The Greenbrier’s golf pro emeritus has earned his Ph.D. in the game

By Carl "Butch" Antolini
Register-Herald executive editor

October 11, 2008 10:02 pm

— WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — After the legendary Sam Snead passed on in May 2002, The Greenbrier found itself left with a huge void.
Its first golf pro emeritus would no longer be around to promote a century-old tradition of golfing heritage and excellence the resort had nurtured and become internationally known for.
So after the loss of Snead, it actually took officials at The Greenbrier nearly three years to appoint someone to follow him. And they chose a true conservator, a Ph.D. of the game if you will, by picking Tom Watson.
While Watson, clearly a legend of the links himself, will humbly tell you he couldn’t “carry Sam Snead’s shoe bag,” let alone succeed him, followers of the game know he is and will long be thought of as one of golf’s greatest.
Five British Open championships, two Masters, one U.S. Open, six-time PGA Player of the Year, ranked as the No. 1 golfer in the world for four consecutive years, two senior British Open crowns, one senior PGA title and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Those are just some of the highlights.
But looking deeper, Watson is a traditionalist who respects the game, its history, those who came before him and where it is headed in the future.
In a recent visit to The Greenbrier, where he hosted the annual Tom Watson Fall Classic for amateur and club professionals, Watson took the time to speak with The Register-Herald and he reflected on his career, the current state of the game and his love for the Spa City resort.

Learning from father Ray, club pro Stan Thirsk were Watson’s foundation

Ray Watson was an accomplished amateur golfer from the Kansas City area. Three times he played in the national amateur and his idol was Sam Snead.
That started the foundation of Watson’s illustrious career.
“He (Ray) just thought that Sam had the most beautiful golf swing there ever was. He modeled his swing after Sam and he had great rhythm,” Watson said of his father. “The reason I became a good player was because he knew the game, he had a passion for the game, he taught me the game. I love the game because he loved the game.”
During a recent instructional clinic he conducted at The Greenbrier for participants in the annual Tom Watson Fall Golf Classic, he spent plenty of time from the beginning talking about the correct grip golfers must employ.
“I learned right from the beginning how you grip the golf club, properly, is the most important thing you start with,” he said. “It’s what my Dad did with me. This is the way you put your hands on the club.
“He taught me how to stand up to the ball. Very soon after that he taught me how to curve the ball, how to slice it and how to hook it, make the ball go where you want it. That was pretty cool.”
Known across golf circles as the fiercest of competitors, Watson says that started early on.
“l had a brother three years older. I have to say I was pretty competitive,” Watson remembers. “He was bigger and stronger and I always wanted to beat him. In my formative years we played a lot of golf together. My goal was to beat my older brother; I finally got that done.
“Then I tried to shoot some scores. My dad said, ‘If you break 80, I’ll give you $1, if you break 70, I’ll give you $5.’ I remember when I broke 80 for the first time. I was playing by myself and shot 76. I was playing with my father when I broke 70 for the first time. I was 13 and shot 67.
“My dad had a tremendous influence. His friends were all good golfers and I started playing with them.”
About the same time, Stan Thirsk, the club pro at Kansas City Country Club where Ray was a member, took notice of the younger Watson.
“Stan kind of took me under his wing and we became great friends. He was a mentor and he helped me with my golf swing my entire life.”

Mirroring Snead

Watson’s feelings for Sam Snead are very apparent. Refusing to even think about himself as being in the same class of golfer, he harkens back to watching one of his professional idols when both were playing on the PGA Tour.
“The activity started to diminish on the practice range when Sam showed up,” Watson says. “People would go over to their golf bag to get a new golf glove or something when they really just wanted to watch Sam swing a golf club.
“I used to stand behind him, for selfish reasons, to help me,” he said. “Sam was so fluid. It always seemed to help me. I studied the position of the golf club, his fundamentals, his set-up. He did everything right, nothing wrong.”

Tiger — The Best Ever

“Tiger (Woods) is the best ever and he hasn’t even reached his full potential,” Watson says. “He’s just so much better than everyone else. He’s created a vacuum. There is Tiger and then there is everybody else.
“I mean, look what he did in the (U.S.) Open. He had a bad knee and a broken leg and he still won.”
Even though Tiger tops his list as the greatest of all time, when presented with the scenario of comparing Woods and Jack Nicklaus at the pinnacle of their respective games, and having to decide whom he would pick first in a Ryder Cup competition, Watson says he would have to select his old nemesis, the Golden Bear.
“In their prime, I’d take Jack,” he said. “He was just the purest ball striker and his putting was so steady.”

Money has changed the game

Other than Anthony Kim, Watson believes most young American golfers today lack the toughness it takes to be competitively dominant worldwide. And he points the finger directly at money.
“I’ve always thought that money corrupts the desire; the amount of money that you make tends to diminish your desire,” Watson said. “Back in the days of Sam and Byron (Nelson), they were playing for peanuts. They played for the love of the game. Only the top one or two players made enough money every week to put something in the bank. Everyone else was playing from week to week.
“(Ben) Hogan started that way. It kind of came down to, ‘If I don’t make enough money this week, I’ve got to go home and find something else to do.’
“Kids today don’t have that issue. These guys today have never had their nose bloodied. That creates the toughness. ‘What I am going to do if I’m not playing this game?’ There is too much of a safety net,” he added.
“If you don’t make it on the tour, there is the Nationwide Tour, the mini-tours. There are places where you can play and make enough to exist. When I came out, there was no other place to exist. If I didn’t make the tour, I had to find a job. It could have been in the golf business; it could have been selling insurance.”

Watson, The Greenbrier go back nearly 30 years

“When I first came here for the Ryder Cup in ’79, I fell in love with it immediately,” Watson recalls. “The elegance of it, the way people treated each other ... I really, really like that.
“Some places just make you feel comfortable. Along with the great food, the great golf and all the other amenities they have here, it’s a wonderful place — it hit me in the soft spot.”
As a result, beginning in 1980, Watson has made it an annual event to bring his sponsors to the resort.
“I started to bring my sponsors here, to say thank you to them and to enjoy the hospitality here at The Greenbrier.
“I just love the place.”
As for the golf experience itself, he can give you a detailed rundown of the three courses. However, he’s quick to inform you of one specific item — the first tee at Old White.
“It’s the prettiest tee shot in golf; it’s my favorite,” Watson said without hesitation.
High praise from a man who has played the finest layouts the U.S. has to offer, let alone dozens in countless countries across the globe.

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