C.O.C.A. Times

There was another problem; no one knew how to play. Newspapers ran "How to Play Golf' columns and self-teaching
books hit the marketplace. They sold faster than cook books or Bibles. All that paper training paled when compared to
the advantage of professional coaching. The 'golf pro' was born . It was not until the concept of a 'pro' emerged that golf
started to become more accessible to the public. The pros were usually second-string tournament winners with enough
name visibility to be local celebrities. They set up shop at their local clubs or public courses. They sold their time teaching
folks how to play, and sold clubs, mitts, tees, jackets and golf balls.
Boy, did they sell golf balls, because everyone was hitting them into the water or the woods. And they had the counter
and floor space. So what else goes in the golf shop? Right; machines that vend golf balls. And thus the golf ball vending
slot machine was born . They were produced in various models for about 20 years. Let's take a look at all eight models.
The Victoria Golf Ball Vendor was the first one produced. Clarence F. Grimm oflnglewood,
California originally invented the golf ball vending portion of this machine in 1932. Grimm
designed it with the purpose of creating an electrically operated golf ball vending machine. The
base of the vending cabinet was immediately adapted by O.D. Jennings & Company of Chicago
to create the Victoria Go lf Ball Vendor. A modified Jennings Victoria Model B 3 slot machine
was attached to the top of Grimm's vendor. A limited number of the Victoria's were produced
and only one Victoria is known to still exist.
The Sportsman Golf Ball Vendor Slot Machine (Art Deco).
This model first found its place on the countertop of golf shops in
July of 1935. It has flashy art deco aluminum castings, with golf
balls displayed across the entire lower portion of the machine.
For 25 cents, a player of the Sportsman could win anywhere from
1 to 20 golf balls. The Sportsman was also produced by O.D. Jen-
nings & Company in Chicago. Less than 40 art deco Sportsman
Golf Bal l Vendor Slot Machines have been found.
The Pace Comet Golf Ball Vendor was first produced in 1936. Today, there are less than 10
Pace Comet Golf Ball slots known to exist. Ed Pace got his start in Chicago during the 1920's.
A quick glance suggests the Jennings Sportsman Art Deco Golf Ball Vendor, but a closer look
reveals its true identity. It's a Pace copycat version on the frame of the 'Fancy Front' vendor.
Like most golf ball slot machines made around the mid- l 930s, it cost 25 cents to play and pro-
vided the golf club pro with an additional revenue stream. Often the local Pro would randomly
place a couple of red balls in the inclined ramp display. When a red ball was won it could be
exchanged for 2 white balls, a double payout that kept the player's interest.
The New Sportsman Golf Ball Vendor. This model is also called The Deluxe Sports-
man and was first introduced in June of 1937 by Jennings. It is an elegant all walnut
version of the Art Deco Sportsman. As a result of increased sales of this type of machine,
Jennings reacted by setting up a separate profit center located in a corner of the Jennings
factory, calling it the Sportsman Manufacturing Company. Sportsman billed itself as 'sole
selling agents' for the new machine. Only about 10 of the New Sportsman Golf Ball Ven-
dor machines have survived.
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