Walter Lowrie "Boots" Porterfield

Walter Lowrie “Boots” Porterfield, 84, died March 9 at Fairview Transitional Health Center in Grants Pass, Ore. He was resident golf pro at Grants Pass Golf Club from 1957 to 1970.

Born May 1, 1927, in Long Beach, Calif., to Walter (Ted) and Gene Porterfield, Boots acquired his nickname as a baby.

Boots began playing golf at a young age when swimming didn’t suit him—and he rarely put his clubs down thereafter. He excelled in the sport at Long Beach Wilson High and his record of the title in three consecutive Southern Section individual championships (1942-44) has been matched by only two other players—Mac Hunter (Santa Monica High, 1945-47) and Tiger Woods (Western High, 1991-94).

Boots graduated from Long Beach Wilson High in 1945 and the Merchant Marine Academy in Vallejo, Calif., in 1947 and served on the USS Toledo.

Boots then began his lifelong career as professional golfer. His first job was as assistant golf pro to George Lake at Recreation Park Public Golf Course in Long Beach in 1948, the year he married Ethel Woodman. When their first child, Pegi, was six months old in 1951, Boots was sponsored with $2,000 and they ventured onto the PGA Golf Tour, where Boots competed with such greats as Ed Furgol, Jimmie Demaret, and Sam Snead.

After starting at the L.A. Open at Riviera Country Club and playing the PGA Tour cross-country for a number of months, the Porterfields ran out of money in Ocala, Fla. So they headed to his new assistant pro job in Milwaukee, Wis., at Milwaukee Country Club. They lived in nearby Oconomowoc. In 1954 Boots won the Wisconsin State Open and 25 years later, in 1979, his son Walt won the same tournament.

“The Oregon Tour” began in 1957 in Grants Pass, where Boots served as golf pro at the Grants Pass Golf Club until 1970. From there he was golf pro at Forest Hills Country Club in Reedsport, Albany Country Club, and Emerald Valley and Shadow Hills golf clubs in the Eugene area, where he retired. He was predominately a successful tournament player locally and in the Northwest, playing in such tournaments as Oregon PGA championships (5 wins) and the Hudson Cup (12 times) as a member.

Survivors include his son Walt Porterfield, Ventura, Calif.; daughters Patricia Clewett of Barcelona, Spain, and Betty Herrick of Corvallis, Mont.; 11 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; sister Lee Cummins, Grants Pass; and former wife Ethel Bausman, Grants Pass. He was preceded in death by his daughter Pegi Miller, a brother Jim, and his parents.

A family service will be held at a later date. Hull and Hull Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be sent to Lovejoy Hospice in Grants Pass (939 SE 8th Street, Grants Pass, OR 97526 or www.lovejoyhospice.org).