“The Old Course”

photo credit: beltzner   St. Andrews, known as “the home of golf,” is hallowed ground although some would rather forget about it.  Here are what a few of the greats have had to say about it:

Tony Lema > “St. Andrew?  I feel like I’m back visiting an old grandmother.  She’s crotchety and eccentric but also elegant.  Anyone who doesn’t fall in love with her has no imagination.”  Sam Snead > “Say!  That looks like an old abandoned golf course.  What did they call it?”  Nick Faldo >  “When it blows here, even the seagulls walk.”  Jack Nicklaus > “A British Open at the home of golf is the most intriguing and maybe the most demanding challenge in the entire game.”  Scott Hock > “The worst piece of mess I’ve ever played.”

Thoughts From the Famous

photo credit: the_tahoe_guy   HENRY WORDSWORTH = “Golf is a day spent in a round of strenuous idleness.”  HORACE HITCHENSON = “If profanity had an influence on the flight of the ball, the game of golf would be played far better than it is.”  JOHN UPDIKE = “Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child.  Just how childlike golf players become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five.”  MARK  TWAIN = “It’s good sportsmanship not to pick up lost balls while they are still rolling.”  HARRY VARDON = “Don’t play too much golf.  Two rounds a day are plenty.”

FOOT NOTE:  If you have any famous quotes or sayings that you would like to share, please send them to us !

Famous One-Liners

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…   “After all these years, it’s still embarrassing for me to play on the American golf tour.  Like the time I asked my caddie for a sand wedge and he came back ten minutes later with a ham on rye.” = Chi Chi Rodriguez.  Tommy Bolt, toward the end of one of his infamous temperamental, high-volume, club-throwing rounds, asked his caddie for a club recommendation for a shot of about 155 yards.  His caddie said, “I’d say either a three-iron or a wedge, sir.”  “A three-iron or a wedge?” asked Bolt.  “What kind of stupid choice is that?”  “Those are the only two clubs you have left, sir,” said the caddie.  “Mr. Vardon, did you ever see a worse shot?” “No,” Vardon answered. = Bobby Jones to Harry Vardon after he fluffed an easy shot.

The Yips

photo credit: sidewalk flying   Bernhard Langer was a winner of two Masters Tournaments.  “It’s a weird situation,”  Langer says of the Yips, “The yips can come back any time, and I haven’t found anyone out there who understands them.”  On one occasion, he five-putted in the last round of The British Open.  He had such a bad case of the yips that  he even feared walking on greens. 

Johnny Miller had such an extreme cae of the yips that he would imagine (while putting) that it was his own son who was actually putting the ball for him.  Sometimes, on short putts he would look at the cup instead of the ball.  During one period, in order to neutralize his condition, he put a big red dot on the end of his grip.  “All I did was watch the red dot whenever I putted,” Miller said.

“Corn and a few Cows”

photo credit: Brian J. McDermott   Dave Hill’s comments made at the  Hazeltine Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota during the 1970 U.S. Open, catapulted him into the annals of golf history.  The course is a Robert Trent Jones design, full of doglegs and 11 out of 14 blind tee shots.  The first round saw Nicklaus shoot 81, Player 80 and Palmer a 79, in high winds.

Asked his opinion of the course after the second round, HIll said, ” They ruined a good farm.”  “How did you find the course?” Hill said “I’ve been trying to find it since I came to Minneapolis, just because you cut the grass and put of flags doesn’t mean you have a golf course.”

Hill was also asked what the course lacked.  “It lacks eighty acres of corn and a few cows,” he said.

Quotes on the Mental Game

photo credit: star5112  “Of all games, golf exposes fraud and self-delusion most efficiently.” = Jim McClean (one of GOLF DIGEST’S top 100 teachers).  “Let your attitude determine your golf game.  Don’t let your golf game determine your attitude.” = Davis Love Jr.  “The correlation between thinking well and making successful shots is not 100 percent.  But the correlation between bad thinking and unsuccessful shots is much higher.” = Dr. Bob Rotella.  “A leading difficulty with the average player is that he totally misunderstands what is meant by concentration.  He may think that he is concentrating hard when he is just merely worrying.” = Robert Trent Jones (world famous course designer).

Trivia Question:  Who was the first golfer to have four rounds under par in a U.S. Open?     Answer in reverse:  daenS maS 

Celebrity Quotes

photo credit: gary.hisanaga   “You can talk to a fade but a hook won’t listen” < Lee Trevino.  “Actually, the only time I ever took out a one-iron was to kill a tarantula and I took a 7 to do that” <Bill Murray.  “The only sure rule in golf is – he who has the fastest cart, never has to play the bad lie.”<Mickey Mantle.  “Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if your’re not goot at them”<Kevin Costner.  “I don’t fear death but I sure don’t like those three-footers for par”<Chi Chi Rodriguez.  “The ball retriever is not long enough to get my putter out of the tree”<Brian Weis.  “Swing hard in case you hit it”<Dan Marino.  “If you think its hard to meet new people, try picking up the wrong golf ball”<Jack Lemmon.

The Psychology of Play

photo credit: nsaplayer   Ben Hogan, one of Golf’s greatest players, once said “I’ll consider myself playing well if I hit just 3 shots, per round, exactly the way I intended.”  This says a lot for the golfer that expects to hit every shot perfectly.  It is that expectation that discourages any possibility of having a good round of golf.

The best way to approach the problem of high expectations, is to just allow your subconscious mind to take over.  Delete all swing thoughts from your mind at address and just “give it” to your body.  If you have done your share of practicing, a good swing will occur.  Too many swing thoughts will cause you to try to control the shot which is the worst thing you can do.

True so True

photo credit: El Encanto Villas y Golf   PETE DYE - “The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flag stick on the summit.”  HANK AARON – “It took me seventeen years to get three thousand hits in baseball.  I did it in one afternoon on the golf course.”  JACK BENNY – “Give me golf clubs, fresh air and a beautiful partner, and you can keep the clubs and the fresh air!”  BILLY GRAHAM – The only time my prayers  are never answered is on the golf course.”  BEN HOGAN – Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.  JIMMY DEMARET - Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.”

Anonymous Quotes

photo credit: I woz ere   (1) Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.  (2) You hit down to make the ball go up.  You swing left and the ball goes right.  (3) The lowest score wins and the winner buys the drinks.  (4) Golf is harder than baseball.  In golf you have to play your “foul” balls.  (5) Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot, rarely make a perfect shot.  (6) The term “mulligan” is really a contraction of the phrase “maul it again.”  (7) A “gimme” can best be defined as an agreement between two golfers…neither of whom can putt very well.  (8) Golf is the only game where the most feared opponent is you.

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