Forethoughts: The Golden Boys

Jon Rizzi | Colorado AvidGolfer

Most golf aficionados would agree that Cherry Hills Country Club, the site of this year’s BMW Championship, epitomizes the “Golden Age of Golf Course Architecture.” Designed by Philadelphian William S. Flynn and recently restored by Tom Doak, Cherry opened in 1922, putting it near the midpoint of a quarter-century bookended by the respective openings of Long Island’s National Golf Links in 1911 and Tulsa’s Southern Hills Country Club in 1936.

Those 25 years—which also saw the debuts of Pine Valley, Pebble Beach, Augusta National, Cypress Point, Merion and other perennial Top 100 denizens— roughly coincided with what many also consider the “Golden Age of Golf.” This was an era dominated by gentlemen like Francis Ouimet, Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Tommy Armour and Chick Evans (after whom the scholarships principally funded by the BMW is named).

With all due respect to the above legends, most of us could make a more convincing Golden Age argument for the period between 1958 and 1980, when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Lee Trevino and Tom Watson regularly duked it out.

More than three decades have passed since we’ve had anything approaching another Golden Age of Golf. Despite an occasional flurry from Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods’ dominance from 1997 to 2008 served only to gild his wallet and those of the countless PGA Tour players who benefited from more lucrative purses and sponsorship deals. Golf ’s popularity exploded. But in retrospect, Tiger’s “golden” impact on the sport seems alchemistic.

Perhaps because they recall a time when we were more innocent or less jaded, most of us tend to cast a golden glow on the people and events from our youths. Put into context, the glory days of Jones and Sarazen were also marked by the horrors of the First World War, flu pandemics and the Great Depression. Palmer, Nicklaus, et.al. played against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, Watergate and tremendous political and social upheaval.

To paraphrase my father: “The older I get, the better things were.”

However, I’d rather quote the optimistic historian who wrote: “The golden age is before us, not behind us.”

It’s a bit premature, but I think Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and the players taking on the Golden Age course of Cherry Hills this September could well represent a new Golden Age of Golf. They drip with the kind of must-see talent, confidence, charisma and competitive juices that can define an era. Plus, they have transcendent talent that doesn’t transcend the sportsmanship that makes golf great.

With scads of viewer tips and player profiles, this issue provides a guide to savoring some of this budding greatness. The BMW is, yes, a golden opportunity to see up-close a field of golfers we’ll be talking about for years to come. Don’t waste it.

RELATED LINKS

That 70 Show: The PGA Tour is Back, Baby!

BMW Championship Preview: Are These Players Wadley Worthy?

Top Holes to Watch at the BMW Championship

What They’re Playing For: The Evans Scholarship

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.