Wonderful piece, Bill. Chi Chi was among the great corps of players Peter Jacobsen recruited to play in the inaugural Fred Meyer Challenge at Portland Golf Club in 1986. Peter, as you know, was Chi Chi-esque in his skill and humor doing clinics of the kind you mention covering. I remember Chi Chi teeing up two balls and hitting them with an iron in quick succession, the first with a lurching fade and the other with a snappy draw, and while my memory has them colliding I think they just crossed in very close proximity. A very entertaining guy, but as with Calvin Peete, a throwback to a day when a poor self-taught player could succeed at the highest level. Sorry those days are gone.
Thanks a lot, John. Certainly Peter Jacobsen followed in Chi Chi's footsteps when it came to doing those clinics and was quite good at it! Your point about self-made golfers is one I've thought about a lot. The "structure" of golf with so much formalized play and instruction for juniors has had the negative effect that you mention. There didn't used to be such a gulf between the haves and the have-nots in formative stages when it came to competitive opportunities.
Wonderful piece, Bill. Chi Chi was among the great corps of players Peter Jacobsen recruited to play in the inaugural Fred Meyer Challenge at Portland Golf Club in 1986. Peter, as you know, was Chi Chi-esque in his skill and humor doing clinics of the kind you mention covering. I remember Chi Chi teeing up two balls and hitting them with an iron in quick succession, the first with a lurching fade and the other with a snappy draw, and while my memory has them colliding I think they just crossed in very close proximity. A very entertaining guy, but as with Calvin Peete, a throwback to a day when a poor self-taught player could succeed at the highest level. Sorry those days are gone.
Thanks a lot, John. Certainly Peter Jacobsen followed in Chi Chi's footsteps when it came to doing those clinics and was quite good at it! Your point about self-made golfers is one I've thought about a lot. The "structure" of golf with so much formalized play and instruction for juniors has had the negative effect that you mention. There didn't used to be such a gulf between the haves and the have-nots in formative stages when it came to competitive opportunities.