“I have known Stan Abrams for years. He is a genuinely great guy, a real people person. He is so full of energy and always wants to be part of a project that brings happiness to others.” Pat Bradley, LPGA Hall of Famer and NE icon, was delighted to know that Stan Abrams was this month’s “Celebrity Golfer.” Providence born but Pawtucket bred, Stan Abrams attended Pawtucket West HS, where he was an allstate quarterback. After playing football and graduating with honors at Harvard in 1964, Abrams sold mutual funds and insurance for one year to make money for law school—“Most of my sales came on the golf course.”—before entering U of Pennsylvania and discovering that real estate transactions held a special appeal for him.
After clerking for a RI Supreme Court justice and working at a Providence law firm, he then joined the Druker Company in 1972 and learned the real estate business through its many holdings in hotels, office buildings, and shopping centers. All the while, Abrams was playing excellent competitive golf, winning the RI amateur in 1972 and again in 1975. In 1982, just as the Senior PGA Tour was about to take off, Abrams wrangled an audience with the pros of the Senior Tour policy board and convinced 15 of the 17 members that he would be their exclusive agent and find them a home base for the Senior PGA Tour, where they could live, play and practice. Thus began a relationship for Abrams with many of the game’s former greats who had, he said, been “put out to pasture.” Abrams represented these players and, through real estate development, marketing, and personal appearances, provided mulligans for their careers.
He became the manager and close friend of Sam Snead, for example, and soon found Sam five golf courses to design in Japan. Masters champion Bob Goalby said, “Stan was a straight shooter in all his dealings with Senior Tour players. Whatever he said he would do for us, he did, and he was always super good to me.” Abrams has also left an indelible imprint on NE golf with his efforts at the award-winning Granite Links GC in MA. Located on the highest ground on the Quincy/Milton line, the clubhouse and many of the 27 holes give spectacular views of the Boston skyline and the Harbor Islands. The owners needed Abrams’ legal expertise to write the land lease and then made him both a part of the development team and the liaison of marketing. Abrams was instrumental in getting BJ’s Wholesale Club and The Legends Tour to Granite Links so that NE golf fans could once again watch the LPGA greats. Jane Blalock, director of The Legends Tour and a native New Englander, said, “Stan is one of the classiest people with whom I have ever been associated in the world of golf. His unwavering support of the LPGA Legends Tour has certainly had a positive impact on our success. He can always be counted on.”
Stan Abrams’ life in golf will be formally acknowledged in December with his induction into the Rhode Island Golf Association Hall of Fame. Executive Director Bob Ward said, “Stan merits this honor because of his playing credentials—including two state amateur titles—his accomplishments within the golf industry, and his giving so much back to the game he loves.” Gleneagles seniors––Billy Casper, Bob Goalby, Doug Ford, Sam Snead, Gay Brewer, and Doug Sanders––foreground Stan Abrams
NEGM: How did you get your start in golf?
SA: As a boy I played West Warwick GC and learned the game from my dad. Later I became a member of Metacomet and played with the many low-handicap players there.
NEGM: What are your favorite golf courses?
SA: Metacomet, The Country Club, and Granite Links.
NEGM: Who would be in your Dream Foursome?
SA: It would have to be a fivesome! I’d love to play with my dad, my son Jeffrey, Bobby Jones, and Keegan Bradley.
NEGM: Of what golf achievements are you most proud?
SA:Winning the two state amateurs. In 1972, I beat my idol and inspiration Ron Quinn in the finals at Agawam Hunt Club. Ron was a five-time winner, a member like me at West Warwick, and a wonderful person. In 1975, I won at Metacomet, my home course.
NEGM: Another memorable golf moment?
SA: Yes, I was 17 and had qualified for a tournament in Tucson. In the long drive contest, I hit one 303 yards to come in second, and I received my award personally from Bobby Jones. He was crippled and in his wheel chair, but he delivered such a moving, motivational speech about his life in golf. I’ll never forget that night.
NEGM: As a boy were you also a Red Sox fan?
SA: Die hard! Still am! My father was a good friend of Hank Soar, the AL umpire, and we’d go to Fenway frequently during the Ted Williams era and after. Soar once said, “If Ted didn’t swing at the pitch, it was a ball.” One time Ted and Sam Snead were talking about the relative difficulties of their sports. Snead ended the discussion by saying, “But, Ted, in baseball you don’t have to play your foul balls.”
NEGM: Speaking of Snead, give two examples of what you did for Sam and the other senior golfers you represented.
SA: In 1983, a real estate developer wanted to create a 36-hole residential community in Delray Beach, FL, called Gleneagles. He was having trouble getting bank financing. I took Sam Snead and Billy Casper to the next bank meeting, and their charisma, together with my marketing ideas, got the developer his money. In return, Casper and Snead, along with Gay Brewer, Doug Ford, Bob Goalby, and Doug Sanders, all received homes, memberships, and financial perks. Shortly thereafter, also in Florida, I bought the bankrupt Lake Worth CC and marketed it as I had Gleneagles. Julius Boros, Ford, Goalby, and Bob Toski got in on the ground floor, and Ford liked the concept so much he later bought the club.
NEGM: Another one?
SA: In 1990, I retained Johnny Miller and Chi Chi Rodriguez to create a 27-hole golf course in Las Vegas called Badlands GC. However, I needed an additional $5 M to go with the $9 M I had already raised. I brought some investors to the golf course, and Chi Chi put on an incredible clinic, including hitting a moving tractor at 250 yards by using his driver! I had the rest of the money within a week.
NEGM: What’s the most unusual deal that you brokered?
SA: How about this one! In 1990, a Japanese firm wanted to design a course in Guam and wanted a way to attract worldwide attention. I suggested they get nine senior legends with each one endorsing two of the holes as if he had designed them. The Talafofo GC was the result. The nine legends I recruited: the old reliables like Bob, Billy, Chi Chi, Doug, Sam; golf greats Gene Littler, Orville Moody, Gene Sarazen; and The Hawk himself, Ben Hogan. We all met at Ben’s Shady Oaks CC in Texas for discussion and photographs. What a group!
NEGM: What was your reaction to Keegan Bradley’s PGA victory?
SA: My first reaction was to call “Aunt Pat,” one of my all-time favorite people, which I did later. My second reaction was that I was witnessing “a back to the future” moment. I was watching the final round at Westchester CC with Bob Goalby, who had invited me for festivities surrounding the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship that coming week. We were seated with Miller Barber, Al Besselink, Billy Casper, Jim Ferree, Jack Fleck, and Don January. Everyone was commenting on the clutch play of Keegan down the stretch. During the playoff, Bob said, almost in awe, “These kids are playing as great golf as Palmer and Nicklaus did in their day.”
Related posts:
- Celebrity Golfer: Kevin Millar
- Celebrity Golfer: Doc Giffin
- Celebrity Golfer: John O'Hurley
- Celebrity Golfer: Jim Craig
- Celebrity Golfer: Matt Adams
