Chastain Bill - White Fang and the Golden Bear: a father and son journey on the golf course and beyond

This book is dedicated to Louis Joseph WesselRenaissance Man, Navy Man, Best Friend, Loving Father, and Leader of the Wessel Band!

Copyright 2019 by Joe Wessel and Bill Chastain

Foreword 2019 by Jack Nicklaus

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Qualcom Designs

Cover photo credit: iStock

ISBN: 978-1-5107-4016-7

Ebook ISBN 978-15107-4017-4

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Foreword

by Jack Nicklaus

M Y FATHER WAS MY BEST friend. I know how lucky I was to have had a special relationship with him.

I think my sister got a little bit of the short end of that deal. That didnt mean he loved her any less. But I was the apple of Dads eye, and he spent a ton of time with me. He introduced me to every sport. We threw the ball together. We shot baskets together. We kicked the football together. We played golf together. We hit tennis balls together. Whatever, thats what we did.

Dad taught me a lot of things. There was a right way to do things. Like you wanted to be a good sport. If you lost, it wasnt the end of the world. You have to deal with whatever hand youre dealt. And, you kept your word. Your word is your bond. He also taught me how a father was supposed to act, so I tried to do the same thing with all of my kids. He taught me to introduce my kids to things and let them make up their own minds. I didnt want any of my kids to play golf just because I wanted them to play golf. I wanted them to play golf if they wanted to play golf. Id introduce them to the game, but I didnt actually try to encourage them too much. I thought it was pretty difficult being my son from that standpoint. And if they ended up wanting to play, then that would be a great choice on their part. Well, it turned out that three of the four boys became golf pros. Steve did not. But Steve was almost as good a golfer as the other three. It made me very happy that my sons wanted to play, just as my dad was happy that I enjoyed the sport on my own terms.

Dad was a great athlete. Hed even played pro football for the old Portsmouth Spartans, who are now the Detroit Lions. I didnt know it at the time, but Dad had wanted me to play football, too. You know, I quit football, and he never told me he was disappointed. He just supported what I wanted to do. And so thats sort of what I did with my guys.

Obviously, Dad was a heavy influence in my life. He passed away far too early, at 56 of pancreatic cancer. He missed a great part of my career. But he got to see probably seven or eight major championships. I think about him every day.

A component of this book originated from the fact that one of my sons gave something away. My kids used to give all my stuff away. And thats ok.

I had obtained one autograph during my childhood, that of Harvey Haddix. Most remember him as the guy who pitched a perfect game for the Pittsburgh Pirates before losing the game in extra innings. When Harvey played for the Columbus Redbirds, I got his autograph on a baseball. I was 6 or 7 years old. I had kept that ball on my dresser my entire life. Then one day, I came home from a trip, and the baseball wasnt on my dresser. I wondered what happened until my son Steve, who was about 15 at the time, came in and said, Oh Dad, our ball went in the lake, so we used this one. He showed me the Haddix ball, and, of course, it was a mess. The autograph was gone. But thats what kids do.

Funny that White Fang would be one of the items hed give away years later.

Obviously, a putters probably the most important club in your bag. You really have to have a good feel for your putter. If youre not comfortable with what youre using, youre out of luck. You have to have confidence in what youve got. If you dont have confidence in it, youre not going to use it very well. I had that one putter I used for years, a George Low Wizard heel-shafted putter. I won fifteen of my majors with it. But there were times when all of a sudden it felt different. I wasnt making any putts, so Id put it down and putt with something else and have success. White Fang became one of those alternative putters.

White Fang was a Bulls Eye putter painted white. When I looked at it, it gave me a different look. I putted well with it, and I gained confidence from using it, even won a major using it, the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol. Youre not going to win if you dont have any confidence.

I met Joe Wessel when he roomed with Steve at Florida State. They both played football, so they spent a little bit of time together and became good friends. Joe ended up playing a little bit of golf, so they shared some time from that side, too. Occasionally, Id see Joe when I went to Tallahassee for games. Id always liked him, and when he returned White Fang to me, I liked him even more.

Getting White Fang back helped to facilitate a memorable outing. Joe Wessel had a special relationship with his father, a relationship that is the heart of this book. Being able to play a small part in their life together was something that brought me pure joy. I think that was a special day for Joe, and a special day for his dad. I hope you enjoy Joes account, as told by Bill Chastain, as much as I enjoyed partaking in it.

Prologue

P RIOR TO MY FATHER S DEATH, every time we played a round of golf together, wed sit down afterward, and inevitably, somebody would want me to cue up the White Fang story. Tell it, Joe. Its the best golf story ever.

Something similar occurred inside the Mens Grill at the Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club in Tampa. I sat swapping stories with my friend Doug Shields, when Bill Chastain stopped by our table. Doug introduced us and told me he was a writer. Doug calls everyone Coach and has a way with words, so he yelled out, Coach, tell Bill the White Fang story! Bill, you wont believe this story. I told him the story, and that marked the beginning of this books journey.

Dad had died a couple of months earlier. The sting of his death remained fresh. I missed him so badly that I physically hurt. My neighbor Ralph Barber had been pushing me to write a book, so I asked Bill if he might be interested in collaborating with me. The next day, Bill got back to me after hed researched the White Fang story. Several articles had been written about how Jack Nicklaus got reunited with his beloved putter, White Fang, but those stories missed the larger backstory, which dealt with a special father-son relationship. Once I told Bill more about my father and our unique relationshipalong with some details from my lifewe agreed to work on this book.

I first met Jack in Tallahassee, Florida, where his son Steve and I were college roommates. Steve and I played football for Florida State University. During that time, I learned that Jack cared about relationships and understood that relationships were more important than anything else. Relationships were about getting along and about engaging other people. Observing Jack made me think of my fathers work with Alcoholics Anonymous and how he guided other people. Thats what defines true servant leadership.