Where’s the first tee and what’s the course record?
Do you know why Venturi said Nelson used to ask that question?
I’m intrigued, Eagle… what’s the answer?
In the interest of journalism, let me say I can’t put my hand on the book or interview where I read or saw this, to site the source. But I am not making this up.
Venturi had shifted from talking about what a great golfer Nelson was, to what a great person he was. Nelson’s character. He and Nelson were playing exhibition matches. Sure, Nelson was great enough, he could probably set a new course record everywhere he played. That might feed HIS ego.
But apparently there was something more important to him. Nelson knew the local pro probably had the course record, and what that meant to him. Nelson did not want to shatter the record and offend him in his own backyard. Nelson was sensitive enough and cared more about someone else’s feelings than his own ego. As Lag says…he showed good intentions,, this time not in his swing, but by checking things out, and showing respect for someone else. It says a lot about Nelson, and is a good example to me of why golf is such a great sport, with a rich heritage of people like that…famous , not famous, and in between. I’m sure we have all seen it, been inspired by it, and tried to copy it. Only this is easier to copy than a great swing.
Eagle…that’s a great story and a great example of the regard Byron was held in and his deep thinking and respect for everyone he came across in his travels-
I don’t want to get all soppy, but that’s just a beautiful story… it actually made me choke up a little… what an incredible gesture and sense of awareness…
Thanks for sharing that
me too…
I was looking for a Byron Nelson quote about legs but I couldn’t find it. In my searching I came across this one that just cracked me up…
“Putting affects the nerves more than anything. I would actually get nauseated over three-footers.”
-Byron Nelson
Hogan would just show up, shoot the course record, and make sure the pro was carrying his equipment and copies of 5 Lessons. Then he would ask the pro what time he gets to the golf course and suggest he could arrive an hour and a half earlier and have hit 300 balls before the starter arrived. 
Excerpt from The Hershey Hurricane:
"The tournament came and went, and Pic’s putter cooperated
properly with his eyes. He struggled mightily off the tee,
though, and wound up finishing in a disappointing twelfth place.
Lloyd Mangrum, known as “Mr. Icicle,” won his only U.S. Open
in brilliant fashion, beating Byron Nelson and Vic Ghezzi in a
thirty-six-hole Monday playoff. Nelson actually had a chance to
win the tournament, but three bogies on the final holes forced
him into a tie with Ghezzi and Mangrum. Too, Nelson’s caddie
accidentally kicked his ball in the third round of this National
Open, and his player was assessed a one-stroke penalty for the
mishap. Nelson told the looper after the fact that “It’s all
right, son. I was a caddie once myself. It could have happened
to me.” Byron Nelson had a lot of class. "
Yours in golf,
Timmy
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