NEPGA Hall of Famer Ross Coon
was one of a kind

By Gary Larrabee

His chums affectionately called him “Spike” and “Roscoe.” Those not as enamored with his unique personality and fierce competitive spirit identified him in less flattering terms. Either way, everyone in the New England golf community likely agrees that the death of Ross Freeman Coon Jr. at the age of 70 last fall marked the passing of one the most talented golfers this region has ever seen.

The Lynnfield native and resident, a three-time New England PGA Section champion and NEPGA Hall of Famer, succumbed in October after a valiant nine-year battle with cancer. Most recently he had been the driving force, with his boss, Don Lyons, behind the rejuvenated junior golf program at Reedy Meadow in Lynnfield.

“Club professionals and characters like Ross Coon don’t come along very often,” said Tedesco’s Bob Green, the dean of North Shore head professionals. “He spoke his mind. He never shied away from discussing any issue. And he was a great player. When I broke into the business under Les Dunn here at Tedesco, Ross was considered among the best players in New England with fellows like Paul Barkhouse and Charlie Volpone.

“In later years Ross and I became good friends. Ross played over here a lot with one of our members, the late Larry Dawson, and I often was asked to join them. That was a privilege and honor. I loved to watch him swing that club. And he was always gracious and complimentary.”

Barkhouse, a former Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and New England Open champion, called Coon, “an inspiration and motivator to me because he was a few years older. As a kid, I wanted to be as good a player as Ross, so he made me strive mighty hard. I’m glad I followed him into the professional golf business. When we were juniors, I’ll never forget the time Ross and a few of the other guys at Happy Valley drove down to Maryland to root me on in the U.S. Juniors. That meant a great deal to me.”

Lyons, a former NEPGA president, was Coon’s best friend the last several years.

“Ross was his own man right to the end,” said Lyons. “No one would deny he marched to the beat of his own drum. The way he played, the way he taught, the way he dressed for golf matches. I’m just glad he came back to this area.”

From his humblest beginnings in golf as a caddy and junior player at Lynnfield’s Sagamore Spring and Lynnfield Centre and Lynn’s Happy Valley (now named after Larry Gannon) courses, Coon quickly separated himself from his peers with an unwavering confidence and rarely seen long ball that took him places in a hurry.

Soon after graduating from high school, Coon turned professional and began a journey that would take him to jobs locally at Walpole Country Club and Clauson’s on Cape Cod (now the Cape Cod Country Club), then into the big time – assistant positions at the exclusive Canterbury Golf Club (under the legendary Henry Picard) outside Cleveland, Seminole in Florida and Newport CC in Rhode Island.

He represented Canterbury at the wind-plagued 1963 United States Open at The Country Club in Brookline, won the long driving competition early in the week and made the cut in what remains the highest scoring Open in modern history.

While working winters at Seminole, his talent caught the eye of Ben Hogan and among his students at Newport was one Jacqueline Kennedy.

His big break came when Dan Hogan, the developer of the new Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover, hired Coon as his head professional in 1965, a position he held for 21 years before becoming a full time freelance golf instructor. All through the years, Coon was guided by his mentor, the late great instructor George Apple of Sagamore Spring fame.

This writer knew Coon as a fiery competitor, an always fascinating interview and a complex personality. As a caddy for Coon in a few major tournaments, including the Hartford Open and Pleasant Valley PGA Tour stops, I can attest to the fact that he was a man of extraordinary golf ability. Only Coon, who never wore a glove, could launch his tee shot off the grass immediately in front of the tee and still see it carry 275 yards. He called those “skimmers.”

Considered by many as possessing a Seve Ballesteros-type of quality in the gamesmanship department, he had style as well. I’ll always remember Ross for the forward press in his address before drawing the club back; for his turned up shirt collar; for his trademark throat-clearing before playing a pressure-packed shot; for the ankle-exposing corduroy slacks he liked wearing in competition in 95-degree heat; for the confident swagger he displayed as he walked the fairways in the thick of heated competition.

Best of all, I’ll remember him for that embracing greeting as he opened the trunk of his car and pulled out the golf bag for one of our player-caddy adventures: “Hiya, pal.”

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Gone, but not forgotten

Among other members of the North Shore golf family who have passed away since NSG last published are former WGAM Executive Director Janice Gannon Vance, former Boston Globe sports editor and avid golfer Ernie Roberts of Danvers, Thomas Yee, father of Ipswich CC pro shop staffer Tom Yee Jr.; Bass Rocks’ Dr. Robert Lundberg; Rockport GC’s Frank Paradis; Salem CC’s Jack McLean, Ernie Santin, Buzz Martin and Marcia Panakio; Beverly Golf and Tennis’s Tom Pesola; former Ipswich resident Terry McSweeney; Myopia’s Marie Mulcahy and Woburn CC legend Ernie Doherty. They will all be missed.