Posts tagged Arnold Palmer
The Big Three Together Again at The Masters: Player to Join as Honorary Starter
07 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Getty Images
Augusta National chairman Billy Payne announced on Tuesday that Gary Player would be invited to join contemporaries Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as honorary starters for the 2012 Masters Tournament.
“I couldn’t think of a greater place in the world for the three of us hitting off together,” Player said. “I just love the Masters. It’s special, special, special. And we’re all going to be there together, as comfortable as old friends can be, enjoying each other’s smiling faces.”
The three Masters champions have graced the famed Georgia Jewel in recent years playing in the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday of tournament week. However, Palmer became the first of the “Big Three” to be named an honorary starter, beginning in 2007. Last year, in 2010, Nicklaus joined Palmer hitting the ceremonial opening tee shots.
It only felt right to have Player join the duo.
“I am delighted that Gary is joining Arnold and me. As an international champion and someone I have said might be, pound for pound, the best player in the game’s history, Gary has done so much to grow the game around the world,” Nicklaus said on his Facebook page. “His success at the Masters just over 50 years ago opened eyes and hopefully opened doors for many aspiring young players from other countries. So it is only fitting that Gary have an opportunity to step on the first tee and be celebrated and thanked by the appreciative Augusta National patrons.”
The Big Three won every Masters tournament from 1960-1966 and won eight of nine starting in 1958.
Player won the Masters in three times; first in 1961 beating Palmer by one stroke, second in 1974 and finally in 1978.
“I’m already looking forward to it, particularly being with my two good friends,” Player said. “We were always fierce competitors, we wanted to beat each other and that was a healthy thing. But it was more than just golf. It was a great friendship and respect for each other as well. It still is.”
Traditions Unlike Any Other: Honorary Starter
010 months ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
Welcome back to the Masters week feature series,Traditions Unlike Any Other. Throughout the days leading up to the tournament, we will go over a couple of the traditions that take place every year at the Masters that make this such a special event.
Tradition: Beginning in 1963, the honorary starters were Jock Hutchison and Fred McLeod. Both men were chosen because of their ties to Augusta National. Hutchison was a two-time major champion, but neither were a Masters. He was chosen because he won the first Senior PGA Championship, which was held at Augusta National. Hutchison held his post as honorary starter until 1973.
As for McLeod, he played in the first four Masters tournaments and hit the ceremonial opening tee shot until 1976.
Following five years devoid of the starter, Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson took up the post in 1981.
Sarazen, of course, won the Masters in 1935 when he hit the “shot heard round the world,” an incredible double-eagle on the 15th hole. Lord Byron won the Masters twice, in 1937 and 1942.
Just three years later, Sam Snead made the opening group a three-some in 1984. Snead won three Masters and a PGA Tour record, 82 events.
Together those three started every Masters from ’84-99, before Sarazen died in May of 1999. Nelson stopped starting in 2001 due to health issues and Snead continued alone until he passed away nearly three years to the day after Sarazen later in May of 2002. Nelson lived until 2006, but was unable to act as the honorary starter.
Beginning in 2007, Arnold Palmer was chosen to be the honorary starter and joining him last year Jack Nicklaus began his reign. Gary Player is the logical next choice, and he said he would be willing to do it. Hopefully the green jackets decide to give the Big Three the due they deserve.
Always a cool tradition, the Masters is famous for remembering their past champions and this is just another example of it.
The question now becomes who will be the next generation of starters?
USGA Blue Light Special: Ball Rollback
31 year ago
by Chris Chaney
in Golf
A couple weeks ago, the USGA green lit a tournament-style outing for Canadian Tour members to play a golf ball that has been designed as an scaled-back alternative to the hotter, farther flying ball that is on the market today.
Geoff Shackelford did some sneaky and great reporting following the mini tournament, using Facebook to find out who played the ball, or if they knew someone who played it, how they liked it and if they thought it would be a good thing for the USGA to adopt. The USGA made the competitors sign non-disclosure agreements so those who played were not able to discuss what they thought with the media. Shackelford got around it, though and spoke to two players (one under 25, the other over 30) who knew people who played. The responses was pretty interesting. Here are a few I found interesting.
- The unmarked ball, described by both sources as having a shallow, odd dimple pattern with “a lot of flat surfacing,” typically went about 20 yards shorter with the best hit drives.
- The ball did not spin much and flew unusually straight, as well as on a lower trajectory according to both sources. The younger Canadian Tour player whose friends also are under-25 types, said his buds described their experience as unenjoyable because the ball did not curve at all and played like a limited flight range ball. One of his peers also said the feel around the greens was “just awful.”
- My other source, on the other hand, reported distinctly different views. An early 30′s player of accomplishment, called the experience “unreal.” He loved the shotmaking emphasis, the longer irons hit into greens, the overall emphasis on skill despite his misgivings about the straighter flight of the prototype. He also reported that his fellow playing partners were enthusiastic despite some concerns about the ball seemingly wiping away a distance advantage of one longer player in the group while not impacting others as much.
- The players who enjoyed their experience said their irons flew about one club shorter, which, combined with the distance off the tee lost, meant 2-3 clubs more into greens.He also reported loving shots around the green more and found that he could play all types of shots, both with backspin or of the bump-and-run variety. “Way better, so fun,” was the feedback.
To tie this whole thing into this weekend’s event at the Deutsche Bank, two of golf greatest icons agree somewhat that the ball should be rolled back.
Arnold Palmer, one of the biggest proponents on scaling back a lot of the technology told Reuters yesterday that the technology, and the golf ball specifically, needs to be scaled back in order to make the golf courses playable.
“Because of technology, the players of today hit it too far,” Palmer said. “That should be one of the major things on our agenda, to slow the golf ball down so that we don’t tilt the scale.
“We have so many great golf courses but, as the players start hitting it so far, they are outdating our golf courses. We need to see if we can’t just keep it in the range that we have known it for so many years.”
The King’s point has not been lost on me. It’s mind-boggling to see the pros going out and playing golf courses that are 7,500 yards. It seems ridiculous, but still the PGA guys go out and shoot 10-under. With a little scaling back of the ball, maybe more of the older courses will be able to be played and put back in major rotations without being completely overhauled.
Arnie’s point was lost on the world’s number 1, either. Asked yesterday about scaling back the ball Tiger said he understands if it would happen.
“It’s just, I can understand them wanting to obviously pull the game back a little bit, because the guys are just becoming more athletic. Here I am 6 foot and I’m considered short. Most of the guys now are 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Just like every other sport, it’s evolved, become more athletic.”
As Ryan Ballengee points out, “understanding” isn’t exactly the same as Arnie’s full support for rolling back the ball.
“Understand” obviously isn’t “fully endorse,” but Woods typically has come down on the side of regulation where appropriate. He vouched for drug testing though later received controversial, albeit totally legal, therapy. Woods had (has?) been on the top tier of the PGA distance charts, but has since scaled back to a degree.
The USGA said earlier this week that the study has been going on for a couple of years now and that even with this significant amount of testing, there is not intent to change up the ball any point soon. It seems like this testing is being done for some cushioning if the rule were to go into effect. I think the USGA is doing all their research and fact-gathering so that if the rule were to change, they would have a significant amount of information to feed the players and the public when the ball stops flying 300 yards.
