by Charles C. Bonniwell
Cherry Creek Valley resident M.J. Mastalir was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame at a banquet held at the great hall at the Sanctuary Golf Course on Sunday, May 21, 2017. He joined such golf luminaries as Hale Irwin, Greg Stadler, Dow Finsterwald and Babe Zaharias.
Mastalir was a member of the University of Colorado golf team that won the Big Eight Championship in 1968. He was also a graduate of the University of Colorado Law School and while a law student he was the assistant golf coach to Les Fowler, taking the reins of the team when the Colorado Legislature was in session as Fowler was a state legislator.
In 1985 he formed Real Estate Capital Corporation which was the first national company to finance golf course real estate projects across the country. He lent out a billion dollars in projects before he semi-retired in 2010.
As an accomplished golfer at age 32, Mastalir qualified for the United States Amateur and the following year he qualified for the United States Mid-Amateur. He played in the U.S. Amateur again in 1985. He also participated in the British Amateur in 1984 and 1987. From 1986 through 1993 he served on the USGA Executive Committee rising to the Vice President and chairing the Rules of Golf Committee.
As the rules chair he served as a rules official at all four of golf’s majors — the U.S. Open, the Masters, the British Open and the PGA Championship. At the induction dinner, he described being a rules official at major golf tournaments as “long spells of boredom interspersed with bursts of terror.” He rec
alled officiating at the Masters when the highly temperamental Spaniard Seve Ballesteros slashed a shot into an azalea bush. Ballesteros rushed up to Mastalir about a foot away demanding to know where his ball was. Mastalir told him he had no idea but if it was found he would explain his options. The ball was found and Ballesteros took relief according to Mastalir’s instructions and then rushed away.
In 1999 Mastalir was selected by Golf Inc. as one golf’s 25 most influential people along with golf legends such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Mastalir also served on the Colorado Golf Association Board of Governors for 22 years and was CGA president from 1997 to 1999. He is best remembered as the man who negotiated for the CGA the acquisition of the former Mira Vista Golf Course from the Lowry Redevelopment Corporation after the Lowry Air Force Base was closed. He was key to converting the old military course into the nationally praised open to the public CommonGround Golf Course with the help of golf course architect Tom Doak.
He is a member of the Denver Country Club as well as the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in Scotland. Attending the induction dinner were his wife Debbie and their two children Sarah and Blake who have provided them four grandchildren.
For more information on the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame, visit www.coloradogolf halloffame.org.