Peter Jacobsen Is Recipient of 2012 Old Tom Morris Award

By Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

MULTIPLE PGA TOUR WINNER and golf course designer Peter Jacobsen has been selected to receive the 2012 Old Tom Morris Award by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The award will be presented during the 2012 GCSAA Education Conference at Celebrate GCSAA! presented by Syngenta on February 28 in Las Vegas.

“Peter has done much for the game of golf, and he has been an advocate for golf course superintendents,” said GCSAA President Robert Randquist. “He is a perfect fit for the Old Tom Morris Award, and we look forward to recognizing him at the GCSAA Education Conference.”

GCSAA’s most prestigious honor, the Old Tom Morris Award is presented each year to an individual who “through a continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf has helped to mold the welfare of the game in a manner and style exemplified by Old Tom Morris.” Morris (1821-1908) was greenkeeper and golf professional at the St. Andrews Links Trust Golf Club of St. Andrews, Scotland. Morris was a four-time winner of the British Open (1861, ’62, ’64 and ’67) and ranked as one of the top links designers of the 19th century.

Jacobsen won seven times on the PGA TOUR and owns two Champions Tour majors, the 2004 U.S. Senior Open and the 2005 Senior Players Championship. He played for the U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 1985 and 1995. In 2003 he was PGA TOUR Comeback Player of the Year after winning the Greater Hartford Open at the age of 49.

Jacobsen is president and CEO of Peter Jacobsen Sports, a sports marketing firm he created in 1988. He also co-founded a golf course design company with Jim Hardy (Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design) that has developed nearly 20 courses and renovated several others worldwide since 1995.

Jacobsen also has provided commentary for various TV golf broadcasts, including recent work as a commentator for NBC and Golf Channel at the 2011 U.S. Open.

Past Winners

Arnold Palmer was the first recipient of the Old Tom Morris Award in 1983. Other winners include Nick Price, Judy Rankin, Greg Norman, Charlie Sifford, Jack Nicklaus, Rees Jones, Pete Dye, Tim Finchem, Nancy Lopez, Ken Venturi, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Fazio, Byron Nelson, Dinah Shore, Tom Watson, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gene Sarazen, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Patty Berg, Gerald Ford and Bob Hope.

(Photo: Courtesy of GCSAA)

How It’s Done: Andres Gonzales at the Greenbrier Classic

PGA TOUR ROOKIE ANDRES GONZALES demonstrates the chip-and-run shot to perfection on the 15th hole of Old White at The Greenbrier Classic. Gonzales, self described as “half man, half amazing,” went on to card a 69 on Thursday but slipped to a 74 on Friday to miss the cut.

Gonzales is perhaps best known for his one-way Twitter conversation with Tiger Woods. It began this way:

“@TigerWoods my name is andresgonzales and I am a rookie on tour. I like elephants.”

Tiger was his idol growing up. Now Gonzales wants to be friends. And perhaps play a practice round with the 14-time major winner. A tweet in June:

“@TigerWoods qualified for the open today. Hate to say I don’t need a roommate because my family is coming. But I would be up for a p. round.”

And on July 2:

“My wife is at my sister’s bachelorette, so I found a different party. I need a date. I doubt you’re here but it’s worth a try...@tigerwoods?”

So far, no Tiger. No matter, the 28-year-old rookie is having fun.

Webb Simpson and Brendon de Jonge are tied for the 36-hole lead at The Greenbrier Classic. 2008 Masters champion Trevor Immelman is one shot back. Phil Mickelson missed the cut.

−The Armchair Golfer

ARMCHAIR GOLF Roundtable: Sam Snead, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson

(Editor’s note: In honor of Sam Snead, whose longtime golf home was The Greenbrier, site of this week’s Greenbrier Classic, I bring you the following from the ARMCHAIR GOLF archives.)

These are real quotes and comments. The questions are made up. Welcome to the ARMCHAIR GOLF roundtable.

At the roundtable:
Sam Snead – 82 PGA Tour wins, 7 majors
Ben Hogan – 64 PGA Tour wins, 9 majors
Byron Nelson – 52 PGA Tour wins, 5 majors

Q: Gentlemen, welcome. Ben, let’s start with you. After all the rounds and practice sessions, tell us something you have learned about this game.

BEN HOGAN: Golf is not a game of good shots. It’s a game of bad shots.

Q: Byron, how about you? What about the game comes to mind?

BYRON NELSON: Golf is a lot like life. When you make a decision, stick with it.

Q: Sam?

SAM SNEAD: Playing golf is like eating.

Q: Eating?

SAM SNEAD: It’s something that has to come naturally.

Q: Ben, it didn’t come naturally for you. You constantly worked at your game.

BEN HOGAN: Very few times in my life I laid off two to three days. It seemed like it took me a month to three months to get back those three days when I took a rest. It’s a tough situation. I had to practice all the time.

Q: Byron, were you a natural like Sam or did you have to work hard on your swing?

SAM SNEAD: When I swing at a golf ball right, my mind is blank and my body is loose as a goose.

Q: Uh, thanks, Sam. Byron, any swing secret?

BYRON NELSON: Swing the club as though you were driving 60 miles an hour on the freeway. Not too fast, but not deathly slow. Once in a while, if the risk isn’t great, you can push your swing to 70, but never go faster than that.

Q: Ben, it’s well known that putting was not your favorite part of the game.

BEN HOGAN: There shouldn’t be any cups, just flagsticks. And then the man who hit the most fairways and greens and got the closest to the pins would be the tournament winner.

Q: Sam, are you with Ben on this?

SAM SNEAD: I shot a wild elephant in Africa thirty yards from me, and it didn’t hit the ground until it was right at my feet. I wasn’t a bit scared. But a four-foot putt scares me to death.

Q: How about you, Byron?

BYRON NELSON: Putting affects the nerves more than anything. I would actually get nauseated over three-footers.

Q: You all had humble beginnings. Talk about that.

SAM SNEAD: People think growing up in the hills was a handicap I had to overcome. In a lot of ways it gave me an advantage that has lasted me to this day. Just like with that stick, I’d have to overcompensate for just about everything.

Q: Anybody else?

LEE TREVINO: My family was so poor they couldn’t afford any kids. The lady next door had me.

Q: Lee? I didn’t see you come in. Any final thoughts, gentlemen?

SAM SNEAD: The only reason I ever played golf in the first place was so I could afford to hunt and fish.

BYRON NELSON: I tried to give my best to golf.

BEN HOGAN: Don’t ever get old.

LEE TREVINO: The older I get, the better I used to be!

Q: Thanks to all of you.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Source: The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, published by Skyhorse Publishing.)