The PGA Tour star built a second career as a course designer, with many of his layouts ranking high in Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
Tom Weiskopf, who died Saturday at age 79 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, accomplished much more in golf than just his 16 PGA Tour titles, including the 1973 British Open.
Weiskopf was an accomplished course designer with dozens of layouts around the world, many of which place highly in various Golfweek’s Best course rankings. Following is a list of his top 15 courses, as judged by Golfweek’s panel of more than 850 raters.
Our course-ratings panel members continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. Members also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings. The list below includes each course’s average rating.
The various Golfweek’s Best rankings (top 200 modern, top modern international, top private and public courses in each state, et cetera) have different requirements for numbers of ballots necessary to appear on each list. This list of Weiskopf’s courses ignores all those various ballot requirements to simply create one lineup of the designer’s best courses, regardless of number of votes, which could lead to slight variations in this versus other Golfweek’s Best lists.
“He had a helluva career. He was unfortunate that he ran into Nicklaus so often.” — Tony Jacklin
Tom Weiskopf, the winner of 16 PGA Tour titles, including the 1973 British Open, died on Aug. 20. He was 79, and had been dealing with pancreatic cancer since late 2020.
Weiskopf experienced all corners of the game, from his time as a PGA Tour player to his broadcast work as a golf commentator as well as a noted golf course designer.
With a noticeably high ball flight and enormous power for his time and control, he won 16 PGA Tour titles between 1968 and 1982, and another four times on PGA Tour Champions, notably the 1995 U.S. Senior Open. He also represented the U.S. on two winning Ryder Cup teams and famously turned down being selected for a third. He memorably battled his temper on the golf course, earning the 6-foot, 3-inch tall Weiskopf the nickname “The Towering Inferno.”
A son of the Buckeye state, Weiskopf was born Nov. 9, 1942 in Massillon, Ohio. He played golf for Ohio State University and was considered to be “the next Nicklaus,” to be produced from that state and golf program. He turned professional in 1964.
“He had a helluva career,” said his good friend Tony Jacklin. “He was unfortunate that he ran into Nicklaus so often. He held Jack in such high regard.”
04/08/1982; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf at Augusta National Golf Course during the 1982 Masters. Mandatory Credit: File Photo -The Augusta Chronicle via USA TODAY NETWORK
Weiskopf had a career year in 1973, when he won seven tournaments around the world, including his lone major at Royal Troon. He was blessed with so much talent and had so much ability that he often has been considered an underachiever for his victory total, a topic he discussed with Golfweek in a 2020 interview.
“I didn’t really have the passion or the effort that I wanted to put into it and everyone kept pushing me to put into it. Golf was more a means to an end for me. It was a way to give my family the best possible life they could have. Hunting and fishing and the outdoors was more important to me. Getting the grand slam of sheep was more important. That’s why I gave up a Ryder Cup one year so I could get my grand slam,” he explained.
But in retrospect Weiskopf, who finished second four times at the Masters, had regrets for failing to realize his full potential: “I challenge myself all the time: Why couldn’t I have done that? Why couldn’t I have worked out? Why did I drink? Well, I’m 20 years sober. It’s my greatest accomplishment. Because I was a partier, a good time guy. I had so much talent that I could turn it on at times when I wanted to, when I needed to, but it wasn’t important to me,” he said.
Weiskopf’s Hall of Fame credentials have been discussed for years, with several of his contemporaries supporting his candidacy.
“Definitely,” Johnny Miller said when asked if Weiskopf deserved to be enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame. “A lot of guys get into the Hall but they were never the best, just the body of work was Hall of Fame worthy. But when you have a run like Tom had (in 1973), there’s two ways of looking at greatness, it’s not just always being consistently good but there’s some point in your career where you might have been the best in the world. That’s big to me.”
Weiskopf later worked in television at both CBS and ABC/ESPN as a golf analyst. During the final round of the 1986 Masters as Jack Nicklaus charged up the leaderboard, Weiskopf was asked to describe Nicklaus’ mindset as he played the closing stretch. “If I knew the way he thought, I would have won this tournament,” he famously said.
For the golf buffs out there Tom Weiskopf’s mentor was Tommy Bolt. They were a lot alike. “Perfectionists”. I knew Bolt well. In my opinion he was from the greatest era, Hogan, Nelson; Snead etc. etc. etc.
He enjoyed his most fruitful second act in the golf course design business, initially with Jay Morrish and later with Phil Smith as a partner. He credited Nicklaus for giving him the idea that he might be good at it.
“I got invited by Jack Nicklaus to go on some site visits with him,” he recalled of his introduction into the design side of the game. “As architects, we’re not always sure of the strategy on a hole at the outset and I kept getting asked, ‘Tom, what do you think?’ One or two my suggestions got used and it gave me confidence that an opportunity might happen for me someday, and it did.”
Weiskopf’s design credits include TPC Scottsdale, home of the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open and renovating Torrey Pines (North), which co-hosts the Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open. He is often credited with bringing the drivable par-4, which he tried to incorporate into many of his designs, back into vogue.
“I go back to the first time I played St. Andrews. I think it was 1970 and I drove the ball on the green at 9, 10, 12 and 18. I never did it on the same day because they were all at different directions. I think it should be no different than a reachable par 5. I told (Jay Morrish) I want to put a reachable par 4 on all of our golf courses. He said it was a great idea,” Weiskopf recalled. “I’ve put at least one if not two at all of the 73 golf courses I’ve done. I think it works best at the 16th or 17th hole. You don’t always pull them off. I would say three-fourths of them are in the 300-330 yard range. It just hit me when I played St. Andrews. These days, it seems to be the flavor of the month. But it’s a hard hole to do right and to make it exciting.”
Weiskopf was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2020 after experiencing sharp pain in his stomach during the re-opening of Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. He underwent a CT Scan back home in Montana as soon as he returned there, which revealed a lesion in his pancreas. He fought hard to the bitter end, following the advice of his doctor.
“He said, ‘Let’s start with your attitude. You need to compete against this cancer. You’re going to have some difficult days. You can’t let this chemo get you down. You have to keep fighting. I’ve seen it in some cases where I didn’t know if the person was going to survive but they had such a positive attitude that they prevailed.’ I said, ‘I think I can do that,’ ” Weiskopf recounted in December 2020. “The second thing I need from you is communication. You need to call your loved ones, call your friendships because they are good people to talk to when you’re down and out and someone will say something that resonates with you and changes your thinking in that moment and gets you through those tough days. You can’t shelter yourself away from this situation. You’ve got to be open and you need help.’
“The last and most important thing he said is, ‘Do you believe in God?’
“I said, ‘Of course, I do.’ He said, ‘Well, give Him a ring every once in a while.’ ”
Who calls a total stranger on Christmas to do a lengthy phone interview? Vin Scully, that’s who!
Vin Scully called me on Christmas.
Sure, I had sent him an email interview request hours earlier on Christmas Eve, but it never crossed my mind that he would phone me during the biggest day of the NBA season.
Hearing the sad news that Scully died Tuesday at age 94 made me think back (and dig up our interview transcript) to an occasion that to me said so much about the person he was. Scully may have been synonymous with baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he broadcast professional golf, too, first for CBS – including the Masters eight times from 1975-1982 – and then with NBC from 1983-1989, where he partnered in the 18th-hole tower with Lee Trevino.
As much as I would have loved to listen to him speak for hours on baseball, it was his time in golf that I was asking him to reminisce about. I had forgotten about this until I did an email search, but the person who shared with me Scully’s contact information (and shall remain nameless) gave it to me on Aug. 13, or more than four months before Christmas. No phone number but an email address – I guess at this point I’m not revealing too much by saying his email started red@ – and a fax number. Who still had a fax? Apparently, Vin did! I never faxed him but now that I think of it, I wish I had just to say I did.
This was some quality procrastination from mid-August to late December, even for me, but sounds about right – have a direct line to the man, the myth, the legend Vin Scully and wait until most of the Catholic world was at a midnight mass service to bother writing him for an interview.
Players and fans stand for a moment of silence for the passing of Vin Scully before the Houston Astros played the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park in Houston on August 3. (Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports)
Santa could not have given me a better gift than a call from Vin had jolly Saint Nick landed his sleigh on the roof of my downtown Orlando condo and dumped out a bag of toys. The year was 2013, and while the specifics are a bit vague, I think I had seen a movie earlier that day and was watching the NBA in the late afternoon before dinner with my parents when I answered the phone and heard his unmistakable voice.
I may have procrastinated on writing him, but I had prepped several questions and I scrambled to pull them up on my laptop and fumbled to find my digital recorder. Again, who calls a total stranger on Christmas and sits for a lengthy phone interview? Vin Scully, that’s who!
I’m not going to post the full transcript of the interview, but here are a few things he said about Trevino, a partner he considered a true friend, that stuck out:
“Most people think of Lee Trevino they think of a talkative, outgoing, happy-go-lucky type of guy. He’s like so many people, he’s misunderstood,” Scully said. “He’s an intelligent, sensitive human being. Very bright. We’d sit on the tower and talk about the world events. He had a delightful laugh that everybody loved, but he’s far more than that delightful jokester.
“I marveled at a few things about him. Lee told me one time that he never had a cavity. As someone who has what I call Irish teeth, he had beautiful teeth,” Scully continued. “His eyesight was remarkable. I don’t know what it would be if he read the charts but we would in the tower on a par 5, so it’s a long hole, and then we would be 20 yards away from the green, and he would watch somebody hit off the tee and he’d say he blocked the shot. He had the eyesight of Chuck Yeager. It was incredible.”
“Once in a while I had the pleasure of playing with him,” he told me. “I never asked him anything. At my best, I was a 12 handicap. I’m left-handed. So occasionally we’d be on the range and we’d be facing each other and I’d just marvel at him. He might say something like, ‘Vinny, you’re choking the club to death. Relax.’ Then I’d start hitting a few balls very well and he’d say, ‘OK, let’s go.’ We’d walk 100 yards to the tee and I’d go right back to being what I am, which is hopeless. It was a great privilege to watch him shape shots. Remarkable.”
I asked him to describe how Trevino prepped for a broadcast, and his response was telling about how he went about doing his job and what made him so great. “Technically, in any sport, I always assumed I was the reporter answering the question who, what, where and when but the how – that key word – that belonged to the analyst. I would talk about score, where they are today, the shot, the club, the distance and then get out of the way to allow Lee to give the analysis. I would sit at his feet almost like a child and listen to his explanation of why these things occurred.”
I could go on but this final anecdote he shared is arguably my favorite, because it combined golf and baseball and two athletes that captured the attention of the sporting public.
“There was a wonderful golf writer in England named Bernard Darwin,” Scully began. “He talked about a player that was out of sight in a tournament and then won. He referred to the fact that the golfer had come from the back of beyond. I thought that was such a remarkable phrasing. I used it with Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican left-hander, who really came from the back of beyond to become more than a hero. I felt that Lee was the same. He came from the back of beyond. He came from hitting golf balls with branches in the cemetery.”
At this point we had talked for 25 minutes and I had exhausted my questions and he had told one gem of a story after another. However, I didn’t really want to hang up. I had the great Vin on the line and I didn’t want this moment to end. I had a pretty good idea that this was going to be a one-and-done for me. But before I could start vamping, he said, “I hope that helps a little bit, Adam. I’ve got family here and I did want to do it before I got overwhelmed.”
I suddenly felt like the worst person in the world. It’s Christmas Day, Vin’s family is over and I’m keeping him from having a glass of eggnog with his wife and kids to do the most-non-deadline of non-deadline interviews you can imagine.
I wished him happy holidays, and that was the extent of my dealings with him, but it left a lasting impression that someone as famous as he would drop everything – even on Christmas Day – to do an interview for a sport he hadn’t covered in over 20 years.
To me, it spoke to Scully’s character and was just a small reason he was such a beloved figure in sports. I loved listening to him call a game before, but after our Christmas Day interview he had secured a permanent space in the upper tier of my sports broadcasting firmament. Vin Scully was pure class in my book, and I can’t help but think of him every year on Christmas Day.
Check out 10 photos of the the Celtics legend who played in many celebrity charity golf events.
Bill Russell, the legendary NBA star who died Sunday at age 88, loved to play golf and to meet other celebrity golfers – including games with Michael Jordan. He was a frequent participant in charity golf events and various pro-ams, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California.
Russell’s death was announced on his Twitter account, saying he “passed away peacefully today at age 88, with his wife, Jeannine, by his side.” He was the star of the Boston Celtics dynasty in the 1950s and ’60s, and he later became a voice of social justice as well as taking up golf.
At an agile 6-foot-9, the Hall-of-Famer was a late-comer to golf. Russell told Golf Channel in 2014 that he received a set of golf clubs as a gift at an NBA All-Star Game but didn’t break them out of his garage for years. They sat for so long, the natural left-hander didn’t even realize the gifted clubs were righties.
Check out these photos of Russell on the course and around the game of golf.
Community expresses shock after the death of the man at Arrowhead Golf Course.
A man in Naples, Florida, died while attempting to retrieve golf balls from a pond. The father who enjoyed spending time with his three children and collected submerged golf balls with his son is remembered as a dedicated first responder, a loving dad and a respected businessman.
Nicholas Wardein, 44, was at the sixth green of Arrowhead Golf Course with his 13-year-old son when he failed to return to surface.
The incident happened shortly after 1 p.m. Friday, Michelle Batten, spokesperson for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office told the Daily News.
According to an incident report provided by the sheriff’s office, Wardein’s son told deputies he and his father were allowed to scuba dive in the lakes of Arrowhead to retrieve golf balls.
The area has two ponds that separate the golf course from several buildings.
Based on the incident report, the sheriff’s office couldn’t confirm whether other people were in the area besides his son. The area encompasses several smaller golf courses.
A spokesperson for the golf course declined comment Wednesday morning, citing that he wasn’t present when the drowning happened and was later informed by his supervisors.
Wardein’s son added they’ve done so many times.
According to the teenager’s statement, Wardein entered the water wearing a wetsuit, weighted belt, dive mask, boot knife, scuba tank and a net to carry the golf balls.
Moments later, he noticed his father was struggling to stay afloat and gasping for air. Wardein took off his scuba tank but struggled to remain on the surface, possibly due to the weight of the golf balls attached to his weighted belt, his son told deputies.
The boy then entered the water in an attempt to aid the first responder, but when he approached his father’s last-known location, he couldn’t find him, according to the report.
The adolescent then exited the water and called for help.
By the time first responders arrived, Wardein had been beneath the surface for about 10 minutes, according to the incident report.
Nearly 15 minutes after first responders entered the water, divers with the fire department located Wardein approximately 5 yards off his last reported location.
Wardein was pronounced dead at the scene.
A GoFundMe fundraiser aims to collect $100,000 for Wardein’s memorial fund, which organizers say would then be distributed among his three children. As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, the family raised over $41,000.
He is survived by his wife, Ruth Wardein, and three children — Liora, Xavier and Clara.
Wardein had worked for the Lee County Emergency Medical Services since 2014 and was “a committed provider who was loved and respected by his coworkers,” the county said in a statement.
“Lee County Public Safety is saddened that EMT Nicholas Wardein died unexpectedly Friday while pursuing his hobby during his off-duty hours,” the email read in part.
His family owns Epiphany Gluten Free Bakery in the 1500 block of Immokalee Road.
Managers at neighboring businesses Turco Taco and McAlister’s Deli expressed shock over his sudden loss.
Mayra Ruiz, one of the managers at the adjacent McAlister’s Deli, said she didn’t really know Wardein, but added she often sees his wife when she picks up the mail.
Two doors from McAlister’s Deli, Ednald Angenor, kitchen manager at Turco Taco, said he was startled when he found out Wardein died.
Angenor said he also often crossed paths with his wife.
“I was shocked … I was shocked,” Angenor said, stuttering, as he tried to find the words to describe the loss of Wardein. “A few days ago I saw his car outside, you know, just coming over there … A few days later I was talking to one of the employees there and they said he was dead … It was shocking news … I couldn’t believe it.”
Angenor said he knows what it’s like to lose someone near and dear.
“Hopefully she has the courage to move on,” Angenor said. “As a community, we’re here for the family if they need anything.”
The Daily News and The News-Press reached out to Wardein’s family, but didn’t receive a response before publication.
Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Follow him on Twitter@TomasFRoBeltran.
Those who coached, played with and against, covered, or just got to watch the former Cowboys RB took to social media following his passing. | From @ToddBrock24f7
News of Marion Barber’s passing at the age of 38 was a blow felt by the entire football community.
Many of those who coached him, played with him, played against him, covered him in the media, or simply watched him run the ball in his one-of-a-kind style took to social media Wednesday night and early Thursday to voice their grief and pay tribute to the unique talent of “Marion the Barbarian.”
His physical style and relentless spirit were infectious! Showed up in how he practiced! Showed up in how he played in games! It was impossible not to notice #24! He leaped off the tape! As great a player as Marion was, he was an even better person.
He would run through the wall for you and he always had your back! I absolutely love Marion Barber and will miss him very much! Brill and I are so saddened by this news and extend our sincere condolences to the Barber family and all who loved him.
Too much to digest, so much too say… This is real life, it can be any of us. We need each other, we need unity… RIP Marion Barber may God rest your soul 🙏🏿 https://t.co/VUth08bxDGpic.twitter.com/cTselDGHc2
Man I am so heart broken. Damn MB. Been holding it in since I got the news earlier today. Man, #24!! This hurts. 😞 81X24 Rest In Peace 🙏🏾🕊 #Cowboys@24marionbarber @ San Francisco, California https://t.co/vfN3ee6dv6
Just seen my boy about a month ago. My heart was so full of joy seeing my dawg/brother MB! Heavy heart right now 🥲. I’m in disbelief. Check on your love ones man check on your love ones 🙏🏾❤️ #RestInPeaceMBpic.twitter.com/ZYLh4H9hnL
Our hearts are absolutely broken, as we lost one of the greatest to ever wear the Maroon and Gold today. Our thoughts are with the amazing Barber family during this tragic time. pic.twitter.com/y4qIRebwBr
— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) June 2, 2022
Cowboys officials remained close to Marion Barber after his playing days. When he was going through troubles, team officials kept in contact with him and offered help if needed. “Once a Cowboy, always a Cowboy,” one team official said a year ago about Barber.
I didn’t cover Marion Barber, but I loved watching him play – not just with the Cowboys, but all the way back to his time at Minnesota, when he & Laurence Maroney were the best backfield in America.
Marion Barber was my mom’s favorite player. (She told me tonight that she still has his T-shirt.) I know plenty of Cowboys fans feel the same way. He played the game as hard as anybody I’ve ever watched/covered.
Lacewell was the Cowboys’ director of college and pro scouting, but was an icon in his own right in the college coaching ranks. He was 85. | From @ToddBrock24f7
A key figure in the Cowboys’ dynasty days of the mid-1990s has passed away. The death of Larry Lacewell, the team’s longtime director of college and pro scouting, was announced Wednesday.
It’s impossible to tell the full story of the Cowboys without including Lacewell, as he was inextricably tied to three of the biggest names in team history and present for multiple moments that defined the franchise.
When Lacewell joined the Cowboys in 1992 as the director of college scouting, he was already something of an icon in the collegiate coaching ranks. He started as a graduate assistant at Alabama under Paul “Bear” Bryant. Over the next thirty years, he rose through the ranks with stops at Wichita State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma, where he worked on the same coaching staff as Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer.
The Sooners won two national titles during Lacewell’s tenure as assistant head coach. Years later, Lacewell would convince Johnson to take the job as head football coach at the University of Miami.
After serving as the head coach at Arkansas State for 11 successful seasons, Lacewell went on to spend another two at Tennessee as defensive coordinator.
An Arkansas native, Lacewell was also friends with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when he was hired in 1992. The team won Super Bowl XXVII that same season and then repeated as champs the following year.
A few weeks later, Lacewell was standing next to Jones when the tipsy owner gave the ill-fated toast that triggered the end of Johnson’s time as Cowboys coach.
He was also the one who gave his old friend Johnson a heads-up the next morning that the axe was about to fall.
Lacewell had pro scouting duties added to his job description in 1994 as he was reunited with Switzer, now the Cowboys’ new coach. It could have been a disaster; as told in Joe Nick Patoski’s bookThe Dallas Cowboys: The Outrageous History of the Biggest, Loudest, Most Hated, Best Loved Football Team in America, Lacewell had resigned from his post in Norman back in 1978 when he discovered that Switzer- a friend of over 20 years- was having an affair with his wife. (Johnson, coincidentally, had been the best man at Lacewell’s wedding.)
Lacewell and Switzer insisted it was ancient history, though, and that their football bond took precedence. It was Lacewell’s personal recommendation to Jones, in fact, that helped seal Switzer’s hiring in Dallas.
The Cowboys returned to the Super Bowl in January of 1995 and brought home the Lombardi Trophy, but the team had already begun a descent from its juggernaut status. Lacewell remained with the franchise until early 2005, when he stepped down during the Bill Parcells era and moved into a talent consultant role for the team.
But his place in football history is secure- both in Dallas as one of the architects of the Cowboys dynasty and in Jonesboro as the winningest coach in Arkansas State history. He will be remembered as a legend who crossed paths with some of the all-time greats of the sport at both levels. In Tuscaloosa, for example, the road leading to the stadium named for Bear Bryant… is Larry Lacewell Lane.
Golfweek’s longtime equipment reporter, James Achenbach, is remembered as a lover of the game and a thoughtful, caring person.
Folding my 6-foot, 4-inch frame into the passenger seat of James Achenbach’s tiny purple Pontiac Solstice convertible was almost impossible, as was reading the GPS screen after it flew off the dashboard and rolled under my feet as he made a sharp turn off International Drive in Orlando. After a few minutes in the car with the godfather of golf equipment writers, I was ready to hide under the seat, too.
We got to Orange County National Golf Center & Lodge safely that morning for the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show’s Demo Day, and we made it back safely that night after Jim and I walked around the massive circular driving range. Since 1975 Jim had been a Golfweek columnist – and for many of those decades he was the magazine’s equipment editor – and at every booth, all of them, people came out to shake Jim’s hand, chat and show off something new. He was available for all of them, speaking slowly and carefully, but enthusiastically.
Before in-hand photographs of the pros’ golf clubs and Sunday night “What’s in the bag” columns became standard fare for equipment reports, Achenbach developed a platinum-level Rolodex that included the direct phone numbers to CEOs, designers, salespersons, marketing managers and every key person in the golf equipment industry. He also had longstanding relationships with key people at the USGA and Augusta National Golf Club, and he was a fixture at major events for decades.
When I joined Golfweek in 2013 to write about gear, I was nervous that Jim might feel angry that someone else was coming in and working his beat, but he put that notion out of my head quickly with a phone call during my first week on the job. He was welcoming, said that he’d admired my work for years and was excited that I had joined the staff.
I can’t say that we worked perfectly together because, like so many other people, I rarely knew where he was and only had an inkling of what he was going to write any given week. Editorial calendars and planning meetings were more like suggestions for Jim.
Jim Achenbach in 2013 (David Dusek/Golfweek)
What I came to learn was Achenbach was passionate about equipment and the people who designed it. He was not just an insider, he was the voice of weekend warriors who dreamed of hitting a draw off the tee. He was fluent in technical terms but always translated them into simple ideas for golfers who chronically three-putted. And, most of all, he had a soft spot for shafts and helped readers understand the mystic arts of graphite and steel.
When I called, texted and emailed people over the weekend to let them know that Jim had died, the reactions were a mixture of sadness and appreciation for hard work, friendship and kindness. Below are a few notes Golfweek received.
From John A. Solheim, chairman and CEO of Ping Golf:
“I’m deeply saddened at Jim’s passing. He was a great friend to myself and my wife, Sunny. Jim and I had a standing meeting every year at the Masters that I cherished. He loved talking all things golf. He was a great listener and very inquisitive. We spoke frequently during his amazing career, mostly about equipment as he was very interested in understanding how and why things worked or didn’t work. He was very curious and challenged the status quo to bring his readers stories that mattered to their games. He loved tinkering with his own equipment, whether trying longer shafts, different grips, or changing lofts. He embodied the term ‘gearhead’ before it was made popular.
Of course, Jim’s golf writing skills weren’t limited to reporting on equipment. He was extremely versatile. He’s covered the greats of the sport and all the big events, but he also always had time to file a story about the state or local event that gave those golfers the exposure they deserved. Those were some of his best stories, as they always had a human-interest element to them that embodied the spirit of the game.
I’ll remember Jim for his friendship, passion, fairness and love of the game.”
From Chip Brewer, president and CEO of Callaway Golf:
“I’m truly sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. I met Jim during my early days with Adams (Golf), probably around 1999, and stayed close to him after moving to Callaway up until his retirement. I always enjoyed being around him and was always impressed by his work. He was a true professional writer and a straight shooter — but also always had a smile on his face. Other than family, I don’t think he loved anything more than either writing about or playing golf. He will be missed; and, sadly, another of our legends of old-school golf writing is no longer with us. Time moves on, but I’m saddened by this loss and will toast him among friends when I next have that chance.
My condolences to his family and friends. He was a wonderful man.”
From Dave Schnider, president and COO of shaft maker Fujikura:
“Jim Achenbach was a very unique and gifted writer. In my younger years in the golf business, I constantly asked Golfweek why Jim wouldn’t write stories about Fujikura. We would send him our press releases and marketing materials but he never seemed interested in covering our products for a story. But when I personally took the time and got to know Jim, things changed and I realized Jim was a golf equipment junkie like myself. He was so passionate about improving his game with the new and latest equipment, and this sparked my passion each time we talked. He had an amazing knack for asking questions and turning my answers into brilliant storytelling. He was a great ambassador for the game of golf and will be sorely missed.”
From Mark Gunther, vice president of sales and marketing of shaft maker Mitsubishi Chemical America:
“Really, was there ever anyone with a quicker wit than Jim? He was so sharp. I always respected and admired his professionalism as well. When we started our office in 2004-05, he treated me like I was [as big as] Callaway. That’s how he made us feel. It was a gift.”
James Achenbach was one of a kind, writing about the people of golf with unmatched passion and enthusiasm.
James Achenbach – a wily, funny and infuriatingly clever golf writer who worked full-time for Golfweek for 24 years – passed away Friday, April 15. He was 78. His daughter, Omalley Ehren Abel, posted about his death on Facebook.
Achenbach’s initial forays into the pages of Golfweek began in the 1970s and grew into a full-time gig in 1991 after various stints at newspapers around the country, and he became a popular senior voice in golf writing. He attended more than 40 consecutive Masters, earning a personal parking spot at Augusta National Golf Club in 2010 along with the club’s Masters Major Achievement Award. He interviewed all the greats of the game, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Byron Nelson and many others. His breadth of knowledge was extensive, his enthusiasm catching.
In a career that started with persimmon-headed drivers and concluded after the introduction of hot-faced titanium rocket launchers, Achenbach put an emphasis on the people of golf. He had a particular affinity for amateur golfers and the many PGA of America professionals who promoted the game. He could hobnob with USGA or R&A executives just as easily as he would listen to the preachings of a local club fitter at a small, independently owned retail golf store. He was always happy to talk golf.
Tour pros were a source of amazement for Achenbach when it came to how they could swing a club, but they did not always receive such love when they strayed into controversial topics. For example, he once assailed Arnold Palmer’s support of non-conforming equipment that threatened to bifurcate the game. He feared the wrath of no one, be it Tour official or advertiser.
Family, his and others, was always special. Private about so much of his own life, his outward passion for people was contagious. Former Golfweek editor Jeff Babineau, on hearing of Achenbach’s passing, said they first met in Sarasota, Florida, while covering the old Bent Tree Classic. Achenbach had written a story about Nancy Lopez and her dad, Domingo, that Babineau says to this day is one of the most beautiful pieces he has ever read. Emphasis on ever, from an editor who has read many of the greats.
“There was no one who ever covered this game more passionate about golf and more passionate about relaying his love of the game to readers,” Babineau said. “He took it personally. Writing wasn’t work to James. It was a calling.”
James Achenbach is presented the Masters Major Achievement Award by Augusta National chairman Billy Payne for his contributions to golf writing at the 2010 Golf Writers Association of America dinner in Augusta, Georgia. (Golfweek files)
He earned multiple awards from the Golf Writers Association of America, and in his quirky way that was all Achenbach, he made his acceptance speech an ode to the copy editor. That seems fitting, as he didn’t like to speak too much about himself, often beginning personal stories with a large sigh to express his frustration and fear of boring a listener about himself. He worked at the Sarasota Tribune, covering Florida State football and Bobby Bowden at one point, and the Mesa Tribune in Arizona – there surely were other beats and newspaper gigs that he never brought up. He owned residences in Orlando, the California desert and Oregon, but his bosses never seemed to know exactly where he was – for writers of his era, that kind of freedom was a gift.
His laugh was like nobody’s, a deep three-part cadence that rose in volume: “Ha. Haaa. HAAAA!” If you heard that laugh down the hall, you couldn’t help but investigate.
I had the greatest pleasure to be his editor on the equipment beat at Golfweek for 10 years until his retirement in 2015, and never have I seen a person so in love with his job. Covering a U.S. Open or writing about hosel length and lead tape, keeping secrets about his whereabouts and scouring the entire world of golf for his next “big, big important story,” Achenbach would vigorously chase any idea deep into a rabbit hole of research and personal testing. No topic was too big, no subject too esoteric.
Achenbach was opinionated and incredibly informed. He earned both through years of banging away on various keyboards, first a manual typewriter and later a laptop. He once grew so exasperated at me for not running one of his stories in print that he wouldn’t pick up the phone for a week – it basically was a story about a stick that could be massaged into sore muscles to make a golfer feel better, but the science behind the premise was dodgy at best. A week after I held the story, he showed up in our Orlando newsroom unannounced, saying he flew all the way from his home in California to apologize for his anger in person. Because Golfweek used to run all the scores from just about every tournament that halfway mattered, I knew he actually was in Florida to play a senior golf event, but that kind of juggling was part of his charm. He was one of a kind, and now I wish I had run that damn story about the stick.
In dealing with personal affairs, Achenbach was a softy of the highest order. He wept when I told him of my wife’s leukemia diagnosis in 2013. I last saw him about four years ago, both of us happy to cross paths at the annual PGA Merchandise Show, and he started the conversation with questions about her treatment and well-being. He frequently checked in on co-workers and friends in such a kind manner, quick with encouragement and congratulations when appropriate. I wish I could tell him of my wife’s remission – he would be beaming.
He was rumored to be an ace at free throw shooting on a basketball court, and he was a single-digit-handicap golfer who couldn’t get enough, playing anywhere with just about anyone, an ever-present and sometimes decaying Yankees cap screwed tight upon his head. He loved golf clubs – absolutely adored them – and would always seem to have some new driver or shaft in his carry bag, a wedge from a small manufacturer, or a putter that promised much even if it never delivered. After his retirement, he loved to compete and write about The Society of Seniors golf organization, still contributing pieces to various publications and websites.
His first piece for a then-fledgling Golfweek – published on May 22, 1975 – introduced his love of amateur golf. His topic was Dorsey Luke’s charge to victory at the DeSoto National Amateur Handicap Golf Championship in Bradenton, Florida.
James Achenbach signed off with a retirement column that ran in Golfweek’s print magazine on August 31, 2015.
His retirement column focused largely on his greatest frustration with the game: slow play. His final words after 40 years spent in Golfweek’s pages focused on the problem, as he simply despised wasting time on a course. Published on August 31, 2015, and titled “Retiring from Golfweek, not from life,” that column is posted below:
By James Achenbach
I find it amusing that hack is a word equally suitable for bad golf or bad journalism. At times, I have been guilty of each.
However, as I retire and ride into the sunset – with Decisions on the Rules of Golf in my saddlebag – I will not be guilty of talking endlessly about my career. Too indulgent for my tastes.
After four decades involved with Golfweek, it is more important to me to recognize the role of club professionals in boosting golf and promoting fast play. The men and women who choose golf as a profession must be teachers, philosophers, arbiters, confidants and storytellers. They must have sharp minds and accurate memories. Ever try to remember the name of every person you meet? Welcome to the PGA of America.
Ken Morton Sr., a member of the PGA Hall of Fame, runs the 36-hole Haggin Oaks golf facility for the city of Sacramento (Calif.). In 1958, when he was 18, he took his first job at Haggin Oaks. Now, 57 years later, he is a legend.
The entire golf-oriented Morton family, through the Morton Golf Foundation, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities. A scholarship program has helped send hundreds of underprivileged young golfers to college.
Another veteran club professional, Tommy Moore of Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C., is a prominent example of how one person can make a huge difference.
In the 1930s and 1940s, many famous golfers adopted a ritual of practicing at Palmetto before traveling a short distance to compete in the Masters. Eventually, Palmetto fell on hard times financially, and that’s when Moore came to the rescue. Thanks to his persistence, the historic club is recognized today not only as one of America’s great 19th-century (1892) golf treasures but also as a distinguished supporter of amateur golf competition.
Slow play is one of golf’s biggest enemies, but two club pros in the western United States deserve mention for leading the campaign to rid it from golf as if it were a malignant weed.
Dick Hyland, head professional at The Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz., has won the Ed Updegraff Award for exemplifying the spirit of golf in Arizona. He also was named 2014 Golf Professional of the Year by the Southwest Section of the PGA of America.
To Hyland, fast golf is a way of life. He likes to play an 18-hole round each week with a different member. As a twosome, they ride. No, they fly.
“We are the first group out,” Hyland said, “and we finish anywhere between one hour and 40 minutes and two hours. We never take more than two hours.”
Golf professional J.D. Ebersberger, co-founder of The Palms Golf Club in La Quinta, Calif., quickly established three hours and 15 minutes as a target time for completing 18 holes.
A big reason for Ebersberger’s 3:15 vision is the course layout. Ebersberger, a member of the Hall of Fame of the Southern California PGA Section, hired architect Brian Curley to create an innovative old-timey design in which greens and tees are close together.
Groups missing the 3:15 mark usually finish within 3:30. The 4-hour round of golf virtually is extinct at The Palms.
Top 10 tips from Hyland and Ebersberger:
Give golf professionals the clear authority to approach and advise plodding groups; Hyland’s first words to any slow group: “What can I do to help you?”
Forget honors entirely; play ready golf at all times.
Concentrate on determining your yardage before it is your turn to hit.
Try this guideline: From the time you pick up your coin, you have 15 seconds in which to hit a putt.
Another guideline: In the age of plastic spikes, experiment with rounds in which continuous putting is mandatory.
The first golfer to hole out should hold the flagstick and replace it.
Never park a golf cart on the front side of the green; park it as close as possible to the point of exit from the green.
After hitting a shot, keep your club in your hand. Replace it in the bag only after the cart has stopped at its next position.
In the age of distance-measuring devices, try this on par-3 holes: Spray paint the exact yardage to the flagstick from various tee locations.
Courses might keep and even post a time sheet, noting start time, turn time and finish time for all groups. “We’re not trying to embarrass anybody,” Ebersberger said. “We’re just trying to make everybody aware of the time involved.”
Now, without a writing job for the first time in decades, what can I do to express myself? Wrestling with slow play would be a worthy cause: writing in depth about fast play and ready golf, organizing qualified speakers, creating leadership awards for speedy players.
Playing quickly should be every golfer’s mandate. We can retire from our jobs, but we can’t retire from the havoc created by slow play. Gwk
The popular assistant produced three rushing champs in seven seasons with the Cowboys; he succumbed to cancer on Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7
Gary Brown, who coached the Cowboys running backs for seven seasons, passed away Sunday at the age of 52.
As reported by Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Brown had been battling cancer.
“Gary Brown had a big heart partnered with a big smile and a big personality,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said as part of a statement Sunday night. “His energy and spirit were infectious. He lit up every room he walked into and touched the lives of those who knew him, loved him.”
Brown played running back in the 1990s, spending time with the Oilers, Chargers, and Giants over eight seasons. After returning to both the high school and college ranks to begin a coaching carer, he worked his back to the pros on Eric Mangini’s staff in Cleveland in 2009.
The Cowboys hired Brown in 2013; he was in Dallas through the 2019 season. He most recently served as running backs coach for Wisconsin, hired in Madison in March 2021. He did not travel with the Badgers to their bowl game this past December due to cancer treatments.
Former Dallas Cowboys running back coach Gary Brown, who spent this past year coaching running backs at Wisconsin, passed away tonight. He was in hospice for the last couple of weeks at in hometown in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Brown was a star running back at Penn State. RIP
Over Brown’s seven seasons as running backs coach in Dallas, Cowboys ball carriers won three NFL rushing crowns.
DeMarco Murray notched back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2013 and 2014, led the league in rushing yards in 2014, and was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2014. He earned three Pro Bowl nods for his play.
Great Father, Husband, Coach, and Mentor. Appreciate you and your family more than anything GB… Thank you for teaching me the way on the field and in life. Appreciate you Gary Brown. 🙏🏾
Ezekiel Elliott won the rushing title in two of his first three seasons and went to three Pro Bowls, all under Brown’s tutelage.
Brown had an especially tight bond with his backs, something TV viewers got to see during the 2018 Amazon series All or Nothing: A Season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Sad to hear of the passing of former Cowboys running backs coach Gary Brown. This moment at the end of 2019 sticks with me the most. pic.twitter.com/N3nKAsS3Gm
Brown had been diagnosed twice with cancer, the first time while he was in Cleveland. He underwent chemotherapy and surgery and was given a clean bill of health.
He received his second diagnosis just after the Cowboys’ coaching change in early 2020. A malignant tumor was found near Brown’s pancreas.
After taking a year off, Brown joined the Wisconsin staff for the ’21 season, even as he went through immunotherapy.
“When you’re sitting by yourself and you’re alone and you’re thinking about what’s next,” he said per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “you really think about the things that could be taken away. Not only football but your family and your friends.
“It’s going to do one of two things to you. It’s going to eat you up and you’re going to fold up and go into a corner and die, or you’re going to fight. My parents raised me to fight.”
Brown is survived by a wife, two daughters, and a son.
