The Grand Slam

photo credit: D.Hilgart   It was 1930 when the term “Grand Slam” was coined by sports-writer O.B. Keeler.  The term described winning the British Amateur, British Open, U.S. Open and the U.S. Amateur Championship by Bobby Jones in the same year.

Bob Drum, another sports-writer, revived the term to include the PGA Tournament and the Masters Championship.  The U.S. Amateur and the British Amateur tournaments were excluded.

Since Bobby Jones, there have only been five players to achieve the slam, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.  None have done it in a single season.

Winning these four prestigious tournaments in the same year is a monumental feat that may very well be the epitome of achievement in all of sports.

Golf Gear Oddities

photo credit: splashypants   In the 1930s, Walter Hagen’s golf set consisted of twenty irons and four woods.  The irons were in half-steps from one to nine (one – one and a half etc).  This occurred well before the 14 club rule.  Hagen’s bag weighed 40 lbs!

In the early days of golf, a five iron was called a “Mashie.”  The term was derived from the French word masse, which is used today to describe the backspin put on a billiard ball. 

In a 1950s tour event, at the treacherous, wind-beaten, 110-yard 7th hole at Pebble Beach G0lf Links, Sam Snead teed off with his putter (rather than a nine-iron).  He purposely bounced his ball down the hill and into a front bunker.  Snead made par.

Unusual Golf Facts

photo credit: Chris Breikss   Fred McLeod defeated Willie Smith in the playoff for the 1908 U.S. Open Championship, Fred weighed only 108 pounds-the lightest golfer ever to win a U.S. Open title.

Caryl Meeks, of Stamford, Connecticut, buried some of the ashes of Stephen Signore, her longtime companion and an avid golfer, on the 9th fairway of Sterling Farms Golf Club-public course where he played until his death in 1997.  No one would have been the wiser, except that the ashes were dug up by the course superintendent’s dog.

Tom Jewell is a self-admitted golf junkie-and a very polite one at that.  Since 1987, he has, without fail, written letters of congratulation to every winner of every single PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tournament.

Unanswered Facts

photo credit: linein   At the Masters tournaments, the previous year’s winner gets to choose the menu for the champions dinner.  Here are some choices selected:  Nick Faldo (1966) > fish & chips;  Ben Crenshaw (1995) > Texas barbeque; > Jose Maria Olazabal (1994 > bluefish & garlic, oil, and perejil sauce;  Bernhard Langer (1993) > turkey & stuffing and German wedding soup;  Fred Couples (1992) > chicken cacciatore.

There is one man that prepares for the Open (British Open) like no other.  Ivor Robson does not eat or drink for 24 hours prior to the start of the tournament.  You see, Robson is the tournament’s first-tee starter.  He says he wants to ensure he can remain vigilant at his post for eight hours without heeding nature’s call !

Old Grooves vs. New

photo credit: musescore   GOLF MAGAZINE  commissioned Hot Stix Golf to run tests to determine the difference between the old and new grooves.  The results:  From Fairway – BACKSPIN > pre = 2010 = 9,113 rpm - post 2010 = 8,330.  LAUNCH ANGLE > pre = 28 degrees – post = 29 degrees.  APEX > pre = 84 ft. - post = 87 ft.  DESCENT ANGLE > pre =52 degrees – post = 52 degrees.  ROLL > pre 2.6 ft. – post 5.9 ft.  From the Rough – BACKSPIN > pre = 7,246 - post = 4,899.  LAUNCH ANGLE > pre = 29 degrees – post = 34 degrees.  APEX > pre = 86 ft – post = 102 ft.  DESCENT > pre = 50 degrees – post = 50 degrees.  ROLL > pre = 10.6 ft. – post = 18.9 ft.

“Nothing but the Truth”

photo credit: The White Wolves   Many members of the Baltusrol Golf Club complained that Robert Trent Jones, course designer, had made the par-3, 194-yard 4th hole too demanding for the 1954 U.S. Open.  So Jones, who was escorted by the club pro and club president, went out to the 4th tee. . . and proceeded to knock the ball into the cup for an ace!  He then stated “As you can see, the hole really isn’t too difficult.”

Barry and Jody Wolfe, 15 year old twins, each aced the 2nd hole at the Scott Country Park Course in Gate City, Virginia.  First, Barry holed his six-iron, then Jody smacked his own six-iron shot into the hole, right on top of his brother’s ball!  It was the first ace for both.

Putting Gone Wild

photo credit: James Chutter   Hale Irwin blew a two-inch tap-in at the 1983 British Open at Royal Birkdale.  Irwin’s tee shot, on the par 3 – 14th hole came to rest 25 ft. from the cup and a chance for a birdie and a win.  After missing the putt, his ball came to rest 2-inches from the cup.  Unbelievably, he whiffed the two inch putt and finished tied for second.

Mark Calcavecchia faced an extremely long putt over a mound at St. Andrews, Scotland during the 1990 Dunhill Cup competition.  Rather than putt, he used his wedge to pitch the ball to within a few feet of the cup.  The gallery was horrified at the size of the divot Calcavecchia took.  He proceeded to sink his 2 footer for his par.

15 Strokes on a Par 3?

Brian Barnes took an incredible 12 strokes while putting from only three feet away from the cup at the 1968 French Open.  On the 8th green, the short-tempered Barnes missed an easy putt.  Then he tried to rake the ball in.  When that failed, he hit the ball back and forth while it was still moving.  Adding putts and penalty strokes, he scored a woeful 15 on the par 3 hole.

The great Harry Vardon consistently had the lowest stroke average during his long career, however, Vardon took one wasted stroke in the 1900 U.S. Open, when he whiffed a putt that was shorter than six inches.  He ended up winning the Open in spite of his temporary case of the ”yips.”

Putting Peculiarities

photo credit: Rob Inh00d   Without postal codes and marked only with the simple address “Misser of Short Putts, Prestwick,” the British Post Office delivered a letter to its rightful recipient Old Tom Morris, England’s top golfer in the 1800s.  Morris suffered from the yips.

In his prime, Bobby Jones used a putting stance with his feet no more than two inches apart, heels touching.

Shortly after the 1987 season, after earning a career high of $285K, Mac O’Grady got the yips.  The next year he won $116K and then  $40K and in 1989 he moved to the 170th place with a total of  $30K.  His desperation in curing the yips led him to donate $30K to the UCLA Medical Center to study the problem.  A cure has yet to be found !

Crazy Shots

photo credit: eirikso   In the 1930′s, the legendary trick-shot artist Joe Kirkwood used to tee a golf ball on the flat side of a Hershey’s Kiss held between the teeth of an attractive female assistant.  After smacking his drive, he would kiss his assistant.

Playing the 13th hole at Carnoustie G.C. in Scotland, the Reverend A.R. Taylor saw his ball hit something in flight.  It was another golf ball driven from the 14th tee.  Unbelievably, each ball bounced directly back toward the player who hit it.

In 1977, William Collins tried to hit his ball over a grapefruit tree at the Eldorado C.C. in Palm Desert California.  After hitting it thin, the ball went into the tree only to be found later embedded in a grapefruit like a seed !

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