Bob Toski

Robert John Toski, born Algustoski (born September 18, 1926), is an American professional golfer and golf instructor. He was inducted into the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]

Bob Toski
Personal information
Full nameRobert John Toski
NicknameMighty Mouse[1]
Born (1926-09-18) September 18, 1926
Haydenville, Massachusetts
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)
Nationality United States
Career
Turned professional1945
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins12
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour5
Other7
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT18: 1951
PGA ChampionshipT9: 1950, 1954
U.S. OpenT17: 1956
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
leading money winner		1954

Early years

He was born in Haydenville, Massachusetts of Polish descent, the eighth of nine children born to Walenty Algustoski and his wife Mary. He learned to play golf at Northampton Country Club, where he caddied and where two of his elder brothers, Jack and Ben, were assistant professionals.[2]

PGA Tour

He joined the PGA Tour in 1949 and broke through for his first win in the Insurance City Open in 1953. He was the leading money winner in 1954, when his four victories included the World Championship of Golf, where first prize was $50,000, by far the richest prize-money golf event in the world. That victory also earned him a $50,000 contract from promoter George S. May to put on 50 exhibitions the following year; he would put on 57 and play in only 14 events in 1955. He scaled back his playing career starting in 1957 after wife Lynn gave birth to three boys in a span of less than four years.

Toski found stardom on the Tour despite weighing only 118 pounds. He was the smallest Tour player throughout his playing career and his combination of his small size and his driving prowess earned him the nickname "Mouse" from Sam Snead, a reference to the cartoon superhero Mighty Mouse popular at that time.

Club professional, coach, author, broadcaster

Toski left the tour aged 30 so he could spend more time with his young family (perhaps influenced by having lost his own mother at age six), and took a series of jobs as a club professional, while still competing occasionally on the Tour.

Later he found renewed fame as a leading golf coach, assisting tour pros such as World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Tom Kite and Judy Rankin as well as Australian star Bruce Crampton. He also wrote several golf instructional books, and made some of the earliest golf instruction videos. In the early 1980s he was a regular on NBC Sports golf telecasts. He worked as color commentator with Hughes Sports Network golf telecasts in the 1970s.

Senior PGA Tour

Toski began playing on the Senior PGA Tour (now Champions Tour) upon its formation in 1980. He left the Tour in January 1986 after he became involved in a controversy over how he marked his ball in a tournament in Japan.[3] Fellow Senior PGA Tour player Gay Brewer stated that Toski improved his lie by marking it away from a spike mark near where his ball had come to rest on the green. Toski said that he had no recollection of any rules infraction. He returned in April 1986[4] and played several more years on the Tour.

Legacy

He was the first living instructor inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame, and he is also a member of the National Polish-American Hall of Fame.

Professional wins (12)

PGA Tour wins (5)

Other wins (5)

this list is probably incomplete

Other senior wins (2)

Playoff record

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1982 Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am Billy Casper Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament T18 T40 T22 T41 CUT
U.S. Open T20 CUT T18 T17 CUT CUT
PGA Championship R16 R64 R64 R32 R16 R128 T20 CUT
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
PGA Championship CUT T51

Note: Toski never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play

Major works
  • Toski, Bob (1955). Beginner's Guide to Golf. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. ASIN B001CA8L8U.
  • Casper, Billy; Toski, Bob (1966). Golf Shotmaking. New York: Golf Digest / Doubleday. ASIN B0000CN8TV.
  • Toski, Bob (1971). The Touch System for Better Golf. Golf Digest. ASIN B00921CJVQ.
  • Toski, Bob; Aultman, Dick (1980). Bob Toski's Complete Guide to Better Golf. Scribner. ISBN 978-0689705922.
  • Toski, Bob (1981). Golf For a Lifetime. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0671437411.
  • Toski, Bob; Flick, Jim (1984). How to Become a Complete Golfer. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0671723040.
  • Toski, Bob; Love Jr., Davis (1988). How to Feel a Real Golf Swing. Random House. ISBN 978-0394561219.
  • Find Your Own Fundamentals (with Jim Flick), Golf Digest, 1992

See also

References
  1. Desmith, David. "Golf's Animal Kingdom of Player Nicknames". Links Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  2. "PGA Museum of Golf -- Member Profiles". pgalinks.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  3. McManamon, Patrick (January 8, 1986). "Toski Withdraws From Senior Tour". The Palm Beach Post. p. D1.
  4. "28 Teams To Compete In Legends of Golf". The Palm Beach Post. April 24, 1986. p. D9.
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