Ty Mancuso knows that most people, especially outside of New England, have never heard of Willie Ogg or understand his impact on the game of golf.
“It’s a little upsetting,” he said.
Mancuso knows all about Ogg because he is Ogg’s great-great-grandson, and this summer, Mancuso is interning at Worcester Country Club, where Ogg served as head pro from 1921-44.
Ogg owned a rich golf résumé. He was born in Scotland and made clubs for the St. Andrews Golf Company before moving to Massachusetts in 1914 and working at Brae Burn CC in Newton. In 1919, he became head pro at East Lake CC in Atlanta and worked with a young Bobby Jones. While serving as head pro at Worcester CC, Ogg became one of the founding members of the PGA of America and served as vice president. He helped Worcester CC land the 1925 US Open and the inaugural Ryder Cup matches in 1927.
“It’s not something that I really understood as a young boy,” the 22-year-old Mancuso said, “but as I’ve gotten older and continued my education and started getting into the PGA, I’m realizing how important and how special it really is, and it’s just remarkable.”
Ogg also designed and invented Ogg-mented irons for Wilson Sporting Goods. He was also an excellent player, winning the Shawnee Open in 1921, the Maine Open in 1923 and the Mass. Open and the New England PGA Championship in 1924.
Ogg designed the Country Club of Wilbraham in 1927 and Green Hill Golf Course in 1929, both of which Mancuso has played. He later became a golf pro and superintendent at Albany Country Club in Voorheesville, New York, and wrote the book, “Golf as I Know It.” He died at age 71 on Christmas Day in 1959.
Mancuso was on hand when Ogg was inducted into the New England PGA Hall of Fame in 2017, and Mancuso believes his great-great-grandfather deserves to be inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame as well.
In the meantime, he’s proud to be interning at Worcester CC where Ogg became head pro more than 100 years ago.
Last year during the 100th WCC Invitational, the club honored the head pros who served for 20 years or more: Ogg, John Bernardi, Ray Lajoie and Allan Belden. Longtime WCC member Mark Fuller searched the Internet and tracked down Ogg’s great granddaughter, Courtney Mancuso-Ogg, in Waltham. She mentioned that her son, Ty, was a student in the Professional Golf Management program at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, and planned to become a PGA professional. Coincidentally, Fuller and his wife, Jan, own a condo in Fort Myers, so they dined with Mancuso and his girlfriend, and Fuller later asked WCC head pro Andy Lane and general manager Troy Sprister to reach out to him to intern at the club.
“It’s unbelievably cool to have that legacy here again,” Fuller said.
“It was very surprising,” Mancuso said, “and we were very honored that such a prestigious club made the time to reach out to us and wanted to invite us and honor Willie and honor us and to keep that spirit of the game alive through Willie, and we just really appreciate everything.”
There have been several avid golfers in the family over the years. Ogg’s daughter, Florence McCluskey, won the WCC women’s club championship 26 times and the senior women’s club championship twice. His son, Wilfred, won the WCC men’s club championship eight times. Mancuso’s father, Mark, is a low handicapper, but Mancuso will be the first golf pro in the family since his great-great-grandfather.
“Obviously, there’s tons of golf professionals out there who love the game and make it their career,” he said, “but I just feel somewhat connected to the industry through Willie. I feel that it’s a tradition that I should keep up, and I’m doing my best to keep it going.”
Even most people at Florida Gulf Coast haven’t heard of Ogg, but Tara McKenna, the college’s director of the Professional Golf Management program has. McKenna served as head pro at Tatnuck CC from 2003-09 before becoming director at Florida Gulf Coast in 2010.
“She’s one of the main supporters and fans, if you will, of Willie Ogg down there,” Mancuso said.
As an intern, Mancuso assists the golf pros and other staff in everything from tournament operations, entering scores, placing golf bags on carts and washing carts. He also teaches juniors.
Mancuso, a 5 handicap, was a two-time Dual County League all-star and Waltham High’s No. 1 golfer.
Mancuso’s family has many photos of Ogg and several Ogg-mented irons that he designed, but Ty is anxious about swinging them.
“I feel scared every time that I’m going to harm it in some way,” Ty admitted. “I do chip in the house and outside with an Ogg-mented club sometimes.”
Mancuso had a laugh when Lane told him that Ogg used to bang the clubs of members on the tree near the 18th green at WCC to adjust the loft or the lie angle.
By the way, Mancuso’s real first name is Ty. It’s not short for anything.
“My parents liked short names,” he said. “That’s what I was told. When my dad gets old, he doesn’t want to forget it. It’s nice and short.”
Mancuso will be a junior at Florida Gulf Coast this fall, and after he graduates, he’d love to become a pro at WCC where his great-great-grandfather served as head pro for so long.
“I’m very proud to be a descendant of Willie Ogg,” he said, “but I don’t want to come off as brash or anything like that. So I try to be very humble about it, but if I can slip it in somewhere and mention it to someone and I know they’ll appreciate it, of course I do.”
Dupuis takes on US Amateur in Colorado
Another Ty has made a name for himself in local golf. Ty Dupuis, whose full first name is Tyler, is scheduled to tee off Monday in the first round of the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills CC in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado.
Dupuis, a former Grafton High three-time MVP who will be a senior this fall on the Bryant University golf team, was medalist in the 36-hole U.S. Amateur qualifier July 18 at Ledgemont CC in Seekonk. He shot 70-69 for a total of 3-under 139 and carded an eagle and eight birdies.
Dupuis, 21, will be one of only four golfers from Massachusetts in the field of 312. The others are Herbie Aikens, 41, of Kingston, Jake Shuman, 27, of Boston, and New England Amateur champion Joseph Lenane, 20, of Dedham.
The tournament is open to amateur golfers with handicap indexes of 2.4 or lower.
The golfers will play 18 holes of stroke play Monday and another 18 Tuesday, one round at Cherry Hills and the other at Colorado Golf Club. On Wednesday, the low 64 scorers advance to match play at Cherry Hills. The championship ends with a 36-hole championship match on Sunday, Aug 20.
The champion and runner-up will be exempt into the 2024 U.S. Open championship at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club’s Course No. 2.
Dupuis has enjoyed a successful summer. On July 23, he defeated Sean Magarian in 21 holes to capture the club championship at Pleasant Valley CC in Sutton. Magarian starred at West Boylston High and is the No. 1 golfer for Assumption University.
On June 1, Dupuis shot a 4-under 68 at PV to earn medalist honors in a Mass. Open qualifier. He shot 76-82 to miss the cut in the Mass. Open at TPC Boston in Norton, but he’s likely to get more chances to play in the Mass. Open in future years.
—Contact Bill Doyle at bcdoyle15@charter.net. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @BillDoyle15.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ty Mancuso upholds proud family tradition at Worcester Country Club
