Strange Golf Balls

photo credit: Aloud..   Astronaut Alan Shepard never revealed what type of golf balls he struck on the moon even though Jack Harden (Shepard’s Pro at the Houston River Oaks C.C.) knew.  They were local range balls.  Harden’s son, Jack Harden Jr., said his father knew the balls would be subjected to extreme temperature changes and wanted something durable.  The balls were two piece Surlyn-covered Spaldings with blue stripes and PROPERTY OF JACK HARDEN stamped on them.

Wayne Levi was the very first tour player on the PGA Tour to win a tournament using a disco-era orange golf ball.  It was the 1982 Hawaiian Open.  Fourteen years later Levi was presented with a memento of the event at the 14th anniversary of his win.

Age Related Facts

photo credit: billypoonphotos   In 1998, Gay Brewer was 66 when he became the oldest player to shoot par 72 at the Masters.  He became one of just a handful of Masters players who were within eight shots of shooting their age.  The others were:  Arnold Palmer (age 66 shot 74), Gene Sarazen (age 68 shot 74), Doug Ford (age 73 shot 81) and Sam Snead (age 66 shot 74).

Ridge Wilson, 70, Eugene Sanford, 72, and John Vyverberg, 77, each scored an ace within a 90 minute span on the par 3, third hole at Ponte Vedra Inn & Spa in Jacksonville, Florida.  Each used a 5-iron.

Once a person becomes a senior golfer, the predetermined goal of everyone is to shoot ones age.  Easier said than done, so they say!

Simply Remarkable

photo credit: pinboke_planet   Famed women’s golfer Joyce Wethered was 96 when she died in 1998.  Her stylish and powerful play changed people’s perceptions of women’s golf.  In 1937, she won 71 of 73 matches while capturing four British women’s and five English women’s titles.  Bobby Jones once said Joyce had the best swing he’d ever seen.  Unbelievably, she had only one formal golf lesson in her entire life.

The best round after a 400-mile cycle ride was posted by Donald Grant in 1939.  Grant rode his bike from London to Royal Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands to play in the Open amateur.  He tied for second place in the first round of the competition with a 74.  When the tournament was finished, Grant rode his bike 400-miles back to London.

Age Related Tidbits

photo credit: D.Hilgart   There is no doubt that Jack Nicklaus was the greatest player of the 20th century:  He shot a 51 for his very first nine holes at the young age of 10.  At age 11, he shot 81 for 18 holes.  By age 12 he broke 80 on a regular basis.  At age 13, he was a three a handicapper and had broken 70.  By age 16, he had won the Ohio Amateur.  At age 19, he won the first of his two U.S. Amateur titles.

Bobby Jones was 14 when he won the Georgia State Amateur championship.  He qualified that year, to play in the U.S. Amateur championship at Merion at which time, he went to the third round before he lost in match play.

Jack With No Pants

photo credit: SouthAsiaGolf   Jack Nicklaus decided to caddy for his son Gary at a PGA Tour qualifier in West Palm Beach, Florida. in 1997.  The Golden Bear showed up bare-legged in shorts-an infraction of the Tour’s dress code for caddies.  Not wanting to fail his son, Jack quickly slipped into a pair of rain pants while waiting for his wife, Barbara, to arrive with a pair of his slacks.  It was all to no avail.  Gary shot a 78 and failed to advance.

Winning the British Open in the early days of golf was no guarantee of future wealth.  Robert Ferguson-champion in 1880, 1881, and 1882- spent the latter part of his life so poor that he had to work as a caddie at Royal Musselburgh, the scene of one of his British Open victories.

Wacky Wagers

photo credit: billypoonphotos   Payne Stewart had the pants beat off him after making a wacky wager during the 1988 Leukemia Classic exhibition match in Wilmington, Delaware.  Playing against three top women Pros, Stewart bet that he would beat their best score per hole-with the loser removing their pants.  The women rose to the challenge by defeating Stewart, who lived up to his agreement and removed his famous knickers, causing a squeal from a shocked gallery.

Leo Diegel used to hustle 15 handicappers back in the 1930s by offering to play the front nine off his right foot, and the back nine off his left foot.  When he had a sucker far enough down on the wager, he’d play him double or nothing with his feet crossed.  He’d win that bet too!

Luck or Talent?

photo credit: SteveHersh   In 1998 Mathew Stuart, a five year old, was golfing for only the fourth time when he scored a hole-in-one from the ladies’ tee at the 86-yard, par 3 7th hole at Fox Ridge Country Club in Washington, Indiana.  His father, Troy, said the youngster was excited, but after the round the boy immediately resumed playing with his toys!

George and Margaret Holmes had been married for over 50 years without either scoring a hole in one until two special days in 1997.  Margaret scored her ace first on the 130-yard 13th hole of the Holmeses home course of Grosse Ile Golf and Country Club in Michigan.  The very next day, after playing 5 holes, George made his first hole-in-one at the 170-yard 6th hole.

Animals vs. Golf

photo credit: spamdangler   Over a 10 year period, from 1980 to 1990, Waddy the beagle found an unbelievable 39,954 golf balls that were lost on the Brockenhurst Manor Golf Club in Brockenhurst, England.  Whenever someone lost a ball on the course, Waddy, who was owned by club secretary Robert Inglis, was dispatched to the rough to locate the ball.

Playing in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, Tommy “Thunder” Bolt hit consecutive drives into the lake at the 18th hole.  When a carp jumped out of the water as he teed up another ball, “Thunder” Bolt became so enraged that he fired his driver at the fish and killed it.  But by doing so, Bolt also drowned his Driver.  For more go to:  www.golfinstructionblog.com.

Tournament Souvenirs

photo credit: danperry.com   Reminiscing, Sam Snead said, “in the early days fans would follow you into the rough.  One time, a bunch of kids were fighting over my divots.  As soon as I’d swing, they’d grab a divot and run.  They’d say, ‘Next one’s mine,’ I learned later that they were taking the divots home and planting them in their yards for souvenirs.”

When the gallery didn’t show enough appreciation for his beautiful drive, Tommy “Thunder” Bolt quit the 1962 Philadelphia Classic in the middle of the 12th hole.  Bolt’s tee shot curved majestically over a water hazard and landed 19 feet from the cup.  The crowd remained silent.  The irritated golfer said to his caddie, “If that isn’t good enough, go pick up my ball.”  Bolt then bolted off the course.

Golf Course Mishaps

photo credit: Drab Makyo   In 1951, at the Inglewood Country Club in Seattle, Washington, Edward M. Harrison was playing alone and apparently broke the shaft of his driver.  The split shaft pierced his groin.  He tried in vain to reach the clubhouse, collapsing and bleeding to death 100 yards from the 9th tee.

While practicing on a municipal course in Ohio in 1974, Bob Russell sent up a cloud of smoke and felt a searing pain in his leg.  The clubhead had set off a .22 caliber bullet that somehow had been resting in the turf.  Fortunately, Russell was merely grazed.

While playing, Loren Roberts broke two ribs sneezing.  His earnings went from $1,089,140 in 1997 to $210,247 in 1998.  Gary player once pulled a muscle while taking a bath.

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