Brian Manzella
Administrator
Francis Henry Thomas, a golf pro since 1925 and Mr. Golf in New Orleans and the Gulf States region, died Friday.
He grew up at City Park, where he started working at age 9. By 16 he was Head Professional at Colonial Country Club in Harahan, LA a suburb of New Orleans. In 1933 he returned to City Park where he was Head of all things golf until 1987.
He was not-so-gently pushed out of his duties by a City Park Board that ran a park he and his ultra-successful golf operation kept afloat for so many years.
The professional that followed him—and may have had much to do with his ousting—Frank Mackel, was like so many, a former junior golfer of Thomas, one that he kept out of trouble by 'allowing' him to sneak on his course.
It is one of the ironies of life that Thomas' much younger successor passed away before him in 2001 after leaving City Park under a cloud of investigation.
Thomas didn't stop his love for golf or his love for having his hand in it. He left City Park to run Plantation Golf Course on New Olreans' west bank. The course had been recently rated in a major magazine as the worst course in the USA. It improved greatly under Thomas, whose peerless customer friendly ways, made for many a new happy customer.
He loved retail. He probably sold more sets of golf clubs out of his own shop than anyone who ever lived. A testament to his influence and succesful golf club sales is that when it was learned that he was leaving City Park, clubmaker Karsten Soilhiem of Ping fame, flew to New Olreans to visit Thomas and thank him for his support of his company.
After leaving Plantation, Thomas then opened a small discount golf shop near his beloved City Park, where in 400 square feet, he was still not undersold by the big discounters.
The last few years included a brief return to teaching at the City Park Driving Range that he got built after years of trying. Henry still visited the range monthly until Katrina.
He started tens of thousands of golfers in the game, and developed probably over 100 juniors into Golf Professionals. He taught on TV in the 40's and even recorded LP's of his teaching.
In 1982, while giving golf presentations during the National Real Estate convention in New Orleans with long-time assistant Larry Griffin, he asked along his young assistant who was taking video classes at the nearby University of New Olreans.
When he went to lunch the first day of the convention, he told his young assistant to "teach" anyone who came by the booth until he and Griffin returned.
He returned amazed to see his young protege giving an impromtu clinic for nearly 100 conventioneers. He then had the uncommon combination of foresight and humility to allow this 'natural' to do nearly all the teaching for the next day and a half.
That summer, he turned over his struggling Junior Golf program to the 20 year-old. The program—with about two dozen participants—quickly grew and by 1989 had almost 500 golfers.
His young assistant went on to a career in teaching, developing other professionals himself, both teaching and playing.
Henry Thomas was 94.
He grew up at City Park, where he started working at age 9. By 16 he was Head Professional at Colonial Country Club in Harahan, LA a suburb of New Orleans. In 1933 he returned to City Park where he was Head of all things golf until 1987.
He was not-so-gently pushed out of his duties by a City Park Board that ran a park he and his ultra-successful golf operation kept afloat for so many years.
The professional that followed him—and may have had much to do with his ousting—Frank Mackel, was like so many, a former junior golfer of Thomas, one that he kept out of trouble by 'allowing' him to sneak on his course.
It is one of the ironies of life that Thomas' much younger successor passed away before him in 2001 after leaving City Park under a cloud of investigation.
Thomas didn't stop his love for golf or his love for having his hand in it. He left City Park to run Plantation Golf Course on New Olreans' west bank. The course had been recently rated in a major magazine as the worst course in the USA. It improved greatly under Thomas, whose peerless customer friendly ways, made for many a new happy customer.
He loved retail. He probably sold more sets of golf clubs out of his own shop than anyone who ever lived. A testament to his influence and succesful golf club sales is that when it was learned that he was leaving City Park, clubmaker Karsten Soilhiem of Ping fame, flew to New Olreans to visit Thomas and thank him for his support of his company.
After leaving Plantation, Thomas then opened a small discount golf shop near his beloved City Park, where in 400 square feet, he was still not undersold by the big discounters.
The last few years included a brief return to teaching at the City Park Driving Range that he got built after years of trying. Henry still visited the range monthly until Katrina.
He started tens of thousands of golfers in the game, and developed probably over 100 juniors into Golf Professionals. He taught on TV in the 40's and even recorded LP's of his teaching.
In 1982, while giving golf presentations during the National Real Estate convention in New Orleans with long-time assistant Larry Griffin, he asked along his young assistant who was taking video classes at the nearby University of New Olreans.
When he went to lunch the first day of the convention, he told his young assistant to "teach" anyone who came by the booth until he and Griffin returned.
He returned amazed to see his young protege giving an impromtu clinic for nearly 100 conventioneers. He then had the uncommon combination of foresight and humility to allow this 'natural' to do nearly all the teaching for the next day and a half.
That summer, he turned over his struggling Junior Golf program to the 20 year-old. The program—with about two dozen participants—quickly grew and by 1989 had almost 500 golfers.
His young assistant went on to a career in teaching, developing other professionals himself, both teaching and playing.
Henry Thomas was 94.
