Portions of this book were written using primary source material obtained from the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas at Austin, the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University–San Marcos, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, the Perry-Castaneda Library at the University of Texas at Austin, the Austin History Center, the Seagle Electronic Golf Library at the United States Golf Association, and the Buda Public Library, in the author’s hometown of Buda, Texas. Material quoted from these collections is cited in the notes.
All other quoted material in this book was curated from more than two hundred personal interviews with Harvey Penick’s and Bud Shrake’s family members, their former colleagues in the PGA of America and at Sports Illustrated, former players for the University of Texas golf teams from 1938 through 1963, and many former golf pupils of Harvey’s—all of them committed to ensuring a fair assessment of his life in golf, at Austin Country Club and beyond. Those interviews took place in person, by telephone, and by email from November 2012 to April 2015, in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Midland, and San Antonio, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Augusta, Georgia.
There are conflicting versions of the year Harvey first caddied at Austin Country Club. Harvey consistently said he began his life in golf when he was eight years old, which would establish that date sometime between October 1912 and October 1913. For consistency, this book uses 1912, the year most commonly cited by other accounts of Harvey’s life, including Harvey’s handwritten notes in his original Scribbletex notebook.