TERRE HAUTE —
It’s usually a bit of a struggle for me to figure out what my topic will be for this column. This week I could have written about Tiger’s withdrawal from the Players’ Championship due to a bulging disc in his neck, or by association, the health hazards a violent golf swing can have on the human body, or any number of other golf-related topics. But this week’s column has been more or less decided for me by a tragic event: the death of 20-year-old Ian White, a former South High School golfer who played on the team that made it to state in 2008, and graduated that year, sharing the student council award for golf with my son Phillip.
Phillip played high school golf with Ian all four years at South, and for many years before that they played in junior tournaments locally and throughout the state of Indiana. Ian traveled with me and Phillip to a number of courses for practice rounds before a tournament.
We traveled to Brownsburg and played West Chase, Martinsville to play Foxcliff Golf Club, Rolling Meadows in Gosport, and Christmas Lake in Santa Claus. Philip traveled with Ian and his dad for some of the out of town tournaments too. Wherever there was a golf course, they were willing to play it, and Ian was always confident that one of them would win it.
Ian and Phillip were a good pair because they were both golf nuts! One time, when Ian was with us for the drive home after playing in the IHSAA Regional tournament at Christmas Lake Golf Course, we stopped in Jasper to see Sultan’s Run Golf Course, because it’s one of our favorite courses and we wanted Ian to see the 18th hole, which is a beautiful finishing hole with a back drop of rocks, flowers and a waterfall. Then we showed him the 12th hole, which is a daunting par 3 that plays 209 yards from the back tees, straight down hill with a pond surrounding the green. Once he saw that, he really wanted to play it! So even though it was late afternoon, and the sun was setting by the time we got to 18, we played. And I’m so glad we did.
Another time Phillip had driven to Columbus, where Ian’s family had moved to, to play in a tournament. They played a practice round together, then Phillip played the next morning, and went back to the White’s house and picked Ian up to bring him back to Terre Haute with him. Their route back took them through Bloomington, so Ian said,” Wait. We’ve got to play this course!” So they stopped and played Eagle Pointe. Then, when they got back to our house, they took a big bag of “Over the Border” nacho chips to the basement and played the “Tiger Woods” video game on XBox for hours and hours.
Golf and life were pretty analogous for Ian. He had many ups and downs, often within a span of a few holes. One of Phillip’s favorite Ian stories was about the time the South golf team played a match at Coyote Crossing in Lafayette. Philip had played an odd round with three birdies in it but also a triple bogey and some other bogeys, but his story was nothing compared to Ian’s! Ian told the story of his back nine like this, “So I start out on number 10. . . QUAD!!! (hands splayed open and eyes rolled upward), . . . birdie-birdie-birdie. . . . QUAD!!!! (ditto on the gestures) … birdie-birdie-bogey, and I ended with a par.” Ian shot an 81 that day, with two quadruple bogeys and 5 birdies. When I heard that story, I always thought of Ian’s dad, and how he must have suffered and cheered through that set of holes, because I know how tough that is to watch.
During practice rounds you knew exactly where Ian was because he’d let out a big “BEEAAAU”, usually indicating that he had hit a huge hook, but sometimes it was a slice! It was a big shot, whatever it was, and he was having some fun! He could later describe every shot he had hit, and always knew he could have gone lower. He also tried more putters than anyone on the team. He was streaky with his putting, and would sink everything for a few rounds, then he’d start missing putts and decide to change putters again, or even his putting grip! He was such a competitor, such a gifted athlete, and such a fun friend. I spent many hours with Ian, when he was playing golf with me and Phillip, and I’m very glad of that. And I know his parents are very grateful for every round they got to watch.
I don’t think of Ian as moving onto “greener pastures,” instead, he’s moved onto greener fairways and smoother greens. May he always hit ‘em straight.
Quote of the Day: “I’m gambling that when we get into the next life, Saint Peter will look at us and ask, ‘Golfer?’ And when we nod, he will step aside and say, ‘Go right in; you’ve suffered enough.’ One warning, if you do go in and the first thing you see is a par 3 surrounded by water, it ain’t heaven. — Jim Murray.
On & Off the Course
On and Off the Course: Remembering former South golfer Ian White
- On & Off the Course
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
• Gary R. Wright
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Donna Lynn Strahla Bown
Donna Lynn Strahla Bown passed away early Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2013, with her children by her side.
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‘The Match’ pitting amateurs vs. pros recalled 62 years later
Quote of the Day: “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” — Ben Hogan.
Bubba Watson has had a busy fall. Not only did he play all the way to the final round of the FedEx Championships, and in the Ryder Cup, he also played in an event commemorating a very famous match played at Cypress Point in 1956, pitting two of the greatest golf pros at the time against two of the best amateurs.
Come to think of it, all four were some of the best golfers of all time. This year’s event was celebrating The First Tee’s exceeding $100 million in pledges to reach 10 million new young people. It wasn’t televised and kept very quiet; only 225 people were in the gallery.
One of the people in the gallery was Mark Frost, the author of a book titled “The Match,” which is about that match played 62 years ago that was re-enacted in modern terms last week. The pros in 1956 were Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson and the amateurs were Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward. It was supposed to have been a private affair, built around a wager by two millionaires, George Coleman and Eddie Lowery. -
ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf from the wrong side of the brain
Imagine this scenario: a woman, small in stature (possibly freckled), walks into a hospital emergency room and says, “I have an emergency, I need a doctor quickly!” The admitting nurse, ever trying to be helpful, asks what the emergency is.
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Farmers looking at widely varying yields
Combines will roll through fields this weekend, bringing in the harvest from a summer with nearly no rain.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf debut in London would have been nice
As the Olympics get underway in London this weekend, I was thinking it’s too bad that the Olympic committee decided too late to add golf as one of the sports for this event; instead it will be added to the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Getting to Hoosier country’s best golfing venue part of the fun
If you are looking for Indiana’s premier golfing destination, then you should look no further than French Lick.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Indiana's Pete Dye courses worth the drive
You’ve probably heard of the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail throughout Alabama, but you might not be aware that Indiana has its own “Pete Dye Golf Trail” comprised of seven courses.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fathers typically a big influence on golfing sons
Some events fall naturally into place around holidays. The Fourth of July always falls somewhere during Wimbledon, giving all of the Yanks in attendance something to be boisterous about, to the chagrin of their hosts; The Masters often, but not always, ends on Easter Sunday, which is fitting since golfers find it such a reverent occasion.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Memorial just one of many visions of Jack Nicklaus
When Jack Nicklaus was a young man, the golfer he most admired was Bob Jones.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: With some tricky rules, golf is not a walk in the park
Golf is not a casual sport, even though it has a term called “casual water.”
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On and off the course: Sycamores seeded sixth heading into MVC golf tourney
It wasn’t too long ago that Indiana State University didn’t even have a women’s golf team.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: A hard ticket to come by
This is the weekend of the Masters Tournament, the first of the four major tournaments.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Some things on golf course are worse than steep putts
It’s not often that anything gets more scary on a golf course than a steep downhill putt, but on some courses around the world, things a little more on the supernatural side might give you a bigger fright!
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The shot heard round the world
I don’t know if the Golf Channel will show a “Best Shots of 2011” highlight reel, much like ESPN does for baseball or football.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Red, White and Blue visits the Isle of Green
In 2006, the Ryder Cup was held in Ireland at The K Club in County Kildare.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Fall may be coming but golf season is far from over
Once the major tournaments are over with, what’s there to look forward to in the world of golf?
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Golf… simplified!
Golf is not a simple game. A golf course is made up of 18 holes, all different. There are par-3s, par-4s and par-5s; they all vary in length and elevation, and each has its own challenges. There can be water hazards, trees, sand bunkers, tall grass, hills, valleys — and then, if that’s not enough, there’s probably wind too.
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On and Off the Course: Northern Ireland builds on golf history
Northern Ireland is only about 5,452 square miles in area and has a population about the same as West Virginia, which is about 1,880,344.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Women’s Open at the Broadmoor
This is the weekend of the U.S. Women’s Open, and this year it’s being played at The Broadmoor, East Course, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: The Fort Golf Course: A Walk in the Park…
Indiana has some pretty spectacular state parks, but one of them gives you the ability to “spoil a good walk” by chasing a little white ball.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Father’s Day is a good day for golfers
Most people consider the time around Christmas to be the gift-buying season.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Playing with lead a difficult task
As exciting as last week’s Masters was, with six players being tied for the lead at one point on Sunday, it was very difficult watching Rory McIlroy fall apart to shoot an 80.
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ON AND OFF THE COURSE: Masters a rite of spring
This is Masters weekend, the grand kickoff to the golf season for a lot of golfers. Sure, there have been tournaments on TV, because the professionals have been playing in Hawaii, California, Texas, Dubai, and other areas not so affected by winter as we are here in the Midwest, but to me, watching The Masters is a rite of spring.
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ON THE OFF THE COURSE: Some history on the Ryder Cup
I fell asleep in way too many history classes to ever qualify as a history buff. However, since I have grown up a bit (not much), I enjoy learning about all kinds of history. I often have questions about how something began, or how something came to be.
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On and Off the Course: Purdue's Kampen Course a gem in Indiana's rough
About a month ago, Indiana was still heavily mired in heat and humidity, making outdoor activities such as golf less appealing than usual. At that time it felt like the repressive heat would never go away, it would never rain again, and all of the grass was just going to continue to wither and die. And the month prior to that we kept getting rained out of golf events!
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On and Off the Course: Successful golfers know ... focus is the key
I have a good friend who coached his daughter’s basketball team for a number of years, and told me that his theme with the girls was always “focus”, until it was ingrained in their brains. Now when they play high school ball, if they hear “focus” yelled from the stands, they know the source.
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On and Off the Course: Technology adds even more fun to the course
You’ve hit a drive into some brush in an area marked as a hazard, but you can’t find the ball to prove it is there. And no one actually witnessed it go in the hazard. You just think that’s where it probably is. What is the rule for this situation?
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On and Off the Course: Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic a worthwhile charity event
On Monday, I worked as a volunteer for the Anthony Gonzalez First Tee Classic, Golf Tournament and Auction at Eagle Creek Golf Course in Indianapolis. It was an absolutely beautiful day, with clear blue skies, just a few wispy clouds here and there and a high temperature of about 76 degrees.
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On and Off the Course: Trends show golf in decline
You don’t have to watch the news or read the paper to understand that America is struggling on the economic front. The evidence can be witnessed at the local golf course.
- More On & Off the Course Headlines
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Death Notice: Feb. 7, 2013
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Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy
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AK-47-wielding thug may be the most bumbling crook ever
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Trout's cycle a boost for Angels
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Shakira's Shocking Talent
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Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff
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Kate Middleton's Dress Flies Up
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