Joseph Braly, 92, veterinarian and designer of golf clubs

Joseph M. "Doc" Braly, 92, formerly of Kennett Square, a veterinarian, pilot, and pioneer among golf club designers, died of cancer Monday, May 25, at the Veterans Home in Hollidaysburg, Pa.

Born in Ponca City, Okla., Dr. Braly grew up in Huntsville, Ala. Even as a boy, he was smitten with aviation, and followed that love into the Air Force.

He learned to fly and piloted different airplanes as a technical intelligence officer stationed in England and Germany, but his favorite was the P-51 Mustang, he told his family.

After returning from overseas, Dr. Braly settled his wife, Cathryn Matthews Braly, and their two children in Auburn, Ala., where he enrolled in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

On his days off, Dr. Braly ran the gas station he had bought on his first day in Auburn.

"He worked constantly and loved what he did - flying, being a vet, or designing golf clubs," said his daughter C. Michelle. "He said you never really work if you love what you do, and he never worked a day in his life."

After vet school graduation in 1960, Dr. Braly moved north to Lancaster and then to Kennett Square where he opened a small animal hospital.

At that time, his passion for aeronautical engineering and golf intersected. In 1973, he designed and perfected his first golf-related invention, the Con-Sole Sand Wedge, with a concave wedge for ease in hitting the ball out of a sand trap.

He went on to create the DynaPhase golf club line, using titanium for the head of the club.

In 1976, he designed, and two years later patented, a frequency-matching instrument that revolutionized the making of the shaft itself. The system measured the rate of movement when the shaft was pulled back and let go to begin oscillating.

"Before, club shafts were either stiff, medium, or whippy. Every single club was different. When my father built that machine ... [it was possible to] match the entire set of clubs with the exact same feel," Michelle Braly said. A similar feel, she said, was essential for a consistent golf swing.

The success of the invention earned Dr. Braly the title "the Father of Frequency Matching." The shaft technology that Mr. Braly invented is still in use, and many golf stars swear by it, his family said.

Off the links, Dr. Braly enjoyed playing cards and hitting balls at the Kennett Square Golf and Country Club, following sports on TV, and doting on his grandchildren.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by sons Joseph M. Jr., W. Kimberly, and Brian David; another daughter, Nita Baker; and five grandchildren.

His wife, an award-winning orchid grower, died in 2014. A daughter, Sandra Lee, and a son, James Matthews, also died earlier.

Interment is to be later in Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery. Stories and remembrances about Dr. Braly may be sent to mad4ru@gmail.com.