The Geezer remembers the Willie Mays catch in dead center field. TG played his first round of golf with clubs purchased from the JewelTea doo-to-door salesperson. He cheered George Blanda and Johnny Unitas. His only base hit as a high school sub was a "Texas Leaguer." Now retired, he has time to opine and observe, argue, admire, read and recall the highlights and calamities of sports and the athletes who go for the gold as well as those who play just for the fun of it. GAME ON! Duffers take heart! The "Old Guys" are playing golf in the "womb" of the sport. That is to say the British Senior Open is underway at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Course. Okay, so it’s not Saint Andrews, but it is in Scotland and I’m told they make whiskey in that part of Britain, too. Read on for the story.
The game of Golf has hundreds of rules and regulations, but no age restrictions
Duffers take heart!
The "Old Guys" are playing golf in the "womb" of the sport. That is to say the British Senior Open is underway at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Course. Okay, so it’s not Saint Andrews, but it is in Scotland. I’m told they make whiskey in that part of Britain.
Here’s the news. There were four, count ‘em, four professional golfers in the first round who did not, repeat, did not break ninety (90). We are not alone.
It’s about time us old folks caught a break. It seems that everything nowadays (did he really use that word?) is geared to attract the 18 to 49 year old demographic. Just who exactly decided that only those members of our population should get ALL the attention?
To play on the Champions Tour, you must have reached (notice I didn’t say celebrated) your 50th birthday. That’s it!
Okay, sure, you must qualify to invade this select field of gray haired, creaky kneed, ailing back, weather faced ball strikers.
They are mostly made up the "been there, done that" PGA’ers. Many of them were the "Shooting Stars" of the sport in their day.
Their day has come again.
You would no doubt need a seagoing cargo container to hold all the trophies, green jackets and other awards they have earned over the years. Between them these guys must have hit a bazillion practice balls, traveled a gazillion miles and produced 11 trillion smiles on the faces of their fans (made up numbers courtesy of grandchildren).
In the beginning, they were "The Senior Tour." They rode around short courses in golf carts, played for some money and a few percs. It seemed to the average viewer to be a relatively uncluttered life. The tournament sponsors might be the local Diary Queen and Big Rialto Drive-in.
Then one day, the faint scent of testosterone wafted through "headquarters" and it was "outta the carts and hoofin’it!" Can you say Personal Trainer? Can you spell Tiger?
Now they are The Champions Tour. Their motto is "These Guys are Good!"
I’ll drink to that.
I recently had the pleasure (read thrill!) of working in Transportation (read Cadillac) as a volunteer at one of their tournaments here on the west coast. (It was tough work, but someone has to do it!)
"ALERT!" Be prepared for some Name Dropping.
During my stint, my passengers included Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Peter Jacobsen, Roger Davis, Dale Douglas, Vicente Fernandez and Robert Trent Jones, Jr. renowned golf course Architect and Author, plus a few of the wives.
How times have changed!
I remember Arnold Palmer flying his prop plane over the golf course after finishing a tournament. I read stories about "senior golfers" driving from tournament to tournament in motor homes or splitting the cost of rooms and meals.
Now they wear a logo on a baseball cap and get paid good money for it. Corporate jets are everywhere.
Sour grapes? Hell No! These guys have paid the price -- twice.
Come on you silver haired couch potatoes! Let’s grab our clubs and get out there. You can read about the British Senior Open in the morning paper.
We might not recognize some of the names, but we know a little something about the sport they are playing. Tee it up and let it fly!