“No matter how I play, I’m never off my system. I more than likely will be the only consistent golfer that ever lived.”
Count Yogi
Harry M. Frankenberg (better known as Count Yogi) was an enigmatic, some would say mysterious, golfer born in the early part of the 20th century. All during the 1920’s 30’s and 40’s he played against, and beat, most of golf’s greats at the time, with some refusing to play against him.
After being “blackballed” from competing in professional tournaments (like the great South African Bobby Locke) he barnstormed the USA playing exhibitions, conducting trick-shot shows, and occasionally playing real tournament golf (although not on the PGA Tour).
Count Yogi was half-American Indian, and the PGA of America, shamefully, had a caucasians-only clause in its bylaws during this time in its history. This clause was most certainly applied to Count Yogi.
His roadshow spanned more than 30 years with over 7,000 performances hitting shots with clubs and implements you can’t even imagine!! This took an incredible amount of energy, skill, and stamina that we can only dream of.
It began with an 18-hole playing and scoring exhibition (playing both right and left handed) followed by an hour of setting up and then performing another 1½ hour ‘miracle’ shot show before clearing it all up again and hitting the road for his next event.
Rumour has it he never ever hit a bad shot, playing with such perfection and consistency, hitting perfectly straight shots or calling out intentional fades and slices right and left handed. Click here for one of his infamous putting exhibitions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8sKbz-1QCM&feature=player_embedded.
As well as all his trick shots, he was one hell of an incredible golfer and, with such an average to lean figure, he could hit a ball a mile. Here are just some of the records he achieved…
- Averaged 67 per round for 203 rounds of 18-hole golf in 1940, playing either right handed or left handed.
- Shot 26-29 for a 55 at Bunker Hill Golf Course, a regulation course, winning the 1934 Chicago golf championship. Included two back-to-back holes-in-one (187 and 347 yards) while playing with Al Espinosa and Terry McGovern
- Shot scores of 55, 57, 58 and 59 in 18-hole rounds, as well as countless scores in the low 60’s to win many, many tournaments and break numerous course records.
- Shot a 59 in winning the best ball title at Greenview Country Club, Chicago.
- Shot seven birdies in a row for a world tournament record (held for eighteen years) in the 1941 Chicago Open at Elmhurst Country Club.
- Played a 550-yard hole in two strokes in Corpus Christi, Texas, driving 453 yards and sinking the next shot with a wedge.
- Shot par or under for 267 of 273 successive shows
- Drives of 453, 450, 435 and 425 yards.
- Fifty-five holes-in-one; nine of them on par-4 holes, two in succession (187 and 347 yards); one 416-yard hole-in-one
- Fourteen putts for eighteen holes (score 29-29=58) on par-72 Wilson Golf Course, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, former scene of Los Angeles Open, 1951.
- 645-yard par-6 hole in 3; 59 on par-74 course, 1933.
- Eight birdies and two eagles in succession in a 58 at Paw Paw Lakes Links, Michigan, 1939.
- Played eighteen holes in fifty-seven minutes and 69 shots; fastest round (not cycling, but walking), mid-City Golf Course, Chicago, 1948.
- Seven wins and two runner-up positions in Pro-Ams, 1949.
- 31-32=63 on par-72 Grossinger, New York; broke record of Sam Snead, Lew Worsham and Lloyd Mangrum, 1952
- Seven rounds of eighteen-hole golf from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Not running-just proving infallible mental routine; 69, 66, 67, 66, 67, 68, 67, Bunker Hill Country Club, 1940.
- Seven birdies in succession at Golfmoor Country Club; broke Walter Hagen’s record with 64, 1932
- Sixty-nine or under almost every round of professional career.
Some would say the Count Yogi philosophy is, in many ways, not unlike the Easiest Swing school of thought:
- Count Yogi was not big on mechanics.
- He taught his students that the most important thing was to remain “boneless and muscleless”, and to swing (and finish) as gracefully as possible in perfect balance.
- He advocated a subconscious approach to the golf swing, stating that he controlled the clubhead with his mind.
- He advocated a very light grip, stating that you just touch the grip with your fingers, not squeeze it.
- Count Yogi didn`t believe in taking divots. He basically swept the ball off the turf.
- He claimed that he was hitting everything on the “up arc”.
We can safely say that if the Count played in tournaments today he would pull his hair out having to wait around so long – he liked to play quick and would just stand up and hit it. Click this link to see just what I mean. Note the graceful finish (and how he was always surrounded by such beautiful women): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDDELylG7m0&t=1408s
Here are some more fantastic links from YouTube revealing a man who really was, to say the least, a larger-than-life character:
Radio Interview with the man himself:
Count Yogi’s swing at 84:
The Count meets Muhammed Ali:
There are also some great historical reads on Count Yogi including:
“Golf’s Forgotten Legends & Unforgettable Controversies” written by Jeff Gold and published in 2015, featured in all of Chapter 13.
“The Secret of Golf” by George Peper, a retired chief writer and editor of ‘Golf Magazine. He is featured in Chapter 47 under the heading “THE BEST PLAYER YOU’VE NEVER SEEN”.