When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Thanks to reader Stan for Brian Viner's Seve tribute, that included a reminder of Seve's philosophy on long putters and technology.
"He approved of gamesmanship because it was a test of psychological strength. But he deplored players getting technological assistance. "I would ban the long putter," he told me. "Golf in my opinion was invented to reward the skill, ability and intelligence of the player. But when I see guys using that putter, on the short putts especially it looks like an incredible help. People who can't putt at all, all of a sudden they're making everything inside 20 feet."
I asked whether we shouldn't spare a thought for his friend Sam Torrance, whose career was extended by conversion to the broomhandle putter.
"That's a good question. But if the long putter did not exist, Sam couldn't have tried it. He would have continued to find another way. I would also change the loft on the sand wedge, from 60 degrees to maximum 54, so there is more feel involved. Some guys carry four wedges, I need only one. I would have only 12 clubs in the bag, not 14, to eliminate all those wedges. And I would change the size of the ball. It should be bigger, to stop distance. Great golf courses all over the world are being redesigned, because with new technology players hit so far. That is wrong because great courses, like St Andrews, are pieces of art. The ball should be changed, not the course."
It's not often when we lose a golfing great that you hear photographers speaking out about their affection for the person, but that's just how powerful a presence Seve exuded.
Matthew Harris, who captured several memorable images of Seve and whose work can now be seen at The Golf Picture Library, shares the image (left) and following words about Seve:
"All any golf photographer ever wanted to do was to photograph Seve,he gave us some extraordinary moments. He will never be forgotten as long as golf is played, as he made the impossible shots, possible.It was a privilege being there for many of his triumphant wins, in an illustrious career and an honor we became friends ".
"One of my most cherished memories was going to dinner with him, and my friend Koji Aoki, to a small Japanese noodle house, sitting on tatami mats,in the middle of the Hakone Highlands in Japan; laughter,chop sticks and a priceless evening ".
"Seve was the pied piper, not only of European golf,but why even non sports fans would tune in when he was rampaging across a golf course bubbling charisma with every swashbuckling swipe of his clubs; there never was a finer sight in my experience in golf ".
David Cannon also penned these thoughts for golf.com:
Whether it was a smile, a scowl, a serious moment or a great action image, it did not matter. The eyes told the story — the unrivalled passion for the game of golf. It's a passion I share every day of my life, and I very much miss Seve's being around as a person, let alone as a subject.
In no particular order...
James Lawton on Seve's passing:
Life isn't a game, of course, but the tragedy behind the glory of Seve Ballesteros was that sometimes he plainly found it hard to distinguish between the two. He wept unashamedly in defeat and was distraught when he finished second as a 19-year-old at the Open at Royal Birkdale in 1976. Ballesteros always lived in the moment, and if such anguish was hard to understand after he had been beaten only by the superstar American Johnny Miller, and tied with Jack Nicklaus, it was soon enough widely understood that the thin, intense youth played only to win. It wasn't considered an ambition; it was a birthright.
He won three Opens along with his Masters titles, and each time he won a major he seemed to journey a little deeper into the improbable, even the surreal.
Peter Alliss's memories of Seve.
He could also be awkward. He could shut down a party with a look. That is the kind of power and charisma he had. But he loved the game, he loved to play, he just loved hitting balls. He was more than a golfer, he was a global star. It was such a shame that a life like his should end like it did. They were a very sad last two years, living in a bloody big house overlooking the Bay of Santander with a housekeeper and his brothers popping in. His family lived in Madrid and he was largely on his own. He knew he was dying. It was very sad.
I last saw him a couple of months ago. We went down to film a documentary. He lived in some style. You went into his garage and you discovered a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. He'd had them for years but they had fewer than 4,000 miles on the clock. A dealer friend of mine asked me to ask Seve if he wanted to sell them.
He offered Seve a decent price but he wanted a million pounds each for them because 'they belong to me'.
Thanks to reader Stuart for Ewen Murray's memories of Seve.
I first met Seve when he was a teenager at the under 25 championship in Evian.
It was a practice round and this engaging Spaniard arrived on the first tee with some dodgy-looking shoes and minus the full compliment of clubs.
My first question was: who are you caddying for? "I am playing," was the reply.
After a few holes, I realized I was in special company and it was the beginning of a friendship that would last until his untimely death of such a brutal illness.
Former caddy Billy Foster remembers the man and shares a few favorite stories courtesy of Kevin Garside.
Greg Turner is interviewed by Martin Davidson.
''He was bloody kind with his time. Any time I saw him going to the practice green I'd head over there as well. He was very free with his advice and he'd spend a lot of time with you, talking you through stuff. For a young guy that was purely inspirational.''
John Huggan on why we'll never see another like him.
It is no exaggeration to say that we will never see his like again. Quite apart from the fact that the explosion in club and ball technology over the last 20 years or so has left professional golf all but bereft of the subtle shot-making, touch and artistry Seve took to previously unexplored levels, the Spaniard played, to paraphrase the great Bobby Jones' famous description of Jack Nicklaus, "a game with which no-one else was familiar". Added to which he was the ultimate competitor, as his 50 European Tour victories - a record - and 87 worldwide wins so graphically indicate.
Mike Clayton remembers the man and some of his most important victories.
The Spaniard won his first major championship at Royal Lytham in 1979, beating a white handkerchief-waving Hale Irwin, a clinically accurate American who only a month earlier had won his national Open. Seve clattered the ball all over the links from the tee but in one of the most staggering performances on a brutally difficult course he holed the most improbable of putts, hit the most perfect bunker shots and then finished off Irwin, Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Australian Rodger Davis when he made a birdie at the 16th after driving into the carpark.
The orthodox and normally ruthless Irwin could not stomach a man burying him on the golf course whilst missing fairway after fairway with a swing that showed little regard for orthodoxy.
A very nice compilation of quotes from Seve's peers on the Champions Tour includes this from Nick Price:
"What he did for European golf was what Tiger Woods did for worldwide golf. The European Tour would not be where it is now if it were not for Seve. His allegiance to the European Tour was admirable. I mean the guy was an icon; just an incredible golfer. I've always said most of us could shoot 65 in about 30 or 40 ways. He could do it about 10,000 different ways. He could miss every fairway, chip in five times, hole two bunker shots...what a sad day today. He was so creative around the greens. It didn't matter if there was a tree or bunker, he'd figure out a way to get up and down. He and I had a great duel at Royal Lytham in 1988. It was a great day for each of us. I remember the seventh hole he made an eagle right on top of me. I remember after we played that hole that one of us was going to win because we were both playing so well that day and neither of us was going to back down. He was always very kind to me. Whatever you may have heard about him, his love for the game and his competitiveness was something I learned so much from.
Richard Goldstein files the New York Times obituary.
GolfDigest.com compiles the golf world's Tweets on Seve.
Garry Smits on a nice gesture from Tim Clark in advance of The Players.
Defending champion Tim Clark of South Africa, who won last year in stunning fashion with a weekend sprint to the top, has asked the PGA Tour to take his nation's flag down a week before usual.
On Clark's direction, his agent called Players Championship media official Laura Hill Saturday evening and asked that the Spanish fly be flown atop the Circle of Champions this week instead of the South African flag, a gesture he is making to Seve Ballesteros, the Hall of Fame player from Spain who died early Saturday of a brain tumor.
Hill got the word to the right people and the Spanish flag will be hoisted over the landmark at the bottom of the hill between the clubhouse and the practice area beginning Sunday morning. At the base of the flag are plaques commemorating each Players winner. Ballesteros never won the tournament but for a week his career will be honored as if he had.
Services are planned for Wednesday. The PGA Tour will suspend play Sunday on all tour events for one minute at 3:08 ET.
An ESPN phone interview with Jack Nicklaus.
The news was foreshadowed but it doesn't make it any easier knowing how much one of the great sportsmen suffered. Tributes to come...
An unbylined story on Jose Maria Olazabal's emotions Saturday:
"Obviously, he has been present all the time,'' he said. "Our relationship was so close. I always felt privileged for all the moments that we shared together, and there have been many. Even though I knew what the situation was, when the moment arrives you are never sufficiently prepared.''
Playing partner Colin Montgomerie said Olazabal was "in floods of tears most of the day. He has lost an older brother almost.''
"It was very difficult to get too much out of Jose Maria - he was very tearful and filling up. You could see in his eyes the great loss he feels and they've been a great support for each other. He did well to play at all today,'' said Montgomerie, who partnered with Ballesteros in a number of Ryder Cups. "It was his brother, really. It was a very, very sad day for him.''
Nick Faldo: "I am deeply saddened by the news on the passing of Seve. He had a real impact on me and on my life in this sport. He was a leader; bringing the spotlight to the European Tour, paving the way to European success at the Masters and bringing his relentless passion to the Ryder Cup. Today I would call him, Cirque du Soleil. For golf, he was the greatest show on earth. I was a fan and so fortunate I had front row seat."
Randall Mell with comments from Paul Azinger.
Bob Harig on his passing with a Sportscenter video tribute as well.
Craig Dolch with a variety of player memories of Seve the golfer.
And Peter Alliss's final interview with Seve, now viewable outside of the UK.
**More:
Golf Digest has posted a page of Seve stories from over the years.
They've also posted this slideshow. No one photographed like Seve.
SI/golf.com has a special Seve Tribute page.
John Garrity recalls the legend.
SI provides a photo gallery recalling the man.
AP video:
From the European Tour site, courtesy of reader Patrick:
"The Ballesteros family informs that Seve’s neurological condition has suffered a severe deterioration. The family will inform accordingly about any change in his health condition and takes this opportunity of thanking everyone for the support that both Seve and his own family have been receiving during all this time."
Reader David shared this longer Guardian story by Ewan Murray.
Considering that Sean O'Hair is a turtle and Rory Sabbatini is a rabbit, I'm not surprised by the revelation in Alex Miceli's look at the man-spat that broke out between the two PGA Tour giants.
According to sources, Sabbatini spent much of last Thursday and Friday complaining about the speed of play. Eventually he asked O’Hair directly if he thought the speed of play was a problem and reportedly O’Hair said the problem was Sabbatini. Sources said O’Hair told Sabbatini that playing in a group with Sabbatini, a known speed-of-play advocate, was equal to a two-shot penalty for his playing competitors.
Steve Elling quotes Sabbatini after Wednesday's pro-am round, and he is playing dumb.
Pointedly asked after the pro-am if he was facing a suspension or under scrutiny, Sabbatini was equal parts defiant and testy. "No, that is just all rumor, bud," he said. "You are going based on a rumor. How many times do I have to tell you?" Pat Perez, the third player in the group in New Orleans, on Wednesday repeatedly declined to describe the altercation, which took place in a tee box during the second round.
"I am not going to be the guy on the front page," Perez said Wednesday at the tournament site. "It's for us to sort out."
There goes Pat's chances of winning the Jim Murray Award!
Then again, when you read about their "heated exchange" and Sabbo's anger management issues, maybe a Thursday-Friday pairing at the Colonial could spice things up!
Stephanie Wei with the particulars on their Zurich Classic dust up that featured no punches thrown.
O’Hair, whose friends describe him as “non-confrontational,” will probably be slapped with a lighter punishment than Sabbatini, whose infamous temper has led to multiple run-ins (to his credit, he’s significantly simmered down). Word is Sabbo may face a multiple-week suspension, which he then has the option to appeal.
It appears the tension may have started at Riviera earlier in the year after an incident Steve Elling details.
At Riviera, Sabbatini berated a Shotlink volunteer who tried to come to the player's aid on the fifth hole after the South African hit a shot into some deep rough. The volunteer left the Shotlink tower, found a ball in the calf-high rough, and marked its location with a beverage container.
When Sabbatini arrived, he lost his temper and screamed at the volunteer, claiming the ball had been pushed deeper into the rough as a result of the bottle being placed in close proximity. According to caddie Frank Williams, who works for Stewart Cink, the third member of the group, Sabbatini had a complete meltdown.
"It was as bad as I have ever seen," Williams told CBSSports.com a few weeks after the incident.
A witness said Sabbatini ultimately removed his belt and threw it to the ground in disgust.
How adorable!
Chris Rattey of the Tuscaloosa News files a lengthy must read obituary of Mason Rudolph featuring several anecdotes about a golfing prodigy. (Thanks to reader JB for this.)From John Huggan's Golf World Daily column today on Seve's birthday, which features this sad revelation:
Two weeks ago Jose Maria Olazabal was unable to speak to his close friend and compatriot on the telephone, so debilitating has Seve's condition become.
"It's very for for me to see him the way he is now," says Olazabal, himself a two-time Masters champion. "I've been with him a few times in the last couple years and it is tough. I find it difficult to see a man I have shared so man special times with struggling with his health. He was so strong mentally and physically, and now, because of the medication, he is weak. The last time I was with him I had to help him out of his chair.
Few days get any better than today's if you are a golf writer. The fine folks at the Champions Tour and Brenner-Zwikel brought Ian Baker-Finch, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino into the Toshiba Classic media center to talk about whatever us four scribblers present asked.
Watson and Baker-Finch were great as are most of the old geezers at the festive Toshiba, one of their favorite stops for good reason (fun old style course, well run event, great weather and even better location).
But it was Trevino, making one of only two Champions appearances this year, who reminded us that he's a national treasure. As you read this, try and imagine him in full Merry Mex storytelling mode and pretty much non-stop laughter from the four scribblers, because the transcript doesn't do his performance justice.
I asked about slow play and whether Trevino misses the five hour (plus!) rounds they are playing on the PGA Tour.
LEE TREVINO: They just won't do anything about that, you know. If you gave a 2‑shot penalty instead of $100 fine, they would speed up. You got to put the two shots on them. And they wouldn't do them. That two shots could cost four or $500,000.
If you are in second place, and you get a 2‑shot penalty for slow play and you end up 5th ‑‑ that kid, I was watching the AT&T at Pebble Beach. I don't remember who it was, did he double bogey? He double bogeyed 18. Marino. He was in second place. He ended up 5th.
And I looked it up. I showed it to my son. I said, this is what you got to do. He went crazy. He says, he hit a hell of a shot. He pulled the 5‑iron a little bit and it went in the water. It cost him $432,000 that double bogey. If he pars the hole he can't win, understand? But he could finish second by himself. It cost him $432,000, you see?Slow play, the only way that you can fix slow play is you got to be consistent. When I went out on TOUR, when I went years ago, they gave you two shots automatic. Nicklaus got two shots right away, 1960 up at Portland. Joe Black gave it to him. I never forget it. He was slow playing. He said you got 2. He won it anyway. He still won. But he got 2. You got to do the two shots. They give you a fine. These guys are making $10 million a year. What the hell is a fine? You understand? I don't care if it's a $10,000 fine, that's not anything.
Q. But they put the group on the clock and it usually is one guy?
LEE TREVINO: They know who it is. Listen to me. These guys are professionals. Our officials are professionals. They know exactly who is playing slow. They know who it is. You don't have to put the 3‑some on the clock, you can go to the individual.
Every time I got ‑‑ you know how fast I am? And I get in a fast group, they would come to me and say listen, you are out of position. Come to me! I said go tell that SOB that slow plays in the group. But they would tell me. I'm a fast player. You got to go to two shots.
Our officials are professionals. Understand? Now whether they can do this or not, you have to understand that this TOUR is run by the board, the board of professional golfers. They are the ones that have to vote on this, to my knowledge. To my knowledge they would have to vote on that. And they are not going to.
And this is when the Commissioner should take over, if you want to go faster. You understand?
Of course, the Commissioner has said he doesn't believe that is necessary.
I guarantee you, after you give a couple of them, these guys will be running up No. 1. They will hit their driver. They will be jogging out there.They will be wearing Fred Couples shoes, those Eccos, where you could run and everything.
You got to go to the 2 shot. But our officials are professionals, all you have to do is tell them. They can't do it. They tried. They are out there. They are clocking everybody. They are working their buns off. You see them out there all the time. Their hands are tied to give the guy a 2‑shot, you know. They give them $100 fine, $200 fine. It's crazy.
That was like ‑‑ who was the crazy one that just died? Tommy Bolt. When you practice, you could only hit one ball on the green. Tommy would hit two or three, and one of the officials came up to him and said, ‘Tommy, you can't do that.’ Why not? ‘It's a $25 fine if you hit more than one ball on the green.’ He handed him $200, and he said, ‘Keep the change, I'm going to hit three more.’ That's the way it is. That's how crazy it is with an itty-bitty fine like that.
Randy Youngman asked about his back problems starting with getting struck by lightning.
LEE TREVINO: It ripped my back out. I had a disc removed. Then I had another problem with a nerve hitting a bone. I had a procedure which burns the nerves and I was okay.
Then I reinjured it in '03, and I couldn't do anything. I lost all of the compression of the disk in 3, 4. The nerve was actually trapped. And they found this apparatus called X Stop, it wasn't legal in this country. I went to Germany, to Cologne to have it done.
It's a little roller with wings, and it goes into your back. It's not attached to anything. It goings in between the little bones and it lifts up the vertebrae to where you get your space back.
I have 2 of them in. I've never had a spasm or my back hurt since '04. I had them put in in May of '04. I lift weights. I do everything. I can't run. They don't want me pounding.
But it was a miracle. This thing. It's called an X Stop. People that are interested in this, it's for spinal stenosis is what it is. When people start going down and they start losing compression in the back. The reason you see people leaning over all the time, they have no room, no space. When you they lean forward it opens it which relieves the pressure.As they try to straighten up, it closes and this is what pinches the nerve.
But they can Google this by going X Stop spacer.com. Very simple. They will tell you. Not everybody is a candidate for it. Bone density has a lot to do with it.
Q. Do you think all of your back problems were from lightning that day or hitting balls?
LEE TREVINO: Probably hitting balls and the lightning and stuff. It probably was. I ruptured the disk right after I got hit by lightning. I ruptured it picking up a pot. It wasn't that it just ruptured. I remember picking up a flower pot over in the corner and my wife wanted me to move it. So I go over and pick the damn thing up and I remember when I popped it. I remember when I did it.
I did the one in the neck, too. The 7 in the neck, I have a plate behind my throat, I have a small plate in there with 6 screws in it in my neck. I still have pretty good motion.
But I ruptured that one hitting balls. It popped also. I heard it, boom. And they went in through here and put a plate in behind my throat.
I'm a bionic man. I told my wife I was going to be cremated. I said, ‘When I die and they bring you the ashes you put your hand in the urn, if you don't get 2 rollers and a plate, Damn, they are not mine!’ That's what I told her. ‘You reach in those ashes, and if there is not 2 X Stop rollers in there and a plate with 6 screws, those are not my ashes.’ That's what I told her.
We were guffawing at his point...not that you could tell by the transcript. I asked about the 1986 Masters and where Trevino watched it from.
LEE TREVINO: Oh, when he won. We got completely inebriated at the Atlanta airport. We left Augusta to the airport. No, I drove. What the hell? I'm first off.
So when I finished, Jack hadn't teed off. My wife and I are driving to the airport. Jack is on 14. And then he eagles 15. And the airline, there was a bar across from the gate in Atlanta, and I am drinking double scotches. I mean I hit a wall when I went in that airport. And he won that tournament. Hold the plane, hold the plane. We are screaming at this guy to hold the plane. Everybody is watching. The airport is going nuts. My wife and I are there and I'm hitting it hard, I'm hitting it hard, come on, Jack. I'm hitting it hard.
He originally thought my question was about Jack's last Masters and finishing on the 9th hole Saturday.
What I was talking about, what a mistake Augusta made there. God, almighty. I begged him to go back. I begged him to go back one more year and so did Barbara, but he didn't For the greatest player that won that tournament six times, Augusta, he finishes on 9.
You can't do that. You are supposed to yank his ass out there and say, ‘You are going off the front. I don't give a damn if you are playing by yourself. You are going to finish on 18. You are going to take that walk. He never had a shot to take that walk. I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely dumbfounded.
I said, ‘What in the hell are they thinking about?’ He never got a chance to come up 18. He came up 9. Those people are not going to leave 18 to watch him walk 9. It was too bad.
'86, when he won that tournament, he had a putter that looked like a sailboat. That thing looked like a sailboat. It was made out of aluminum. That thing was light, too. It was big. Hell, my first car wasn't that big. He could putt with it, too. He could putt with anything. Jack, the way he stroked, his mannerisms of putting, he could put with a broom. It didn't make any difference what he putted with.
The subject of today's players and Tiger came up. Trevino brought up the lack of money games. Lee's chances of becoming a USGA spokesman died here.
LEE TREVINO: You can't find them anymore. Nobody plays for money anymore. Nobody plays for money. We played $5.00 yesterday, and I won all three ways and I never got paid. They never paid me. Nobody plays for money anymore. Those games are gone. We used to play $100, $200. Nobody plays.
And the reason – handicaps. Everybody has a handicap. It's not right. The handicap is not true. They turn in scores and get a handicap. You play, I'm a little bit better than you, what do you want? 2 a side? I will give you 2. You beat the guy. You give him 3. He might win, take it back to 2. That's the way you do it.
Now they want handicaps. I'm a 10, when the guy is really a 5. You can't beat him.
But if he is a true handicapper he can't win. He only gets 80 percent out of the 10best scores. He doesn't realize that. He think it's 100%. You take a 5, 6 handicapper, that's an 80 shooter. He thinks he is a 76, 75 shooter. When you turn in 20 scores they only take the best 10. Then you only get 80 percent of that.
So your handicap is not 100%. Me, in my club, I'm actually a plus 2. So now he is really dead because I get him on this side, and I got him on this side.
There is no more games. We play for nothing. I play with Herb Durham twice a week. He is 86. We play in a couple of hours. We have the record at Preston Trails. A guy by the name of Semens and I, we played an hour 38 minutes, 2 carts at 12 o'clock. This is how busy the course was. A day like this, noon we teed off, because they stopped serving lunch at 2, and we wanted to make sure we get the buffet. We teed off at noon. We finished at 1:38, and it was beautiful day like this. We teed off noon and didn't go through a group. We were the only twosome on the golf course.
But Herb and I have the greatest record of all. Twice, he and I have gone through a onesome.
And I believe it!
Finally, the tour's Dave Senko asked about Trevino's win at Shoal Creek, home of this year's Tradition. He specifically asked about the hat Trevino borrowed that week.
LEE TREVINO: I'm in the locker room, and I forgot my hat. My assistant, you remember, he was there with me. I said, go to the pro shop and buy me a hat. A little old man about 80. He had a hat on. He said, Mr. Trevino, use mine. It was beige. You could have deep fried a chicken with all of the oil on this hat.
Really. You could have deep fried something. This thing was oily. It was bad.
So I said, I'll take the hat. So I wore that hat and I won it.
If you see the film it has the little Shoal Creek thing on it. Usually when I finish some kid will say, Mr. Trevino, let me have your hat. And I am signing something, and I will go like this. S***, nobody asked me for this hat. So I'm still wearing the hat. Here it is 10 at night, I walk out of the pressroom, I have had at least 8 beers, and I walk out of there and there is a little lady standing at the edge of the fence there.
And she says Mr. Trevino? I said, yes. Could I have your hat? I said no, ma'am, a gentleman gave me this hat, it was a good luck charm and I am keeping it.
She said, that's why I asking you for the hat. That was my husband's. So I gave her the hat back. But nobody wanted it. It had enough oil in it to fry a chicken. I will tell you, it was unbelievable. Thank you.
No thank you!
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
