Wooden Shafted Golf Clubs, wood shaft putters, niblicks, midirons, mashies, golf collectibles, golf gifts. Wooden Shafted Golf Clubs, wood shaft putters, niblicks, midirons, mashies, golf collectibles, golf gifts. Wooden Shafted Golf Clubs, wood shaft putters, niblicks, midirons, mashies, golf collectibles, golf gifts. Wooden Shafted Golf Clubs, wood shaft putters, niblicks, midirons, mashies, golf collectibles, golf gifts.

Price Guide!   PEBBLE BEACH by Edwin De Bell One of my favorite fantasies while driving an automobile cross country is to visualize superficially a golf course on a particular piece of terrain which, in my mind's eye, would provide an ideal setting for one. I remember distinctly an occasion which occurred some years ago as I was driving through Lake County, California, and had just passed through Hoberg's on the way to a small village called Lock Lomond. I happened to look to the left of the car and suddendly caught sight of a large meadow with undulating fields, sporadic trees, and several creeks running through it. "That would be an ideal setting for a golf course," I murmured to myself as I carefully rounded a large bend in the road. And guess what? I was wright! In a few years' time that inviting plot of ground became the Adams Springs Golf Course, a course which I, later played many times. It was one of those "out of the way" nine hole courses which seem to beckon challenges which it represents. It takes me back. And I can think of another course which takes me back to its ideal setting, its natural beauty, and its hidden challenges. I have played it once and only once - in 1957 - but that once was enough to engrave in my memory all of its subtleties, its nuances, its invitations. That course is Pebble Beach. Pebble Beach is a golfing environment which lures the player to its intrinsic elements and then possesses him by gorging his senses with a panoply of ever-changing impressions, feelings, and experiences. To play Pebble Beach once is to play it forever; to play it forever is to play it once. It defies time, it defies location; it defies knowing. It just is. If you have ever played it, you have become a part of it; it has become a part of you. Jack Nicklaus has said that if he had to play only one golf course for the rest of his life, it would be Pebble Beach. The Pebble Beach Golf Links were created from the inspiration the scenic terrain stirred in the mind of Samuel F. B. Morse, the nephew of the inventor of the telegraph. Morse purchased the beautiful site from the Southern Pacific Railroad and declared that the area was ideal for a golf course. Accordingly, he contracted Jack Neville - who was primarily a real estate person - to design eighteen holes overlooking the ocean. What emerged from the undertaking was "a magnificent layout sprawling along the top of the cliffs and meandering up from the ocean to the edges of the Del Monte Forest." It remains as a links course which is as tough to play as it is spectacular to look at. Measuring 6799 yards from the champion's tees, it has hosted only three United States Opens, yet it boasts some of the most famous holes in all of golfdom. So what is it that causes this fortuitous meeting of ocean, land, and sky to be so revered by golfers and viewers alike? It is the feeling that once you have set foot on this enchanting landscape you know instinctively that you are in a singular place. Is there any place else quite like it? Not really. It scarcely needs mention that most of the famous holes at Pebble Beach are quite well known individually - like seven, eight, seventeen, eighteen - yet there are several other holes which are just as worthy of commendation. I like five, nine, fourteen and sixteen. When I played Pebble Beach in 1957, the green fees were only one tenth of what they are now. (And I thought that fifteen dollars was kind of high.) I also remember when I was teeing it up on Number Five I knew this really was a unique course. Five is not a long par three, but accuracy and the right distance are imperative. The green seemed higher than the tee, there was a brook directly behind it, and the entire green appeared overhung with branches from adjoining trees. It was the kind of hole which I would have liked to have played over and over and over. I think that Number Nine is an incredibly challenging hole. It is long, it is uphill, it has a small green, and the wind can be a deciding factor. And it comes right after Number Eight, the often photographed Ravine Hole. Number Fourteen is probably recognized not only for its severe dog-leg to the right, but also for its almost inaccessible green. If you are short you are in the bunker; if you are long you have a very delicate pitch; and, if you are on, your ball is liable to roll anywhere... perhaps even off the green altogether. There are probably any number of golf holes which are reminiscent of Number Sixteen, but I doubt that any can be as intimidating. And not the least because it is the first of three of the best finishing holes in all of golf. Pebble Beach won't even let you forget where you have been and what you have done. I like to think that Pebble Beach is a living thing. I like to think that, among all the living entities on the Earth, this is an entity which gloriously came into being, prevailed through infancy...adolescence...maturity, and then gracefully acceded to the ravages of time. I like to think that, by virtue of living and being and passing, Pebble Beach made this a better world for all of those who knew her. I hope that she will be there to think about for a long time to come. THE KAPALUA INTERNATIONAL by Edwin De Bell About nineteen years ago, when I tried to play as many different courses as I could in order to acquire score cards, pencils, and ball markers, I was invited to spend a week on the island of Maui by my brother - who was living in Kihei at the time. Naturally, I wanted to play as much golf as I coudl, but when I realized that my budget for the trip would be inadequate to cover the even-then expensive green fees, and when I learned that I would be forbidded to walk the course of my choice, I decided to find something that I would like. That something turned out to be the Maui Lua Golf Course. The Maui Lua Golf Course was not one of those spectacular tournament type championship courses with artificial lakes, buttressed sand traps, and huge slick greens which were designed by such architectural notables as Robert Trent Jones, Dick Wilson, or Pete Dye. It was just a very unpretentitious nine hole course adjoining the Mau Lua Hotel on the inland part of Maui and bereft of huge waves crashing against jagged rocks below, shorebirds wheeling and careening above, or gigantic palm trees genbtly swaying in the tropical breezes. But I liked it. Some golfers would probably have referred to it as a "short course". There were almost as many par threes as threr were par fours, and none of those par fours were over 400 yards long. But it had a certain rustic charm to it - even in Hawaii! The fairways were deceivingly rolling and hilly, there were plenty of trees all around, and the greens were small and slow. And there were no cart paths to abruptly remind you that technology had thrust its artificial tentacles into what once was a solely pastoral experience. You just walked up to a little booth adjoining the first tee and paid your three or four dollars to the young Hawaiian girl inside and got a scorcard, a encil, and a ball marker.... what else? There were also a few rrental clubs available for guys like me who hadn't brough their own clubs along. But what got the butterflies churning in your stomac was the anticipation of the unknown, the realization that you were embarking upon a journey into a strange place, the satisfaction that for the next two hours or less there was nothing else in the world but you, the golf course, and the challenge of doing something well. We cherish these moments forever. And I still cherish that brief foray into the realm of island golf - as fleeting and as distant as it was - and I look back with nostlagia to an event which was unique for its once-in-a-lifetime quality. The Maui Lua Golf Course is no more. How could it be, with real estate being so valuable in "The Islands," and so many "bigger and better" courses around? That golf course is probably a host of condominiums now, or another huge hotel, or a big shopping center. But we don't want to know about that; we want to know about those other courses. Among the other course, the Waiehu Municipal Course woul be the next step up from the Maui Lua. It has a full eighteen holes at 6330 yards and the green fees are $25. You can walk it if you are a purist, or you can rent a cart and roll merrily along; the cart costs half as much as the green fees. Next in order of opulence would be the Pukalani Country Club at 6494 yards and green fees at $60. The carts there are the same price as they are at Waiehu. At Kihei - where my brother still lives - you can roll; your way along the 6400 yards of the Silverwood Golf course for $65., including that cart. >From here on out the carts are mandatory (or at least included in the green fees) and you are looking a hundred dollar bills plus. the Waikapa Valley Club is a par 72 of 6200 yards and almost $100. For $110. you can play the 6823 yards of the Makena Golf Course with a par of 72 also. $125 will get you eighteen holes of more par 72 golf over the 6152 yards of the Wailea Blue Course. And that brings, finally, to the Kapalua Golf Club. The Plantation Course of the Kapalua Golf club, where the Kapalua International will be played, was designed by Ben Crenshaw - one of the few tour golfers who is also an avid collector as well as a keen bird watcher (So am I, Ben.) It is considered a big course - a par of 73 over 6547 yards - because it is spread out over a former pineapple field and it features wide fairways and huge greens. To show his respect for the links-type courses of the British Isles, Crenshaw left the fronts of the greens unguarded by bunkers in order to encourage the old fashioned run-up shots. These shots come into play quite frequently because the winds are usually consistent and quite strong on this course. An opportunity for this type of play becomes apparent on the 305 yard fourteenth hole, which is downwind and offers a good chance for an eagle. On the final hole, a par 5 of 663 yards - downhill and also downwind - a free automobile is offered to the plauyer who can put his second shot closest to the pin on Saturday. And Hula-Hula dancers will be there to celebrate that accomplishment. And here come the those butterflies again! The Kapalua Resort is famous for its well-known logo: the butterfly. This symbol is visible on almost everything there: golf apparel, napkins, soap, etc. And - what is more - there is even an exotic drink named in its honor! Kapalua.... Maui Lua... Hula Hula.... it's all Hawaiian to me. And, it could be all Hawaiian for you if you tune in your television to the Kapalua International between November 3 and November 6. Or, better yet, you might want to go there and see it first hand; tournament spectators are welcomed at no charge. Aloha nui loa: fondest regards. WALT DISNEY WORLD GOLF CLASSIC by Ed DeBell How would you feel if you shot twenty five strokes under par in a golf tournament and you didn't win it? Regardless of how many holes you played, wouldn't you feel a little bit goofy? You can get a not-so-goofy answer from Chip Beck. Chip Beck is a professional on the P.G.A. tour who just happened to shoot twenty five strokes under par at the Walt Disney World Golf Classic in 1988. I say just happened, although scores like that just don't happen very often. They are a very rare happening, and when they do happen you would think something good would come of them. Not so for Chip Beck; some other guy shot the same score and beat him in a playoff. Now wouldn't that make you feel a little bit goofy? Goofy scores, goofy guys, goofy outcomes....they are all there at the Walt Disney World Golf Classic, and the only other thing you really need there is Goofy himself. That would just make your day, wouldn't it, Chip Beck? But of course, Goofy is to Walt Disney as "Rib o' th' Green" is to golf. If they aren't there, then something is missing. I grew up with Goofy at the same time I grew up with golf. I don't imagine many readers remember the old cartoon in which Mickey Mouse is playing golf and Goofy is his caddy (who else?). They go along pretty well over the first few holes until Mickey finds himself in a very deep sand trap cut right into the edge of a large green. He asks Goofy for his "sand iron", takes a huge swipe at the ball, sends up a shower of sand, but doesn't even move it. He takes another swipe: same result. He tries it a third time unsuccessfully, throws the club back at Goofy, and asks for a different one. Goofy gives him a "mashie". Mickey takes a couple more swipes, sends up a couple more showers of sand, and throws the club back at Goofy again. Goofy gives him another club, then another club, then another. Finally, after almost all of the clubs have been used and almost all of the sand is out of the trap, Mickey asks for the putter. He takes a graceful swing, catches the ball cleanly, and rolls it over the edge of the green and into the cup. By this time, Goofy is lying prostrate on the ground - almost covered with sand - with broken clubs lying all around him. His eyes are bulging, his teeth are gnashing, and through it all he is muttering: "....it's only a game....it's only a game....it's only a game!" Are you listening, Chip? The Walt Disney World Golf Classic is played over three courses located within the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom: The Magnolia Course, the Palm Course, and the Lake Buena Vista Course. The yardages for the professional players are, respectively: 7190, 6957, and 6655; the course ratings are: 73.9, 73.0, and 72.7; and, the slopes are : 133, 129, and 128. Concerning prestige on the P.G.A. Tour, this tournament is rated twenty-third, course difficulty is rated forty-third, and the overall rating with all factors evaluated (including quality of winners) is twenty-eighth. Not bad for a tournament which some jokesters might refer to as "Mickey Mouse". Taken together, these three courses have been described as "....almost as blue and white as (they are) green." There are an even 300 bunkers on them and an odd 25 lakes. And I understand that all of the flags are yellow, probably with the name of the tournament inscribed in logo. (Whatever became of red flags with white numbers?) If there were four courses here the four-round tournament would likely be played on a different course each day, but since there are only three, the cut is made after everyone has played the three courses and the survivors return to Magnolia. It must be a fine course, so let us examine it in depth. Number 1 is a par 4 of 428 yards with water all along the right side of the fairway and a trap on each side of the green. Number 2 is a par 4 of 417 yards, dogleg to the right, with eight traps. Number 3 is a par 3 of 160 yards with traps North, South, East and West circling a very round green. Number 4 is a par 5 of 552 yards with thirteen traps all over the place. Number 5 is a par 4 of 448 yards with three irregular traps surrounding a rather large green. Number 6 is a par 3 of 195 yards with a huge lake to hit over from the tee to a kidney shaped green which is quite undulated. Number 7 is a par 4 of 410 yards with a lake to hit over from the tee again and three traps to hit over to get on the green. Number 8 is a par 5 of 614 yards, dogleg left, with six traps around a kidney shaped green for the third shot. Number 9 is a par 4 of 431 yards with a big lake all along the left side of the green. Suffice it to say that the back nine is much like the front nine with very similar features. An obviously goofy feature of this tournament is the annual Hummingbird Bass and Golf Contest which teams sixteen professionals with sixteen fishermen. The twosomes play the back nine of the Palm Course (golfers through the fairway and fishermen through the greens), after which everyone goes fishing. Every golf stroke is then subtracted from all the weights of all the fish caught by each team, so it really turns out to be a low score big weight competition. Is it better to be a good golfer, a good fisherman, or both? As with most things, probably a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a little bit of luck besides. Finally, if Chip Beck ever plays in this tournament again, I know of a funny looking guy who would make the perfect caddy for him in this "goofy" tournament. He has long, floppy ears, a bulbous nose, and very big feet. But the best thing about him is that he will do anything you ask him to. Now isn't that goofy? WINGED FOOT by Ed De Bell   The first time I viewed Winged Foot was from the passenger window of a DC3 in the nineteen-fifties when I was travelling from Upstate New York to New York City. I had noticed a number of beautiful golf courses as we were flying over Long Island on the approach to the airport, and so I inquired of the stewardess what they were. "Well, I think that one just below the wing tip of the aircraft is Winged Foot. It looks like one huge course, but I think it's more than one. I don't know how many holes it has, but they sure are pretty, an' I love the way they go back an' forth an' in an' out. It'd good to walk it some time." I agreed that there were some people who would love to do just that. Years ago - long before the fifties - a famous writer once remarked that "Golf is a good walk spoiled".... but I disagree. I contend that golf is a good walk enhanced. And that enhancement is hugely visible at Winged Foot. Winged Foot - whose symbol is a foot with a wing - was designed for members of the New York Ahtletic Club in 1923 by "eccentric" golf course architect A. W. Tillinghast. They instructed him to "give us a man sized course" which would be attractive to walk upon and challenging to play. After removing scores of trees, tons of rock, and lots of weeds, he designed a course which is not only very pleasing to the eye but also very disagreeable to the card. Winged Foot is considered "one of the toughest courses in the United States, and also one of the most demanding. It measures 6,956 yards from the championship tees and almost all of the par fours are over 400 yards long. Most amateurs and many professionals find it quite frustrating to get on these greens in two shots, a fact which makes this course so difficult. The bulk of the victories here have been with big scores, including Bobby Jones in 1929, Billy Casper in 1959, and Hale Irwin in 1974. The members of this athletic club must be very proud of their testing course. The course to which I have been referring is the West Course. It is the one which is used for all the major championships - including four United States Opens - but it is arguably no more difficult than the East Course As the airline stewardess said, it is all "one huge course"....and quite intimidating no matter where you are. The individual holes on the West Course are interesting as well as unique. The first - Genesis - is a relatively straight par four of 446 yards with large traps on either side of a long narrow green. The second - Elm - is a slight dog-leg to the right par four of 411 yards also with traps on either side of the green. A good hole to get your game - Babe in the Woods - is the shortest par three (166). Eight - Arena - is another long hitter's par four (442), and nine - Meadow - is a short hitter's par five (471), with all sorts of traps surrounding the going. Three - Pinnacle - is a moderately long par three of 216 yards with a kidney shaped green bordered again by two traps. Keep it straight on the first three holes. The fourth - Sound View - is a long (453) straightaway par four with the Old White Plains Road on one side and the fifth - Long Lane - a par five of 515 yards on the other. Six - The El - is the shortest par four on the course (324), and sevengreen to make up for the ones you missed on the early holes. The back nine begins with a par three - Pulpit - which is around 200 yards long. The green is protected by two kidney shaped bunkers and has copious trees around it....not to mention a house directly behind it. Is this a lay-up hole? Eleven - Billows - is the only other par four of less than 400 yards (386), but it has traps here and traps there and traps nearly everywhere. Twelve - Cape - is a dog-leg to the left par five and the longest hole on the course: 535. Thirteen - White Mule - is another par three of around 200 yards but without a house behind the green. No need to lay-up here. Fourteen and fifteen - Shamrock and Pyramid - are both par fours of equal length (417 & 418), and both slightly dog-legged. Sixteen - Hell's Bells - is the longest par four on the course: 457 yards and very few traps. The seventeenth hole - Well Well - has been described by Jack Nicklaus as a "textbook test of golf which really pits the player against the designer." Well, well, I am sure many other holes at Winged Foot deserve the same tribute, none the least of which is eighteen - Revelations. It has a slight dog-leg, the fairway is narrow, and the green has "fearsome" undulations. I guess it gets its name because after the golfer leaves the green his ultimate score might be a startling revelation. This year, Winged Foot will host the championship of the Professional Golfers' Association from August 14 to August 17. Would you like to walk the course with me? The P.G.A. has given the golfing world an abundance of services. Its committees include junior golf, caddies' welfare, education and training, rules, manufactures relations, resolutions, and a golf library. The Hall of Fame, the P.G.A. Magazine, and the National Golf Day committee are other significant undertakings. In 1997, as in other years, the tournament promises to be as eventful as it has ever been. Those who shoot at or under par at Winged Foot will certainly have passed the "textbook test of golf". As for the others, I hope it will not turn out to be "...a good walk spoiled." THE OPEN AT CONGRESSIONAL by Edwin Be Bell The United States Open Golf Championship will be held this year at The Congressional Country Club outside Bethesda, Maryland, on June 12, 13, 14, and 15. It will be the first time it has been played there since 1964. It will not be the first time the story of the golfer who played and won there in 1964 will be hold, however.... and certainly not the last. The Ken Venturi story as a young amateur from San Francisco; his sudden and unexpected decline after a few years as a professional; and, his re-emergence as a superb shotmaker at Congressional in the 1964 Open. Had it not been for unfortunate circumstances and physical anomalies, Ventury would have been rightly regarded as one of the finest golfers of this century. As it is, he will always be remembered as a consummate player and teacher of the game. The son of the course manager at the Harding Park Golf Club in San Francisco, Venturi began the game at an early age. His father literally brought him up with golf, and only a few years after he began playing he was shooting low scores and entering tournaments. As a youth, he was always one of the favorites in San Francisco City, the East Bay Regional, the Alameda Commuters, and the Northern California Junior. This writer grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area at the same time as Venturi, and he well remembers how popular and well thought of he was among all golfers, young and old, professional and amateur, from that era. And he had a very engaging personality. The writer recalls how, on one occasion when he was playing behind Venturi's foursome, Ken was looking over a long putt on the eighth green at the Alameda Golf Links when he suddenly developed a nose bleed. Most golfers would have tended to the bloody nose immediately, but not Venturi. He nonchalantly stepped up to the ball, took his stance, and rolled it into the cup. It was this kind of determination which he summoned when he won the Open at Congressional in 1964. In that Open, the Congressional was giving the players quite a bit of trouble. It wasn't that the fairways were too narrow or the rough too high, but a combination of other factors that caused many of the competitors to complain. That year, the Congressional, at over 7,000 yards, was the longest course in Open history. Several holes were considered intimidating, but two holes in particular were causing all sorts of bogeys. These holes, which were ordinarily played as par fives, had been changed to par fours, and many of the players were unable to reach the greens in two. And if they did, they then found the greens to be another challenge. They were extremely grainy - being a combination of Arlington Bent grass and Congressional Bent grass - and it took a good poke to get the ball to the hole going against the grain, to say nothing of how much to allow on sidehill putts. Low scores were not expected to be frequent. Also, on the Saturday morning of that year, the temperature was in the nineties - and this on a day when play was scheduled for thirty-six holes! It was the contention of the U.S.G.A. at that time that "....endurance as well as skill shall be a requisite of a national champion." They believed that only the soundest of swings could stand up under the attrition of thirty six holes in one day. The eventual champion would be the man with that swing. Venturi began his rush to prominence on the very first hole Saturday when his ten foot birdie putt hung on the lip of the cup and finally toppled in. He birdied the fourth, the sixth, and the eighth. At the ninth, he faced the longest hole on the course. But, after having hit two good fairway shots, he punched a firm wedge shot eight feet from the cup and ran down the putt, thereby reaching the turn in thirty strokes. He followed this with a brilliant four iron shot on the 188 yard twelfth to set up another birdie, put him six under par, and lift him to the top of the leader board. Ken Venturi was leading the United States Open! Venturi finished the morning round at 66, but toward the end of that round he began to falter as he missed short putts on seventeen and eighteen, and was near collapse from heat prostration. He spent the interval between rounds resting and drinking tea and taking salt tablets. It was decided he would need a doctor to walk with him during the afternoon round. Coming into the ninth hole - The Ravine Hole again - he was tied for the lead, but he was determined to birdie that hole again and take the lead outright. He hit a full one iron second shot just five yards in front of the ravine and right in the middle of the fairway - a perfect lie on the brink of disaster for a finesse wedge shot. He made the shot, he sank the putt, and he regained the lead. The last nine was all that was left. Hanging on tenaciously, Venturi needed only a seven on the last hole to win, having by that time increased his lead to four strokes. I well remember watching on television his characteristic splay-footed walk down the eighteenth fairway as the crowd cheered him on and he doffed his white cap for the first time that day. But the image that is ever strong in my mind is that on him sitting under a tree beside the last green and reminiscing about his never-to-be-forgotten saga of accomplishment. It was not so much what he did, but how he did it. And in 1997 - as in 1964 - will the winner of the Open at Congressional be remembered, like Venturi, not so much for what he accomplished, but for what he meant to the game of golf? We would all be richer in memories if that should happen. I would like to acknowledge Herbert Warren Wind, Golf writer emeritus, for his excellent analysis of the Open at Congressional in the chapter "The Third Man", which appeared in his book FOLLOWING THROUGH, for some of the information contained in the foregoing article. Thank you. THE MAKING OF THE MASTERS by Ed DeBell Bobby Jones, who many critics believe was the finest golfer the game has ever produced, is remembered more for his accomplishments in the world of championships than for his achievements in the world of academia. It is little known that he received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in English Literature, and it is even less known that one of his favorite novels at that time was "Joseph Andrews" by Henry Fielding. What was it in that work that appealed to Jones? Henry Fielding's novels were extremely well written. He emphasized realism as opposed to sentimentality, and he exposed frivolous manners and morals in favor of narratives which portrayed life as it really was. His work is characterized by quality writing, artful construction, and excellent craftsmanship. All of these elements were favored by Jones, who became a consummate writer himself - mostly on golf - and who emphasized these same attributes not only in his own writing, but also in his golf game, his course design, and his hosting of The Masters. But how did these characteristics manifest themselves in his life? The Augusta National Golf Club would not have come about had it not been for a curious twist of fate. In 1929, the United States Amateur Championship was, for the first time, played West of the Mississippi: at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. At the time also, Bobby Jones was considered "the most stupendous golfer the game had ever known" - as one critic put it: he would be defending the Amateur for the third time; he had won the United States Open for the third time just three months previous, and he was only twenty seven years old. . .at the height of his career. The tournament had virtually been conceded to him before it ever started. But someone else intervened. From Omaha, Nebraska - of all places - Johnny Goodman managed to make it to the California Coast and qualify for the Amateur. He had to come out as a drover on a cattle car and his qualifying score was much higher than Jones'. . . but there he was, in the first round of the tournament, playing against Jones. And he won the match! It was the only time Jones had lost so early in the Amateur, and it left him with a full week without golf at Pebble Beach. What was he going to do with all of that time? Unknown to Jones when he first went to Peabble Beach was the presence of one of the world's foremost golf course architects close by. His name was Mr. Alister Mackenzie, and he was the designer of two other famous courses close to Pebble Beach: the well-known Cypress Point and the little known Pasatiempo. Jones had, for many years, thought of creating his own dream course, but he wanted one which had his ideas incorporated into it along with the theories of a highly regarded architect. Dr. Mackenzie was the man, and Jones soon realized that, together, the two of them could bring this vision to a reality. But where was this dream course going to be? Since he was a native of Atlanta and a resident of Georgia, Jones felt this course should be located somewhere in that site and preferably close to his home town. He wanted it to "embody the finest (features of the) holes of all the great courses. . . I have played, a course which may possibly be recognized as one of the great golf courses of the world." On the last dayof June in 1931 the Augusta Chronicle ran a story that the 365 acres of the Fruitlands Nursery, owned by Prosper Berkmans - son of a Belgian Baron - had been sold to a consortium of buyers who were ". . . to build (an) ideal golf course on Berkmans' place." The article then continued with details of the project, pictures of the site, and particulars of the sale. If this were to be Jones' dream course, who was going to pay for it? To help underwrite the financing, Jones appointed Clifford Roberts - an old friend and soon-to-become administrator of the tournament, to handle the business transactions. Roberts immediately approached financier Alfred Bourne, who pledged $25,000 to the undertaking. A Mr. Walton Marshall matched this with another $25,000, and in no time at all people with Winter homes in Augusta were volunteering $10,000, $5,000, and whatever they could afford to the venture. The dream course was on its way, but how long would it take to build? Mackenzie lost no time in getting the course started. His architectural creed was "to build courses for the most enjoyment (of) the greatest number." This was accomplished by restricting bunkers, eliminating roughs, and creating large greens. The result is what is referred to as "utter minimalism." After most of the course had been laid out, Jones took over by hitting thousands of experimental shots from every conceivable location in order to determine if each fairway had the proper sweep, each bunker the stiffest challenge, and each green the capability of accepting a good shot. He wanted his course to provide the ultimate challenge and satisfaction "to the greatest possible capabilities of (the) players." And who would those players be? In order not to offend anyone, Jones established a set of guidelines concerning who would be invited to the tournament. Those players would be the winners of past and present national championships as well as golfers who had displayed outstanding performances during the previous year. As a consequence, an invitation to The Masters is a coveted honor. Jones continued to host the tournament until shortly before his death at age sixty-nine and, for every year that he was the host he improved this tournament in some small way. So, as with almost everything that is undertaken in the realm of human endeavor, The Masters - as we know it today - certainly did not come about overnight, or even in just a few short years. From the time the wish to have his own dream course came upon Bobby Jones, to the time when The Masters became one of the biggest attractions in sport, there ensued a multiplicity of circumstances, challenges, and successes. When all were ultimately blended together, they created a phenomenon that prevails today as a majestic experience to all who are exposed to it. The Masters is well worth watching. I would like to acknowledge Charles Price, former Editor-in-Chief of Golf Magazine, for his historical analysis of The Masters entitled "A Golf Story" for most of the particulars contained in the foregoing article. Thank you. GOLF HATS by Ed DeBell Undoubtedly one of the most fascinating aspects of golf is the manner in which players have garbed themselves over the years. There have been as many different styles of golfing attire as there have been golfing periods, and each mode of dress has been symbolic of the era in which it occurred. Going back to the beginnings of this country, there was the Colonial costume which was worn when golf was reputed to have been played in Virginia in the 1700’s. During Victorian times, the outfit featured tweed jackets, knickered trousers, long stockings, and spats. And just a few decades ago golfers began wearing sport shirts, alpaca sweaters, and brightly colored pants. But does anyone remember the hats which accompanied this clothing? We probably have seen them so often in reproduction of golf art and in pictures of great golfers that we scarcely noticed them for what they were. Hats have been worn by human beings since civilizations first began. Obviously, the most valid reason for mankind to begin wearing hats was for protection against the weather: sun, rain, wind, cold. But people also began wearing hats as a fashion accessory, as part of a uniform, or as an indication of status in a particular society. And there are those who wear hats simply because they like the way they look when they are perched upon their heads. There are probably as many different types of hats as there are people who wear them...and that can be an awful lot of hats. I find it incredible to speculate on the way that all of these hats came into being. There are some very clever innovators among us. Quite a while ago, when I was a pupil in elementary school, we did a play as part of an arts festival. The play was called “Alice in Wonderland”, and I took the part of the Mad Hatter. My costume resembled very much the garments of a distinguished British gentleman of the horse and buggy era, but the hat I wore was outrageous. It was a huge Ninenteenth Century Squire’s black felt top hat with a large price tag sticking out of the hatband. Probably the earliest hat to be associated with the game of golf was the Pilgrim’s, or Puritan’s Hat. In a very humorous sequence of episodes depicting awkward situations concerning the Rules of Golf and the interpretations of them - all done by artist Charles Crombie (1905) - the pictures feature golfers dressed as Puritans and wearing the traditional wide brimmed black hat with the tall conical crown and a buckled band around it. They are often seen on Thanksgiving greeting cards. In a Winter landscape by Aert van der Neer (1650) - purportedly depicting an early form of golf, or kolf, being played on ice - several of the participants appear to be wearing a Dutch Cavalier’s Hat, the type made famous by The Three Musketeers. One character in particular, who is shown sitting on a bank talking to a young boy in the foreground, exemplifies this type of headgear very clearly. Also from the realm of art but in the subsequent century, L. F. Abbot (1790), created a colored engraving entitled “The Blackheat Golfer” which shows not only a golfer holding a long nose wood and wearing a Tricot Hat usually associated with the Revolutionary War. Other engravings of that period have also shown caddies with the same Tricot Hat. Somewhat before the turn of the century, George Pipeshank (1870) created comic caricatures of golfers engaged in absurd situations on a links type setting as an advertisement for Cope’s Tobacco. Some of the hats visible in his creations are the Tam O’Shanter, the Glengarry, the Deerstalker, the Yachtman’s Cap, and the Bucket Hat. Shortly after the beginning of the present millennium, one of the most popular of all golf hats became so prominent that it was worn by almost all golfers. I am referring to the well-known Beanie, which has been more formally defined as “...a small round tight fitting skull cap worn by schoolboys” and sporting a small brim in the front. In virtually every picture of that period the golfers are wearing this type of hat along with their tweed jackets, knickered trousers, and long stockings. In a picture of a golf match at Hoylake on a calendar by Michael Brown (1903) there are at least twenty-three golfers wearing this hat. Is there any wonder it has become famous? By the time the Roaring Twenties were in full swing and wooden shafts were slowly evolving into steel, the Beanie style was rapidly evolving into a more flamboyant type of hat which in itself was symbolic of that era. The Beanie had become larger and was composed of panels which emanated from a button in the top center of the hat and flowed down to a billowing flounce around the edges. One of the best examples of this hat - or cap - can be seen in the statue of the Penfold, or Bromfield Man (1920), used as a figure to promote golf balls. It totally eclipsed the Beanie as the preferred headpiece for golfers and was the choice of many popular players. Among other choices at that time were the Trilby, Panama, Derby, and Skimmer. After the resolution of the Second Great War (1945), distinctive golfers emerged who were famous not only for their dexterity with a golf club but also for their originality with a hat. The term “Hogan Hat” comes to mind: his hat was a somewhat modified version of the Newsboy Hat. Alongside Hogan’s Hat, Sam Snead wore a straw Porkpie, Byron Nelson wore a Sun Visor, Jimmy Demaret wore a Fedora, and Bobby Locke wore a White Gatsby. Each was an extension of the golfer’s personality and became readily identifiable with him. And if you watch any of the contemporary golfers, you will combinations which go together; these are adaptations which show unique stylishness on the part of the wearer. The baseball cap has become the preferred selection of many players, especially in view of its advertising potential, but other less common innovations are the Plantation Hat worn by Greg Norman, the Brimmed Beret worn by Payne Stewart, the Cotton Crusher worn by Jim Colbert, and, of course, the Jockey Cap worn by Jesper Parnevek. So if you are wondering what to put on your head the next time you play golf, make sure it’s different, uncommon, and rather jaunty. You could be starting a new trend. As far as collecting old golf hats is concerned, it is probably one of the most esoteric categories imaginable. Only a few collectors pursue it, and most of them liked hats of all kinds before they started. I once saw a display of old hats in a museum and the collection was quite diverse, but there were some golf hats there. I know of three antique shops in my locale that have a great number of hats, many of them golf hats. But finding them otherwise is a real challenge; the best way is to meet a fellow hat collector. If he is like me, though, he won’t want to part with any of them. So if you can arrive at a price that’s negotiable, then you’ve got it covered. My hat’s off to you! GOLF IN JAPAN by Ed DeBell Would you like to play golf in Japan? There is a great number of reliable companies which offer traveling packages to the vacationing golfer, and most of them can be found through the American Society of Travel Agents. One such organization is Golf Holidays, and it advertises itself as “a company of golfers for golfers” which has been “serving the needs of ... traveling golfers for twenty five years.” There are over five hundred courses from which the golfer can select his destination, and most of them are designed to fit perfectly with the golfer’s budget, lifestyle, and availability of time. Some of the advantages offered are the opportunity to try a variety of different courses on the holiday, an option to choose from full-service well-known resorts, “all suite” style accommodations, and durations of three, seven or more nights...all at a modest middle price level. And in many areas there are over twenty courses from which to choose. A sampling of some of the destinations would include Scotland, Ireland, Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bermuda, Åruba, Costa Rica, and a host of golfing resorts in the United States...comprising Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Southern Nevada, and a selection of others. And you can even plan a golf trip to Japan. If I read like some hick-town travel agent trying to solicit some business while I can, then I have led you astray. I am leading up to a discussion of the golfing phenomena which exist in far away Japan - and golf has been getting very popular there over the last few decades. I am sure many observers are familiar with the Japanese men who have come to America to participate in our professional tournaments, but are any of us familiar with the American women who have gone to Japan to participate in theirs. Several of these tournaments are in the offing this fall. At the end of October the women’s Nichirei International Golf Classic will take place at the Tsukuba Country Club in Ibaraki; at the beginning of November the women’s Japan Golf Classic will be played at the Musashigaoka Golf Course in Saitama. You might like to go over there and watch these games and then play a few games yourself...either this year or next. The most significant phenomenon which occurred to Japan in the early part of the twentieth century was the Westernization of its culture, and this included the introduction of the game of golf. The inception of the game was most marked in and around the great maritime cities like Kobe on the island of Honshu. It was there that one of the world’s most superb courses, Hirono, was laid out by Englishman Charles Alison in 1930. The course he designed remains unaltered to this day. It has been described as “...dotted with many pretty ponds, winding streams, running rivulets, pine woodlands, ravines and gentle undulations.” It set a standard by which all Japanese courses would be measured. Alison took advantage of the natural terrain of Honshu to create generous fairways with intriguing greens surrounded by copious bunkers whose configurations are uniquely characteristic on his style. His designs are reminiscent of the Berkshire courses in England on which he worked with Harry Colt - also from Great Britain. Very few courses outside the British Isles have the distinction and variety in each hole that is evident at Hirono. Each one of these holes is named for its own peculiarity - like Lake End, Fiord, Wee Wood - and all of these features are self evident as a player goes round the course. Japanese golfers are quite fond of trees - of which there are many at Hirono - and they feel certain companionship with them; all of the indigenous pines at Hirono are lovingly cared for. Several decades ago, the golf fever in Japan reached such plague proportions that it was necessary for the government to enact legislation to stop the rape of the open land by speculative golfing developers. But one of the beneficial assets which emerged from this epidemic of course building was the Fujioka Country Club just North of Nagoya. Mr. A. Furuhawa, an investor, was determined to create a course which would emulate international standards and comply with the established traditions of Nippon courses. He thereby appointed Mr. T. Yamada to be the course architect and the plans were laid out on a one hundred eighty acre tract of hilly land composed of tea plantations, a large lake, and a forest of pine trees. It has been acknowledged as one of Japan’s premier courses and is well of its way to achieving worldwide fame. One of the most revered aspects of the Japanese culture is the Kabuki Theatre, and its folklore reaches back centuries into Japanese history. This national theatre depicts the exploits of traditional Japanese heroes and is characterized by exaggerated acting and ornate costumes. The Japanese are very fond of Kabuki’s rituals, and this affinity for tradition also manifests itself in their golfing endeavors. Kasumigaseki - the country’s most reknown golf course - is a tribute to one of Japan’s most famous golfers. Kinya Fujita was immortalized by virtue of his having designed Kasumigaseki in 1929, and his heroic status is assured in the masterful creating of this classic golfing destination. And it is one of the few courses in Japan which still features the traditional female caddies. So make your reservations early and plan to do some real golfing on these magnificent landscapes. It should be well worth the journey over there. ROYAL BIRKDALE by Ed De Bell I have often wondered why - when the conscious mind reflects upon situations past - some of those events which occurred just a few days ago are almost impossible to remember, whereas other events which took place at an inordinate length of time in the past seem to have happened just a few days ago. Could this be some sort of time warp, or a case of mental inversion, or simply a natural subconscious phenomenon wherein we retain what is impressive and reject that which is not? One particular situation which I recall almost vividly was a visit which my brother and I made to one of my mother’s dearest friends in our old home town. We were barely six or seven years old then, but the circumstances were so unusual that the perceptions gained at that time have remained with me ever since. I can close my eyes and again see myself in those surroundings. The lady my mother took us to see lived in a very nice old house situated next of a large park which had a big beautiful lawn on it. I vaguely remember that on certain occasions peple with crooked sticks would be rolling what looked like little round stones back and forth and all around on that lawn and sometimes losing them in gopher holes.... or so it seemed to me. ( I later learned that they were golfers on a practice putting green.) But, inside the house, everything was English: the furnishings, the pictures on the wall, the chinaware set for tea, the biscuits ready to eat, and of course the woman who lived there. She was rather elderly, she dressed very eccentrically, and had a pronounced English accent, and her name was Flora. But the thing I remember most about her was that she was from Lancashire: she was the only person I have ever met from Lancashire; she was the archetypal prototype of Lancashire; she exuded everything which is indigenous to Lancashire; to be in her presence was to be in Lancashire. And I guess that is why I have never really forgotten her. She had one of the most unique and memorable personalities I have ever been exposed to. If she left me nothing else, she certainly left me with a little bit of Lancashire. And those who venture forth this Summer with their crooked sticks and little round stones to the British Open at Royal Birkdale will get a lot more than just a little bit of Lancashire. They will be playing a course in the “....great line of golf courses (which stretches) along the edge of the Irish Sea (and) begins with Hoylake (The Royal Liverpool Golf Club) and is strung out Northward along the Lancashire Coast....” and includes Formby, Royal Lytham and St. Annes, and ultimately Royal Birkdale (what else?). This links at Southport, Lancashire, has been described as a “superb seaside course....one of a group of fine courses set among the large sand dunes that dominate the landscape along much of the coast of Lancashire.” A former winner of the British Open at Royal Birkdale once described it as “mansized but not a monster.” It is a real championship challenge. It has been, since the middle forties, the most significant site for tournaments in England, having hosted almost three dozen national and international championships and matches. It is a club with a long history, having existed for over one hundred years. And it is a particularly formidable layout because of the stick rough and willow scrub which grows all over the course. Many golfers claim that the scrub is “more punitive than heather and just as unyielding as gorse.” Could there be any doubt that this is not an easy course? George Low is the architect who created the direction of the golfer’s journey among the dunes and dips that prevail along this strip of the coast of Lancashire. He threaded the fairways through the alleys between the giant sandhills instead of going over them, thereby giving the terrain the character of an inland course along with its links personality. Among the bunkers and knolls which abound on the course are many hollows with “dead ground” in them which force the golfer to play bold shots. At Royal Birkdale, a golfer must know when to play it safe and when to go for it. The Royal Birkdale course measures 6932 yards from the champions’ tees and registers a par of 70. The longest hole is the seventeenth at 525 yards and the shortest hole is the seventh at 154 yards. Among those who have won “The Open” at Royal Birkdale are Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, and Tom Watson. This year will see the 127th playing of the British Open, a championship which was proposed in 1856 but did not actually take place until 1860. It is golf’s oldest and most prestigious championship, the first event consisting of three rounds of twelve holes played over the Prestwick Links in Ayrshire, Scotland. The original trophy was the Championship Belt which was first won by Willie Park. This was later superseded by the well known claret jug. In addition to Park, other winners of “The Open” have been Tom Morris, Willie Fernie, John Ball, Harold Hilton, J. H. Taylor, Harry Vardon, James Braid, Sandy Herd, Ted Ray, and also many reknowned players of the later eras. Probably the most well remembered tournament ever played at Royal Birkdale was the British Open in 1961, when Arnold Palmer played a shot which won him the trophy and won “The Open” the prestige it so well deserves. On the fifteenth hole - which is now the sixteenth - Palmer had driven into the rough and his ball stopped under a bush short of the green. In his typical swashbuckling style he grabbed a club, took a tremendous thrash at the ball, and lifted it over gaping bunkers and onto the green. It was a typical example of Arnold Palmer’s unforgettable personality. And, in keeping with my mother’s ladyfriend from Lancashire, Royal Birkdale has one the most unique and memorable personalities any golfer could hope for: it is truly unforgettable. I think that the impressions gathered there by a player would be retained for all of his golfing life. GOLF OR CROQUET by Ed DeBell There are many interesting phenomena associated with the game of golf. Some of them are remarkable and others deserve little less than a passing thought. Yet, there are others which realistically do not seem to warrant much attention but which - over a span of years - periodically invade the conscious mind and trouble the thinker with challenges concerning their ultimate resolution. What should a person do about these phenomena? Should he dismiss them from his mind altogether; should he let them come and go at will and eventually play themselves out; or, should he take positive action and settle the challenges which they pose? I was presented with such a phenomenon several years ago. At that time, during which I played golf on a more regular basis than now and was part of a continuing foursome, I had arranged to meet the other members at one of their homes so we could all drive together to the golf course. It was situated in another town and we had never actually played it before, so we had made a reservation earlier in the week for that Sunday afternoon - and starting times were hard to get. The three other players were Bob, Rich, and Jerry, and by the time I got to the appointed place - Jerry’s house - they were all playing croquet on the neighbor’s lawn. It seems, while they were waiting for me, the neighbor - whose name was Arnold - had suggested rather than standing around, they might make better use of their time by playing croquet...and they did! Arnold started them out in a game of doubles - blue and black balls versus red and yellow balls - and they all became so involved in playing croquet they forgot about the game of golf altogether. By the time I arrived (and I was a little bit late) they were half through the game and would not quit until they had finished. Of course, by then it was too late to keep our tee times. So Jerry obligingly called to cancel the reservation and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing croquet, with me taking Arnold’s place and Arnold acting as instructor, referee, scorekeeper, and cheerleader all in one. I have been torn between golf and croquet ever since. The word “croquet” is derived from the Old North French term for a shepherd’s crook and in that dialect it is pronounced “crow-kay”. with the accent on the last of the two syllables. The activity which the word represents is defined as a game in which players drive wooden balls with mallets through a series of wickets and to a stake set out on a lawn. The expression “wicket” refers to an arch or hoop and comes from the Middle English word “wiket” which means to yield. “Mallet” had its origins in the Middle French “maillet” and it stands for an implement used to strike the ball. A “stake” is a painted piece of wood driven into the grounds as a marker. Is there anything else a person should know about this game? For those of us who are history buffs concerning the antiquity of games such as golf and the like, it is interesting to discover that croquet and its beginnings were curiously similar to those of golf. Although the origin of croquet is obscure, its antecedents reach back many centuries. It has been reputed that in the fourtheenth century peasants in Brittany and France entertained themselves playing a game called Paille Maille. In this game, crude mallets were used to knock uneven balls through hoops made of bent willow branches. This activity persisted for several hundred years, and by the seventeeth century Pele Mele, as it was called, soon became popular in the English court of King Charles. Later referred to as Pell Mell, the game was played with a curved club, a wooden ball, and two hoops. These events bring to mind and old Dutch painting which shows players in a pastoral setting using long-handled mallets to drive large balls into a door at the end of a grassy path. I am sure I viewed this painting in a book which traces the history of golf to its earliest origins. Could the two games be related? A game called “crooky” had been played in Kilkee, Ireland, in 1853, and historians claim it reached there through Frech nuns who referred to the game in the Old North French term “croche”, which meant a shepherd’s crook. Is this reminiscent of history of any other game? Croquet’s great popularity continued in England through the 1870’s, when “Routledge’s Handbook of Croquet” appeared; it was the first official rule book and still governs the game. It was followed by Walter Jones Whitmore’s book entitled “Croquet Tactics”. I wonder whether these books would command the same prices as some of the early books on golf? Croquet was introduced to the United States in the 1870’s also. It was first taken up by high society in New York, and its popularity spread throughout the nation. During the Golden Age of Hollywood it became a status favorite of entertainment people, probably the most notable of whom was Harpo Marx. He became so enamored of the game that he gave up golf altogether. I have no intention of giving up golf altogether, but when I reflect upon the escalating cost of green fees, the time devoted to playing a round, and the myriads of people that are taking up the game, I feel more contented just laying out the croquet court on the lawn and whacking away at those clumsy wooden balls for awhile. And whenever I do, I am always reminded of a witty epigram devised by the Newport Croquet Club in its Rule book of 1867: “Croquet seems to have evolved by some process of Nature, as a crystal forms or a flower grows - perfect, in accordance with eternal laws.” And so, which game should I be playing: golf or croquet? I think I ought to think it out again! BYRON NELSON GOLF CLASSIC by Ed DeBell I well remember the first moment during which I spoke to Byron Nelson. The time was January of 1944; the place was the Olympic Club in San Francisco; the event was the San Francisco Open; and the opportunity was the edge of the eighteenth fairway during the last round. Byron Nelson was on his way to becoming the leading money winner that year. In all, he won thirteen of the twenty-three tournaments he entered, and after all, he won $37,967.69 in war bonds. Today, most players win more than that amount in one tournament if they finish in the money. (What would those tournaments of 1944 be worth today?) The next year Byron Nelson won the awesome amount of $63,335.66, almost doubling his earnings of the previous year. That year (1945), he won almost as many consecutive tournaments (eleven) as he had won total tournaments (thirteen) during the previous year (1944). and, his total number of tournments won in 1945 was eighteen...as well as seven second place finishes! Is it any wonder that he was referred to admiringly as “Lord Byron”? My father had driven us over to the Olympic Club from the East Bay in order to watch some of those memorable golf professionals of that era. I do not remember exactly who all of them were, but I do remember exactly what transpired. After having roamed the course most of the day following the contending players, my father and I had positioned ourselves alongside the left of the eighteenth fairway to watch the drives and second shots of the leading finishers. Byron Nelson had just hit a commendable drive which hooked ever so slightly to directly opposite to where we were standing, and we wanted to witness his approach shot. As we observed him walking to his ball, my father handed me a pencil and program and commanded: “Dodge out there an’ get ‘iz bloomin’ authograph, Neddy, an’ bi quick about it.” (My father had been born and raised in London and at one time was somewhat of a late day Oliver Twist.) I hesitated for a moment due to innate shyness, but a nudge on my back sent me stumbling forward. “Mr. Nelson,” I gently pleaded in a somewhat apologetic tone, “May I please have your autograph?” His answer is the one thing I remember about that tournament more than anything else. “Not now, Sonny, I’m trying to win this tournament.” And win it he did, along with the Knoxville Open, the Golden Valley Open, the Tam O’ Shanter Open, and ten more significant tournaments. I cannot recall the names of those other tournaments, but I certainly can recall the name he chose for me. I think that was the only time anyone ever called me “Sonny”. (I must have been wearing short pants.) Byron Nelson was the first player ever to have a tournament named in his honor. The Dallas Open became the Byron Nelson Golf Classic, not the Las Colinas Open or the Dallas Golf Classic or the Tournament Players’ Championship of Texas. It was designated as such over a quarter of a century ago, and it has been recognized as emblematic of the character of Byron Nelson. One astute observer has declared of the TPC at Las Colinas: “Its fairways are generous, its greens are accessible, and from the first tee to the eighteenth green there is not a hint of flamboyance.” However, those who are familiar with the course acknowledge that it is worthy of much respect. Designed by Jay Morrish and Ben Crenshaw, the routing of the holes takes into consideration the whistling of the winds of Texas. Most of the long holes play with the wind and most of the short holes play against it. Very few holes play across it, so very few players have to contend with that. And since the wind is such a strong consideration, most of the greens allow for bounce-on-approach-shots. The course is a good test of short game proficiency and many of those greens are surrounded by hilly mounds or grass bunkers. To further enhance the challenge of the greens, the greenskeepers have varied their mowing patterns surrounding the periphery of them. From off the edge you might very well putt to one green, chip to a second, pitch to a third, and play a flop shot to a fourth. The bump and run shot is still a strong challenge at the TPC at Las Colinas. Speaking of playing when the wind kicks up at Las Colinas, Dave Eichelberger once hit a drive which was measured at 397 yards, although I seem to recall that back in the nineteen forties - when Byron Nelson was playing - Jimmy Thompson hit one over 400 yards --- but not at Las Colinas. This tournament also has a reputation of having play suspended probably more times than any other. On more than two dozen occasions rounds have been cancelled, thirty six holes have been played on one day, or the course has been declared unplayable because of lightning, rain, or fog. During only six or seven incidents has the tournament managed four consecutive playing days without interference. I have an idea that Byron Nelson was proclaiming observance to the Gods of Nature when he planted “Byron’s Tree” on the left side of the eighteenth fairway several years ago. I respect a man who loves trees. One of the first golf books which I owned and studied extensively was Byron Nelson’s Winning Golf. My father presented it to me shortly after “Lord Byron’s” monumental year, and I still have the copy among my over-a-hundred golf books. There was something about the charisma of Byron Nelson that inspired me to refer to his book as frequently as I could. Flipping through the book after all these years is like re-visiting an old golf teacher. And as a tribute to his contributions to the game in so many ways, admirers have erected a nine foot statue of him ajacent to the 1st tee. In recognition as well as reality the figure of Byron Nelson looms tall in the world of golf. And, by the way, if you happen to go to his tournament and get a chance to talk to him, have him send me his autograph,....if possible. Tell him it’s for “Sonny”.     1-214-377-8421 We accept Visa and Mastercard for your convenience. Antique Golf Collectibles, A Price and Reference Guide. Post Paid $30.00*   1997, by Chuck Furjanic. Prices for Average, Above Average and Superb pricing for golf clubs, balls, books, ceramics and all other golf collectibles. Signed by the author. Click the cover to see it closeup! Or, go to the Books page. 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