A golfer's conduct tells so much

by Laurie Duffy

My grandfather golfed with Jack Nicklaus. He didn't just play a casual round of Sunday golf with the greatest player to ever step on the links; he went head-to-head with him.

John Blesi was one of the best amateur golfers in the state of Ohio in 1958. That year, he found his way into a match with Nicklaus in the Ohio Amateur Championships.

When I visited his house a few weeks ago, Grandpa let me in on a few things he learned about the "Golden Bear" while they played.

Grandpa told me you can learn so much from a man by the way he conducts himself on the golf course. A man struggles against nature and against himself, trying to get a small white ball into a hole. My grandpa said that in the context of the game, you notice quirks that alter your perceptions of people.

There were some things that surprised me a great deal.

Before the glitz, the glamour, and the 17 major victories, Nicklaus' opponents dubbed him "Fat Jack." The slim images you see on the Golf Channel every day are a far cry from the gut that aided the shortened back swing of the Golden Bear.

The cracks about his weight were not the only pieces of mud slung in Nicklaus' direction by peers in the golfing community.

"Jack was resented by other guys because his father took care of him," Grandpa told me. "He had access to the best equipment and best courses, although his family wasn't that wealthy."

Membership at the elite Scioto Country Club in Columbus allowed Nicklaus a shot at one of the premier championship courses in the Midwest. It gave him a glance of the golf sophisticate and the life that rich PGA professionals could lead. A look at what "could be" made the Bear push his game to a level no one had ever seen.

"Nicklaus was the first one to judge distance, and he scientifically went after yardage," Grandpa explained. "That's why he won so often."

His concept of distance and club selection combined with a ferocious love for the game put him above the competition. At the time, no one understood that Nicklaus was not just a great player; he was also an innovator and a pioneer of the modern game.

Every year, when Nicklaus honors a player from the past at his Memorial Tournament, he remembers his roots and the way golf used to be. He puts his ego aside and pays homage to the great players who came before him. Fat Jack is now the first one to say he's been humbled by his superstar status.

Grandpa lost 3 to 1 that day, but his perception of the Bear changed forever.

It's something that can only be learned on the golf course.

- Duffy, a freshman journalism major, dedicates this column to her grandfather and to all the wonderful golf memories he has shared over the years. Send e-mail comments to ld167200.