The Last Camper
Ray Sterbick looks back on 40 years of looping at Cypress Point, including the now-legendary summer when he made the 16th tee his home.
“Why nobody turned him in is anybody’s guess. Maybe they didn’t believe anyone could be that crazy. Maybe they knew and didn’t care. Or maybe they knew exactly why he did it: Ray would do anything to caddie at Cypress.”
The Four Acts of Ben Garner
From boyhood duels with Tiger to failed prodigy to home games in Hawaii with Kelly Slater and Alex Smith, golf has taken Ben Garner on a remarkable ride.
“After you’ve met him, you start to see him everywhere. It’s not a perfect comparison, but there’s a Forrest Gump-ian quality to his story—at least in the golf world. He feels a little larger than life.”
“A stone church spire by the green offers a glimmer of redemption, but you’re probably into the wind, and hope is two clubs farther than you think.”
Gil & Christine
A can’t-miss conversation between an architect on the mountaintop and another ready to make her ascent. You know Gil Hanse. It’s time to meet Christine Fraser.
“We shouldn’t penalize people for their abilities or the way they play the game. We should encourage them to have a challenge that’s commensurate with the way they play. So why would we not want to invest in that?”
Bunker Mentality
Names like Alister MacKenzie, Bobby Jones, and, of course, Seve, on the philosophy behind golf’s dirtiest hazard.
“They say I get in too many bunkers. But is no problem. I am the best bunker player.” —Seve Ballesteros
“Last year, things changed. I realized that I didn’t particularly like being one of those people skulking around the internet, looking to argue the merits of C.B. Macdonald versus Harry Colt.”
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A Little Help
Advice from someone who’s been there: Forget about how to “grow the game” and just do something.
“How does a Black kid who dropped out of school in the eighth grade and had never, up until that point, touched a golf club in his life make it to the PGA Tour? People helped me.”
“I was stuck alone with one dusty volume of Encyclopedia Britannica that my parents had ordered from some Mormons in 1982. I opened it up to a picture of Richard Nixon playing golf….It felt like a moment of pure revelation.”
“He didn’t say where we were going, but the spirit of adventure quickly took hold. We had all heard about the ghosts of Jones, Hogan and others that lived in the artifacts upstairs.”
One Rule They Finally Got Right
On the absurdity of golf’s call-in rule and the major disaster it took to finally get it changed.
“Let us indulge in a misty, watercolor memory of how insane we were—the final straw before call-ins were banned.”
Can’t Knock the Hustle
Never bet against a man named Mysterious—a deep dive into golf’s obsession with hustling.
“He supposedly hit a box of matches off a cocker spaniel’s head. The dog never blinked.”
“I’ll let them enjoy it as much as possible before they realize what a snap hook means or feel the sting of a bladed 4-iron.”
Rally the Town
Flashback to when Augusta had to resort to holding a parade to save its hometown event.
“Sixty-five years ago, the folks running the Masters had a problem: Nobody would come watch their tournament.”
“With the straight face of a man undaunted by visionary plans, Pursell explains that his inspiration for FarmLinks came from Walt Disney.”
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