Julie Ganz - Incredible Golf Stories

Copyright 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing

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

Cover design by Tom Lau

Cover photo credit AP Images

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1379-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1384-0

Printed in China

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

D iscovery. Escape. Competition. Companionship. Growth. Change. Firsts and Lasts. Love. These are all aspects of the game of golf, and these themes are all evident in the stories that follow.

I can relate. It was a hot New York City afternoon in late July 2015, and my then-fianc and I were heading out to the driving range at Chelsea Piers, an outing we hadnt yet taken together and one that we were very much looking forward to. After all, it had been an eventful but challenging summer. In the course of the last eight weeks, we had worked tirelessly on finalizing the details of our wedding, which at this point was a mere two months away; we had traveled to several out-of-town (most of which were actually out of state) weddings of friends and family; and my fianc had completed law school and sat for the Bar exam. They were all positive changes, for sure, but changes that had kept us quite busy nonetheless.

It was for that reason and many others that the scenic driving range, with its views of the glistening Hudson River, seemed to beckon us. When wed initially decided on the activity for the day, Id felt a bit guiltyguilty for being away from it all, albeit for a few hours, to focus instead on the clubs, the golf balls, and the miraculous summer day that it was, rather than schedules, textbooks, and even floral arrangements. Its amazing how, with one swing of the golf club, outdoor recreation became a part of our lives again. Summer had truly begun for us that day, albeit over a month late.

In this escape from reality, we discovered that we still had some sense of hand-eye coordination. We regained a sense of competition and remembered that companionship didnt just mean working alongside each other on invitation stuffing or table charts. I loved my partner a little bit more with each piece of advice that he gave me about which club to use or how to drive that ball just a little bit fartheror straighter.

Of course, we didnt realize the significance of this rather spontaneous outing at the time, a quick release of energy before getting back to the plans and the details. In fact, the only real change Id felt that next day was the soreness in my muscles, reminding me that I needed to exercise those limbs with at least as much frequency as I had been exercising my organizational skills. Yet, as the saying goes, hindsight is 2020, and when I look back and reflect on that afternoon at the driving range, I realize just how much of an impact it actually had as we closed one chapter on our life and prepared for the next.

Golf can be reflective like that, if you let it be, sometimes eliciting feelings that you didnt even know existed. I hope that the classic tales and images that follow allow you to do the same. Though some are steeped more deeply in reality than others, I hope that at least some of them cause you to do some reflecting on your own golf experiences and remind you what it is you love about the game.

Julie Ganz, Summer 2016

PART ONE

HISTORY

CHAPTER 1

HOW I BECAME THE FIRST FOREIGNER IN THE MODERN ERA TO WIN THE US OPEN

GARY PLAYER

F oreigners just didnt win the US Open in the modern era. Harry Vardon did it in 1900, becoming the first non-American to win. Ted Ray also achieved the feat in 1920. But it eluded South Africas Bobby Locke, and he told me it was the one thing missing from his amazing career.

Of course, I wasnt immune to the aura of the US Open either. It had long been in my mind to win the US Open. But lets face it, American golfers dominated their national Open.

And of course, there was another not-so-small matter hanging in the balance here as well. The Big Threethe collective term for the dominance of myself, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklauswas now an established fact in the game. Between us we have won nearly sixty Majors on both the PGA and Senior (now Champions) Tours. This has never happened before by any three players and may never happen again.

By 1965, each of us had won three of the four Majors in the game. For Arnold, the PGA Championship was proving the elusive title. For Jack, it was the British Open. And for me, the US Open. Id come close in 1958, finishing as runner-up four strokes behind Tommy Bolt.

So it came to pass that on a sweltering week in Missouri, in what is considered one of the most searching and demanding tests of golf established by the United States Golf Association (USGA), the Grand Slam was beckoning. And for a foreigner on top of it.

Harry Vardon became the first non-American golfer to win the US Open, which he accomplished in 1900. (By Man vyi, via Wikimedia Commons)

As always, I did my homework. Ben Hogan was a master of the US Open, and he always arrived well before the tournament to get used to the local conditions. Like Hogan, I made sure I had my daily routine running smoothly, down to the finest detail. I didnt go out for dinner and stayed in my hotel room at night. Im not a superstitious person, but I washed my same black golf shirt after every round and wore the same outfit every day.

Then I studied the golf course. It was a monster. At 7,190 yards it was the longest of any US Open golf course in history at that time, and was made even longer by the lousy equipment and balls we had. During the practice rounds, I made copious notes and sketches of the course and greens, and would then study them in my hotel room in the evenings.

I started off well by shooting an opening round 70 and was two shots off the lead of Australian Kel Nagle. I added another 70 in the second round and led Nagle by one stroke. A 71 in the third round kept me in front. It came down to the final nine holes, and what was now just a battle between Nagle and me. I was three strokes ahead of him to start the round.

Gary Player celebrates a successful putt during the second round of the 1965 US Open. (AP Photo)

Kel played superbly over those closing holes, cutting my lead down to only one stroke before I again opened up a three-stroke lead with three holes to play.