Roundup: More Sandy Tatum Remembrances

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Starting with his longtime friend, Tom Watson:

Frank D.Tatum Jr. passed this morning leaving a rich and passionate legacy to golf.  We owe a great deal to him for what he did to enhance our wonderful game and we will sorely miss him and his infectious love for golf which indeed inspired so many of us.
Peace, Sandy

Jaime Diaz shares several memories for Golf World. This was fun for Hogan-philes:

There was a round at Cypress Point, where on the 13th fairway Tatum’s description of what he’d observed in his several rounds with Ben Hogan gave me a more palpable sense of what Hogan was like than anything I have ever heard.

“When it was Hogan’s turn to play, it was on the basis that he had been accorded the privilege of playing that particular golf shot,” he said. “And that privilege carried with it a responsibility. And that responsibility was to give that shot all the thought and effort that he could, and to make it as effective as he could. It was a very distinct characteristic.”

Michael Bamberger at Golf.com reminds us of the legendary Hinkle Tree incident at Inverness and enjoys just how much Sandy could, if you didn't know him, annoy the elite player.

I'm talking about guys who won major championships. They thought of Tatum as the USGA president from central casting, with his patrician bearing and his pipe, his $5 words. They thought he was high-minded and egotistical, a self-appointed golf god. And to a degree he was. 

Yes, he had resounding admiration for Bob Jones, for Arnold Palmer, for Jack Nicklaus, for Tom Watson, men he knew well. But he didn't think they understood golf in toto (the Latin is a tip of the hat to Tatum) any better than he. That gave him the courage of his convictions. In his long tenure as a pro bono USGA official, the organization was the stern father of American golf, and father knew best. The game was better for it.  

Telling me about it years later, Tatum said, "The players complained. 'You're changing the course, you're changing the course!' I said, 'We're rectifying a problem.'" He was a Stanford-educated lawyer and a dean of the San Francisco bar. He could make words dance. The Hinkle Tree is a footnote in the game's lore. 

Sam Weinman at GolfDigest.com on Sandy's more enduring line.

AmateurGolf.com's Pete Wlodkowski has a nice obit and roundup of quotes from golf folks on Sandy's incredible life.

An unbylined NCGA pieces includes a mention of Sandy's affinity for Youth On Course, which I have made a $100 donation to in memory of Sandy, an option you can pursue here.

In an article in the Spring 2009 edition of NCGA Golf, Tatum wrote about his passion for Youth on Course.

“One of the basic premises for the Youth on Course program is that it fills the ultimate gap that has almost always existed in respect to getting golf into the lives of young people,” Tatum said. “Access is the name of the the game, and Youth on Course provides it.”

Few, with the possible exception of Bobby Jones and Bill Campbell, have done more for amateur golf than Tatum.

Diaz also wrote this piece on Tatum's surprising NCAA Championship win in 1942:

But Tatum rode what the Associated Press called a "peppery putter" to defeat his first five opponents, including future Walker Cupper and USGA Senior Amateur champion Dale Morey in the quarterfinals. Against de la Torre, Tatum shot 69 in the morning round, and never looked back. "I played better than I knew how," he says. "I was in a zone, one like I never reached again the rest of my life."

The satisfaction was immense. When he called his father in Los Angeles, all Tatum could manage were the words, "Dad, I won."

Here is Tatum's Stanford golf history page at their wonderful website.

His affinity for Stanford was acknowledged by his alma mater:

 

Masters.com Posts Full Telecasts Of Palmer's Four Wins, Tiger's 1997 Masters Final Round

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And just to completely ruin your productivity, Masters.com has embedded all sorts of amazing content available on their site that will also be available on their Apple TV app.

While the 1997 Masters was very special and the online coverage here excellent, including an interview with Tiger hosted by Jimmy Roberts, that tournament is still in our recent memory. So as much as I'd love to advocate watching the final round broadcast posted there...

The King's four wins, with full original telecasts and Jim McKay leading two of them, will give you goosebumps.

The best way to stumble on this is as I did: check out today's leaderboard featuring a classic image and click on Palmer's score in red.

Because for those who weren't alive during Arnold Palmer's seven-year run here at Augusta National, the combination of imagery and words posted at Masters.com will give you a greater appreciation for the partnership.

Here is John Steinbreder's piece on Palmer and Augusta if you want some good reading.

Here is the 1958 final round with Jim McKay opening the proceedings as only he can.

Here is the 1960 final round and do make sure you get to the 31:15 minute mark for the Green Jacket Ceremony to get a BIG Clifford Roberts-inspired chuckle.

Here is the 1962 final round telecast.

And here is the 1964 final round telecast.

If Ben Hogan Met Trackman...

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Guy Yocom wonders if Mr. Secrets in the Dirt Ben Hogan would have embraced Trackman and what his numbers might have said about his swing.

Talking to top instructors like Chuck Cook, David Leadbetter, Sean Foley, Charlie Epps and Joe Mayo,

The near-universal belief that Hogan swung the club slightly to the left through impact requires that his clubface not be open relative to the target. An open clubface combined with a leftward path, is a lethal combination—slice city. Thus, the teachers who voted for a -1 path, all combined it with a clubface that was at 0—perfectly square to the target line. This indicates that Hogan was, above all, a “path fader.” The very slight left-to-right fade he imposed—again, we’re talking a few yards here—was the result of his path, not an open clubface. One teacher (Leadbetter) suggested that Hogan’s clubface could have been -1, or closed to the target line. But he combines it with a path that was possibly -2, making it a safe and reasonable opinion.

I think another fun question for the group: how much would Hogan have used a Trackman? Before and after every round, or just on occasion? Or not at all?

50 Years Ago This Week A Club Pro Won On The PGA Tour

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Granted, he was the legendary Tom Nieporte of Winged Foot, but as Tom Cunneff writes for Golf.com, he is believed to be the last legitimate sweater-folder to beat the flatbellies.

Cunneff writes of the 1967 Bob Hope Classic:

After all, Nieporte wasn’t even a tour pro when he won the Hope at age 37. He was the head pro at Piping Rock Golf Club on Long Island when he outplayed the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, and Floyd at La Quinta Country Club. After opening with a 76 that left him 10 shots off the lead, Nieporte carded three 68s to trail defending champ Doug Sanders by one shot heading into the fifth and final round. With an estimated 30,000 spectators on hand enjoying a perfect day in the desert, Sanders was still a stroke ahead after nine, but Nieporte’s 25-foot birdie putt on 11 pulled him even. Another birdie on 18 from 12 feet gave him a one-shot lead at 11 under par. Playing a hole behind Nieporte, Sanders had a chance to tie him on 18 and force a playoff, but his long birdie attempt just missed.

One Of Palmer's Masters Trophies Goes For $444K

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Darren Rovell at ESPN.com provides a few details about the anonymous purchase via auction, as well as the backstory of how the Masters trophy initially ended up in private hands.

It's the second-highest price paid to Green Jacket Auctions for a piece of golf memorabilia and maybe to anyone, going for about $240,000 less than Horton Smith's 1936 Masters jacket. And who says the golf collectables market is dead? Though I'm not sure this will have the impact on attracting new collectors that some hope...

"Arnie did it again," said Ryan Carey, co-owner of Green Jacket Auctions. "We knew that this was a special piece, but even we were impressed by the level of interest from Arnold Palmer fans. Simply put, people love Arnold Palmer. There's a strong case to be made that Arnold Palmer is destined to become the face of the modern golf collecting hobby."

Highlights From PBA's Latest Golf Auction

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It's fascinating to see prices holding pretty steady (and then some) for prized golf memorabilia, at least based on the expected prices from the latest PBA Galleries auction of 200 lots.

The Sunday 5 pm PST auction is being held in conjunction with the Golf Collectors’ Society Annual Meeting and Trade Show at the Kalahari Poconos Resort.

Standouts include letter collections from Ross and Darwin, and no shortage of great volumes by the latter named legend. If you have friends at Buffalo CC, they will want to check out the Ross item.

There is also a rare Colt and Alison in a dust jacket.

Also fun was a rare St. Andrews mystery.

And much, much more.

Is Johnny's 63 is The Greatest 18 Ever Played?

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It is funny how the combination of Johnny Miller bringing up his 63 a few too many times and the lack of great memories/video has actually led to Johnny's 1973 U.S. Open winning 63 becoming downplayed for its historical significance.

Thankfully some smart folks have used stats and historical perspective to refute some of the misperceptions about his great play at Oakmont.

Adam Lazarus and Steve Schlossman have posted a definitive look at the round and attempt to clarify myths, legends and fact. Nice work fellows.

Jaime Diaz files a Golf Digest June issue look at the 63 barrier in golf and sets aside quite a bit of space for Johnny's round.

Miller will tell you about it. His frequent references to the round—especially as a commentator—have caused a backlash. When he says things like, "I mean, it was sort of an easy 63—pretty pure," Miller, now 69, seems a victim of "the older I get, the better I used to be" syndrome. But his playing partner that day at Oakmont, Miller Barber, said, "It very easily could have been 60." A closer look reveals Miller's round has mostly been underappreciated.

Diaz also filed this follow up for GolfDigest.com highlighting some numbers, including these:

He missed two fairways and had 29 putts, including a three-putt on the par-3 eighth hole. Nine of his full-iron approaches (three of them 4-irons) finished within 15 feet of the hole, four of them getting within six feet. In 2014, Golf World’s David Barrett, retroactively applying the PGA Tour’s “strokes gained” calculation, convincingly established that Miller’s is the greatest 18 holes ever shot.

One of the great touches in Oakmont's locker room is the handwritten scoreboard from the 1973 U.S. Open and on. Johnny's 63:

What Could Go Wrong, Files? Carnoustie For Jean Van de Velde's Senior Debut!

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Maybe Bob Rotella convinced Jean Van de Velde to confront his Carnoustie demons in bold fashion, or maybe the Frenchman just has a sense of drama (and humor)? But either way, his decision to make his senior golf debut at the place he lost The Open, months after his birthday, is a bold one.

From a EuropeanTour.com report.

Now living in Hong Kong and a leading figure in this year’s 100th year celebrations for the Open de France at Le Golf National, Van de Velde confirmed he will be playing in his first event as a Senior at Carnoustie, knowing he has an old score to settle.

He laughed: "No, I don't get tired of people talking about 1999 and reminding me about what happened. I am lucky enough to still be involved in golf, but I am not as exposed as I was before so it doesn't come up as much in conversation.

"However, I know it is part of history. It is part of my life as well as a golfer. There were quite a few viewers that day - 250-300 million, I believe - so it would take me a while if I met all them and answered their questions about that day, from which I have great memories.”

For those of you who don't believe golf was played before the year 2000, Van de Velde's final hole:

Man Cave Gem Up For Auction: Augusta National Entrance Sign

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While my mancave budget would go to the Charles Lees photogravure of Musselburgh that Green Jacket Auctions is offering in their latest sale, I know that arguably the single most dreamy man cave item ever to be sold at auction will be the original Augusta National Golf Club entrance sign that hung in front of Magnolia Lane, circa the 1960s.

From the description:

It was discarded by Augusta National many decades ago, but was (thankfully) saved by an Augusta, Georgia resident. That original owner didn't understand its value to the collecting community until he briefly posted it on eBay six years ago. That auction sent collectors into a flurry (and we would know, we immediately heard about it and had every intention of buying it), but the sign was quickly pulled from auction and quietly sold to a collector that made a substantial offer. Though we missed out on this historic sign in 2010, we are overwhelmed with the opportunity of finally offering it for public auction.