Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2023 - 44

MGA NEWS
IN MEMORIAM
Joel Goldstrand,
1939-2022
J
oel Goldstrand, 83, of Medina, Minn.,
passed away Nov. 13 after an illness
associated with Alzheimer's. Born in
North Branch and raised in Worthington,
Goldstrand helped his high school golf
team win the 1957 MSHSL Boys' State
Tournament. He was later recruited to
play golf at the University of Houston,
whose men's golf team would win three
national championships during his time
at the university. Houston may well have
won a sixth consecutive title if not for
Goldstrand, who in his senior year during
the final round of the NCAA tournament,
penalized himself for carrying a 15th club
in his golf bag, an accident which would
earn Houston an additional 16 strokes.*
In 1965, Goldstrand joined the PGA
Tour and played for eight seasons before
leaving the tour to be the golf professional
at the Minneapolis Golf Club
in 1973. During his tenure at MGC,
Goldstrand conceived the Minnesota Golf
Champions, an invitational styled after
The Masters tournament
in Augusta,
Ga., in 1975. He would win the event
three consecutive years, 1977-1979, in
addition to two State Opens and two MN
PGA Championships.
One of his career highlights included
posting rounds of 76-76-71-72-295 to
finish in a tie for 12th place at Hazeltine
National GC and the 1970 U.S. Open. Out
in the second group the first morning,
Goldstrand's round featured 14 pars and
four bogies under extreme conditions.
" It was so windy that I had to back off
from putts twice on the 16th green by the
lake. I thought the wind
was going to knock me
over, " he was quoted in the
Minneapolis Tribune the
next day.
Forty-mile-an-hourplus
wind gusts and chilly
temperatures made the
course
so
difficult
on
Thursday that Goldstrand
went back out to watch the
field finish. In fact, 33 players
would equal or better
his opening 76, but only
one would shoot under
par that day, the eventual
winner Tony Jacklin (71).
The Big Three, Arnold
Palmer, Gary Player and
Jack Nicklaus, stumbled
home with rounds of 79,
80 and 81, respectively.
Goldstrand was one of four locals to
In 1965, Goldstrand joined
the PGA Tour and played
for eight seasons before
leaving the tour to be the
golf professional at the Minneapolis
Golf Club in 1973.
make the cut at the Open, which earned
him a $2,150 payday, an invitation to the
1971 Masters and an exemption into the
1971 U.S. Open.
He was among the first, if not the first
player, to use Ping golf equipment on the
professional tour. It was during this period
that he developed a penchant for designing
golf courses, which would become
a fulltime occupation in 1989. A prolific
architect, Goldstrand would design nearly
100 golf courses throughout his career.
During his induction into the
Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame in 1998,
Goldstrand said one of his proudest
accomplishments was founding the original
Bible Study Group on the PGA Tour,
a fellowship of Christian golfers who continue
to meet weekly during the season.
Among his
studying
theology,
favorite pastimes were
coaching,
sports,
and traveling with his wife, Solveig.
Goldstrand is survived by his wife and
three children, Lorna Lynn, Lee Edwin
and Becky Louise, and eleven grandchildren.
A service was held on Nov.
22 at
Prairie. Memorials may be made
the Wooddale Church in Eden
to
the Cure Alzheimer's Fund, curealz.org/
outreach/in-memory/joel-goldstrand,
or the Institute for Creation Research,
icr.org/donate.
*SEARCH YOUTUBE.COM for " Jack Nicklaus 1961 College Golf Story " to see Jack talking to Joel Goldstrand and his son about the 1961
NCAA Championships, and Jack, who was the medalist that year, mentions the 16-stroke penalty. (Jack says 18 strokes, but it was 16.) Joel
then explains that some of the Minnesota players were in his motel room after the first round, and they were passing around Joel's 1 iron. One
of the Gophers (Butch Newby), not realizing that Joel hadn't used the 1-iron in the first round, put it back in the bag, which is why there were
15 clubs in the bag the next day. Joel didn't notice it until he was on the ninth tee. The resulting 16-stroke penalty (two strokes for each of the
first eight holes) ended Houston's chances for a sixth consecutive NCAA team title-and is believed to be the reason for the rule change that
capped the penalty for an extra club at a maximum of 4 strokes.
44
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2023
mngolf.org
PHOTO: DAVID JOLES, COURTESY OF THE STAR TRIBUNE

http://www.curealz.org/outreach/in-memory/joel-goldstrand http://www.curealz.org/outreach/in-memory/joel-goldstrand http://www.icr.org/donate http://www.YOUTUBE.COM http://www.mngolf.org

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