Robert Smith
Robert Smith was born in Norman, Oklahoma and attended school there until his family moved to North Dakota in 1954, where he graduated from Bismarck High School in 1959. He attended OU on a golf scholarship and was the Big Eight individual champion in 1961 plus garnering All-American honors. He graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Education and completed the OU Army ROTC program for which he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Medical Service Corps (MSC) in December of that year. He attended MSC Officer Basic Training at the Medical Field Service School at Ft. Sam Houston in March 1964 and was then assigned to the Medical Dispensary at the Presidio in San Francisco, California where he assumed the duties of medical supply officer and training officer for the unit’s medical detachment. He returned to Ft. Sam Houston again in 1965 for a one-week training session in Medical Management of Mass Casualties. He also successfully completed other service training courses in Close Combat, Non-Judicial Punishment, Battle Indoctrination, Military Justice, and Code of Conduct. He was relieved from active duty in June 1966 and returned to Norman where he taught high school for two years and during that time served in the Army Reserve as a medical field assistant with the 44th Evacuation Hospital in Oklahoma City. He received his Honorable Discharge in January 1970. In 1970 he turned to golf as a profession and in 1972 became a member of the PGA of America. During his career he has served as a club professional at three different facilities, the last being the Oklahoma University Golf Course as Director of Golf in addition to coaching the men’s golf team for two years. In 1981 he was appointed to the PGA of America Rules of Golf Committee and worked numerous professional golf events as well as being a Rules of Golf instructor in the PGA education program. In 1989 he was hired by the Ladies Professional Golf Association as a tournament official and Manager of Rules. He spent the next 20 years officiating LPGA tournaments around the world and retired in 2008. In September 2015 he was accepted as a member of the OU Army ROTC Alumni Board and served for three years as secretary of the board and continues as a board member. As a board member he has provided significant assistance to the cadet battalion by procuring sponsorships for cadet activities, providing financial assistance for purchases of cadet uniforms and supported the cadet battalion in all board decisions for activities and equipment for the cadets.
Inducted as Distinguished Alumni November 8, 2024.