I was there ... the 1982 US Open
Y’all know this … but reading this article just made me smile … and want to share the memory … again …
Tom Watson's shot on #17 at 1982 US Open at Pebble Beach
My Dad & I had a great day at Pebble Beach that day … we got there bright and early … and Dad had a good strategy: we’d follow guys a while … then find a good spot to watch a few groups play thru … I think we made it round the course a couple of times … got my first up-close look at what a good caddie does (Lanny Wadkins caddy put down the bag, sprinted up the hill to the green and sprinted back, gave Lanny 2 numbers, something like 163/171 = distances to the front of the green and to the pin, hand Lanny a club, and then watch Lanny drop the golf ball *right* on the flag!) … the beautiful scenery was matched by exciting scoreboard watching … and just a good time being with Dad.
As the day, and tournament, was coming to a close, the crowd had fewer and fewer places to go … and we were at the back of the pack. Watson and Nicklaus were tied … no way to get to 18 in time to see Nicklaus finish … so we decided to get the best look we could at Watson on 17 … and even that wasn’t great … we were on the right side … about mid-hole = 100 yards from tee, 100 yards from green … but we had a good look at both. After Watson’s drive, the mood was bummer … since Watson was in the rough, above the hole, it looked like we’d see him lose the tournament rather than win it. The flag was between us and him … we could see him talking with his caddie … taking test swings to gage the rough, which his feet sank into, so we knew the ball was deep into. We could see how high he was over the hole, perhaps our view exaggerated that. The time came to take the shot … the quiet of the moment … the few seconds of expectation … the BURST of the crowd when the ball disappeared … we were THERE!!! We instantly knew we’d seen history … everybody knew … it was sweet. We felt a bit smug that all the people who invested in a view of 18 only heard the roar from those of us in the peanut gallery (so to speak).
It’s been fun over the years to see this highlight many times … and I’m sure it will be played several times over the next couple of weeks leading up to and during the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach …
Tom Watson has been playing well lately … made a run at last year’s British Open … got an exemption into this year’s US Open … maybe he’ll have some more 17th hole magic for us (note: but it won’t be from the same spot, the article linked above says that spot got washed out by the ocean during a storm!)
See ya!
Howard
OT - this history of the smily is interesting and funny ...
Original Bboard Thread in which :-) was proposed
Tom Watson's shot on #17 at 1982 US Open at Pebble Beach
My Dad & I had a great day at Pebble Beach that day … we got there bright and early … and Dad had a good strategy: we’d follow guys a while … then find a good spot to watch a few groups play thru … I think we made it round the course a couple of times … got my first up-close look at what a good caddie does (Lanny Wadkins caddy put down the bag, sprinted up the hill to the green and sprinted back, gave Lanny 2 numbers, something like 163/171 = distances to the front of the green and to the pin, hand Lanny a club, and then watch Lanny drop the golf ball *right* on the flag!) … the beautiful scenery was matched by exciting scoreboard watching … and just a good time being with Dad.
As the day, and tournament, was coming to a close, the crowd had fewer and fewer places to go … and we were at the back of the pack. Watson and Nicklaus were tied … no way to get to 18 in time to see Nicklaus finish … so we decided to get the best look we could at Watson on 17 … and even that wasn’t great … we were on the right side … about mid-hole = 100 yards from tee, 100 yards from green … but we had a good look at both. After Watson’s drive, the mood was bummer … since Watson was in the rough, above the hole, it looked like we’d see him lose the tournament rather than win it. The flag was between us and him … we could see him talking with his caddie … taking test swings to gage the rough, which his feet sank into, so we knew the ball was deep into. We could see how high he was over the hole, perhaps our view exaggerated that. The time came to take the shot … the quiet of the moment … the few seconds of expectation … the BURST of the crowd when the ball disappeared … we were THERE!!! We instantly knew we’d seen history … everybody knew … it was sweet. We felt a bit smug that all the people who invested in a view of 18 only heard the roar from those of us in the peanut gallery (so to speak).
It’s been fun over the years to see this highlight many times … and I’m sure it will be played several times over the next couple of weeks leading up to and during the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach …
Tom Watson has been playing well lately … made a run at last year’s British Open … got an exemption into this year’s US Open … maybe he’ll have some more 17th hole magic for us (note: but it won’t be from the same spot, the article linked above says that spot got washed out by the ocean during a storm!)
See ya!
Howard
OT - this history of the smily is interesting and funny ...
Original Bboard Thread in which :-) was proposed
posted by Howard Lynch at 7:25 AM
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