Scheduled to begin in January 1937, he offered the important role of playing partner (and occasional ‘comic stooge’) to his long-time buddy Joseph Kirkwood. Well used to travelling, the Australian-born professional had left his homeland back in 1921 to play tournament golf in England. Heading to the United States, Kirkwood made an immediate impact winning the Houston Invitational in his first full season of 1923. Twelve months later “Aussie Joe” had racked up five more victories in America, three of them consecutively. Forming a friendship with the flamboyant Hagen, the down-to-earth Kirkwood was invited to join him in a series of exhibitions over the winter of 1924. Sharing an irreverent sense of humour they proved good company for each other. But most importantly, the “Haig” liked the extra hours in bed as Kirkwood entertained the crowds with his wonderful array of trick-shots before he was due to show up. Kirkwood in turn, earned more money than he ever dreamed off.
Despite the long friendship, Kirkwood had genuine misgivings about this latest “World Tour.” Married with a teenage son, Joe Junior, they had made a similar trip almost a decade earlier in 1930. That had lasted three months and focused mainly on Australia and the Far East. It had proved a financial disaster for both men and the 39-year old professional was not keen to repeat the experience. But tempted by a US$20,000 guarantee, plus a small percentage of the gate, he was unsure whether he could dismiss the offer out of hand in such perilous times.
Hagen in marked contrast was enthusiastic about the trip on many different levels. Apart from the bonanza $100,000 payday he expected to pocket, he had long wanted to mix golf with his long held dream of big game hunting in Africa. This trip would offer plenty of opportunities to do exactly that and for Hagen that was the perfect incentive.
"My idea was to play just enough golf to take us where we wanted to go,” he admitted in his 1957 autobiography The Walter Hagen Story.
It also gave Hagen the opportunity to show off his already diminishing skills to an entirely new audience. His glory days had long since passed and so what if they were Australian, Indian or Japanese? Golfers were the same everywhere, he reasoned. They applauded the powerful drives and cheered his great escapes. And with sponsors covering most of the travel costs Hagen had absolutely no intention of turning it down.
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