 1956 he won both the Natal Open and the Cock of the North tournament in Zambia. His first win overseas came the following year when he lifted the Italian Open trophy.
He was a very quick player and had a simple golf swing with a magic touch around the greens. In total he won nearly 50 tournaments worldwide, including the National Opens of South Africa, Switzerland, Italy and Germany. He also won the SA PGA Championship four times. A couple of those wins were when he and Gary actually sponsored the event to keep it going.
He came so close to winning The Open Championship with a third-place finish in 1960, when Kel Nagel edged out Arnold Palmer, and again when he was one shot shy of joining the play-off in 1970 between Jack Nicklaus and Doug Sanders.
In 1965 he and partner Gary Player won the World Cup of Golf for South Africa. This broke a run of five American wins in a row.
Harold had the nickname 'The Horse' because he galloped around the golf course.
His two wins on the PGA Tour came in the Texas Open in 1966 and the Tallahassee Open in 1970.
In 1972 he walked away from the game and only played in a few tournaments in South Africa. But when the Senior Tour started, he worked on getting his game back and it didn't take long. In 1981, at the age of 47, he won the KLM Dutch Open. He made a killing on the Senior Tour with three wins, two play-off losses and two other wins in team events.
The next oldest brother was Brian who, although he was a terrific player, decided to go into the administrative side of golf. He started the Sunshine Tour in the late sixties and was instrumental in convincing many great overseas players to come to South Africa with the political issues at the time. Doug Sanders, Lanny Wadkins, Hale Irwin, Tony Jackllin and Seve Ballesteros were just some of the players who played on the Sunshine Tour.
When Brian left South Africa he was hopeful that he could get a job on the PGA Tour, so he sent a letter to the then Commissioner of the PGA Tour, Deane Beman. Beman replied that he didn't have anything at the time but if something came up he would contact him.
Brian had to wait four years and he worked at golf clubs, firstly as the cart attendant and then was teaching at a golf club in Dallas. Beman eventually contacted Brian and offered him the job of starting and overseeing the Senior Tour, which was almost guaranteed to be a success when they lowered the age from 55 to 50 and thus allowed Arnold Palmer to play.
Brian ran that Tour for over 20 years and turned it into a huge success with tournaments almost every week, with TV coverage giving golf fans the opportunity of watching the older stars in action.
The third of the brothers, Graham, was nicknamed 'Bones'. A little different in so much as he had white hair and his golf was more mechanical.
He won tournaments in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Switzerland and England. He won three times in 1967 and the same in 1969 when he beat Player in the General Motors tournament in Port Elizabeth. Playing with his older brother, Harold, he twice won the Ellerines tournament which was a betterball event. His biggest win overseas was in the Martini International in 1969.
Bones was a very popular club professional, first at Glendower and then he moved to the Wanderers. His son, Nic, is also a professional golfer who won four times on the Sunshine Tour, including a victory after a play-off with Darren Clarke in the Vodacom Players Championship.
Finally, brother number four, Allan Henning, 'The Doctor'. Many believe he should have overtaken his oldest brother as the best of the family, but Allan was not a good traveller.
He turned professional at 18 and almost immediately had his first win in the South African Open. Allan played on the PGA Tour for a few years, starting in 1966, and also played in Europe. In his last seven wins on the Sunshine Tour, he beat Bobby Cole and Hugh Baiocchi twice each and he beat me three times. He also represented South Africa in the World Cup of Golf in 1969 and the World Series of Golf, which was the bonus for leading the South African Order of Merit, which he did twice.
After turning 50, Allan was unbeatable on home soil, winning the SA Senior Open three times and had nine other victories. He was a beautiful golfer and created effortless power. I have no doubt if he'd travelled more he would have been a major star.
From 1969 Allan always held a club professional position, starting out at Reading Golf Club, then Glendower where he followed his brother, and Kensington Golf Club. When Kensington merged with Royal Johannesburg he moved there until he retired.
About
the Author
Dale Hayes is a former professional golfer with an illustrious record in the sport.
About the Author
Dale Hayes is a former professional golfer with an illustrious record in the sport. His 21 professional wins include the 1971 Spanish Open, the 1974 World Cup of Golf in partnership with Bobby Cole, and 13 titles on the Sunshine Tour. He also won the European Tour Order of Merit in 1975. Since retiring from the pro golf circuit he has remained active in the sport as the principal of an event management company and a popular and respected commentator.
South Africa’s Dale Hayes is a former professional golfer with an illustrious record in the sport. His 21 professional wins include the 1971 Spanish Open, the 1974 World Cup
Golf in partnership with Bobby Cole, and 13 titles on the Sunshine Tour. He also won the European Tour Order of Merit in 1975. Since retiring from the pro golf circuit he has remained active in the sport as the principal of an event management company and a popular and respected commentator.
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