Capturing the game's spirit
Labbance's passion fills book on Vardon
When after all the tedious years of research and writing led to the finished product, "The Vardon Invasion," Bob Labbance couldn't sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor - at least not until he sat down and autographed copies of the book for a long line of friends and admirers who attended last Saturday's book signing in his beloved Montpelier, Vt.
Not that he is complaining, mind you.
"I didn't expect so many people, nor did I expect to sit at a table and sign books for three hours, but it was an incredible day," said Labbance, who deserved every ounce of that support.
It's a fitting reward for a man whose passion for his work has benefited golf and those who love the game.
The fact that the day was held to recognize not one, but two pieces of literature by Labbance is a tribute to the man's unyielding passion for golf. The fact that he has done so while taking on a battle with the insidious disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a testament to a human spirit that is to be admired. Labbance has let all his friends know that he wants no pity, nor tears, that instead he remains committed to his work.
"My mind is fine, but my body's gone to hell. But I'd rather have it that way than the other way around," said Labbance from his home.
He then looked out his window and relayed the news that it did not look much like golf season in Vermont, "not with 2 feet of snow on the ground," and that disturbed him greatly.
Just the thought of playing golf gives him a great deal of joy, even though he knows that his playing days are over.
"My legs are completely gone already," said Labbance, 55, though his voice does not trail off with any hint of self-pity. "But my respiratory and heart are great and I'm at the top of my game, professionally."
Indeed, Labbance is in great form with the priceless art of the well-researched and well-written word. "The Vardon Invasion" is the story of Harry Vardon's historic 1900 tour of the United States and Canada, a 10-month journey in which the greatest British Open champion of them all played matches against the best talent he could find, both transplanted Scottish pros and rising American players. From Florida to Maine and Massachusetts to Colorado, Vardon played more than 80 competitions and triumphed roughly 85 percent of the time. At least 15 times he lost, but mostly when he single-handedly took on the best ball of two other professionals. Only one man beat him head to head and Bernard Nicholls did it twice, once at vaunted Brae Burn CC in West Newton. The list of victories included the US Open at Chicago GC when Vardon prevailed by two shots over a fellow Brit and longtime nemesis, J.H. Taylor.
The tale of Vardon's visit, written with Brian Siplo, is one of two books by Labbance that have just been released. The other was written with Kevin Mendik, "The Life and Work of Wayne Stiles," and is a salute to a man who might just be one of the most unheralded of golf's great course architects. Among his 17 books on golf, Labbance wrote about Walter Travis and a history of golf course management, so it's clear that he has a passion for those aspects of the game that purists can admire.
Labbance also has a remarkable life story that includes those self-confessed "hippie years," after he graduated from Bates College and lived in a Maine commune. That led him to work in a Lewiston, Maine, restaurant, which propelled him in 1975 to take a job at Killington Mountain, part of a "25-year sentence served in the food service field," said Labbance. Ask him the best part of the Killington job and he'll tell you that it necessitated a move to Montpelier, which he has come to love, and somehow, someway, it rekindled a love affair with golf. He had been introduced to the game as a kid at the Country Club of Fairfield (Conn.).
Chances to play two Vermont gems, the Equinox and Ekwanok, ignited golf embers, so in the early 1980s he began writing about the game for whoever would have him. He secured a press credential to cover the Masters and also the 1988 US Open at The Country Club, which led to the unforgettable chance to meet Herbert Warren Wind, arguably the greatest American-born golf writer.
Eventually, Labbance devoted his full-time attention to writing, not because he dreamed of being wealthy - "If I was doing this for the money, I'd have quit a long time ago," he said - but because he wanted to satisfy that desire to be happy at something he loved.
He became editor of Turf Magazine and contributed to various magazines, including Golf Styles of New England. He produced the first guide to Vermont golf and took on the editing duties for the Golf Collectors Society's bulletin, and embraced whatever chance he had to produce centennial books for many New England clubs.
What has driven all of this? That's simple.
"It's been a labor of love, no doubt," said Labbance, who just a few years ago was seriously injured after taking a fall during a round of golf.
His determined battle to overcome long odds in that fight inspired friends and colleagues, only now he has come up against a disease that has no known cure and one that sadly has already taken the lives of two Vermont golfers he called friends - former PGA Tour member Jeff Julian and former club pro Jeff Hadley.
Maybe it's because he saw those two men fight ALS with great dignity and courage, or maybe it's just his strong New England pride and independence, but Labbance remains upbeat.
"For someone with ALS, I'm doing great," he said. "I've got to make the most of each day."
Sign of the times
Not only has Arnold Palmer insisted on signing an endless amount of autographs, but he's done so with a commitment to clarity. So if you want to get him going, ask him about the sloppy way in which people sign."I don't know where a player comes off - a young player, particularly - who is being asked to give an autograph and he scribbles something down there that you can't read. Who in the hell knows what it is?"
Palmer has a distinctive signature, especially with the "A" in his first name and the "P" in his last, and he takes pride in making it legible. Other stars act similarly.
"Jack Nicklaus? You can read that and never have a question about Jack Nicklaus's autograph or Gary Player's autograph. But then all of a sudden you run into something that looks like a scribble. I don't understand."
Palmer went so far as to say that he reprimanded his own grandson, Sam Saunders, for just such a transgression. The young man had been asked to sign an autograph one day and when Palmer peered over and saw it scribbled, he got upset.
"I didn't know what the hell it said," said Palmer. "I said [something] to him and now when he gives an autograph, you can read it."
Jim Furyk was told about Palmer's viewpoint and didn't have a problem with it.
"I don't sign as many as he does, but when I do sign, you can read it," said Furyk.
‘Lefty’ Scott left Mickelson flustered
When he drove it poorly at the par-4 17th and saw his ball lodged up against a bush in the second round of the CA Championship, Adam Scott was forced to turn his club around and play the shot lefthanded. Observers were stunned at the beauty of the swing and the fact that the young Aussie hit it about 50 yards and at least provided a chance for par.It didn't surprise Butch Harmon.
As Scott's swing coach, he's seen Scott swing lefthanded on a number of occasions and praises it as a rhythmic and natural-looking swing. Harmon then went on to tell a story from last year's Tour Championship when Scott and Phil Mickelson went out together in a practice round.
At the par-4 14th hole, Scott asked if he could use Mickelson's driver and the lefthander was duly impressed when the Aussie striped it down the middle. Of course, Mickelson was soon ruffled when he discovered that Scott had outdriven him and that led to quite a bit of razzing within the group.
No surprise, but Harmon was the one leading the charge, and the joke was so good, he had to keep it going for as long as he could. You see, that day Harmon had gone ahead to forecaddie, and when he saw that Scott's ball had come to rest approximately 20 yards shy of Mickelson's, he quickly adjusted. "I kicked Scotty's ball about 8-10 ahead of Phil's," said Harmon.
When several months had passed, Harmon finally had to 'fess up, which presented Mickelson with a dilemma. On the one hand, he knew his swing coach had pulled a good one over on him. But on the other, his ego was restored; he had outdriven the "lefthanded" Scott.
CHAMPIONS
Event: Ginn Championship
Site: Hammock Beach Resort, Ocean Course (7,113 yards, par 72), Palm Coast, Fla.
Schedule: Tomorrow-Sunday.
Purse: $2.5 million. Winner's share: $375,000.
Television: Golf Channel (tomorrow, 1-3 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30-4:30 a.m., 1-4 p.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; 10 p.m.-midnight).
Last year: Keith Fergus joined Ron Streck as the only players to win PGA, Nationwide, and Champions titles, beating Mark O'Meara and Hale Irwin by a stroke.
Last event: Denis Watson won the AT&T Champions Classic March 16 for his third Champions title in two seasons, beating Loren Roberts with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff.
Of note: Ian Woosnam is making his Champions Tour debut . . . The top 30 players on the 2007 money list are in the field.
LPGA
Event:
Site: Superstition Mountain (Ariz.), Prospector Course (6,662 yards, par 72)
Schedule: Today-Sunday.
Purse: $1.5 million. Winner's share: $225,000.
Television: Golf Channel (today, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; tomorrow, 12:30-2:30 a.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 12:30-2:30 a.m., 6:30-9 p.m.; Sunday, 1-3 a.m., 6:30-9 p.m.; Monday, 1-3 a.m.).
Last year: Lorena Ochoa won the first of her eight 2007 titles, birdieing four of the last five holes for a two-stroke victory over Suzann Pettersen.
Last event: Louise Friberg won the MasterCard Classic in Mexico March 16.
Of note: Michelle Wie withdrew Friday after tweaking an injury to her left wrist . . . The top 40 players on the 2007 money list are in the field.
PGA
Event: Zurich Classic
Site: TPC Louisiana (7,341 yards, par 72), Avondale, La.
Schedule: Today-Sunday.
Purse: $6.2 million. Winner's share: $1,116,000.
Television: Golf Channel (today-tomorrow, 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30) and Ch. 7 (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
Last year: Nick Watney won his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 3-under 69 for a three-stroke victory over Ken Duke.
Last week: Geoff Ogilvy won the CA Championship on Monday at Doral to end Tiger Woods's PGA Tour winning streak at five.
Of note: Jim Furyk is making his first appearance in the event since 1996.
Etc.
Carrying the waterThe LPGA Tour returns to action today for tournament No. 5 on the 2008 schedule, the
Earning their keep
You could call it a qualified success times two for a trio of Champions Tour competitors who handled back-to-back challenges in Ormond Beach, Fla. Gene Jones, Mitch Adcock, and Mike Goodes were among the qualifiers Monday for the Ginn Championship, which begins tomorrow in Palm Coast, Fla. They then came back the next day to get through a qualifier for next week's tournament in the Dominican Republic. Of local interest, Mike San Filippo was fourth alternate for the Ginn, but fell short in the bid to get into the Cap Cana. Kirk Hanefeld missed in both attempts, while Rick Karbowski missed at the Ginn, but tied for medalist honors Tuesday and thus will travel to the Dominican next week.
Test of the senses
From the oh-the-things-they-say department: We trust it was the British way of expressing themselves and that Graeme Storm was referring to the difficulty of those back-nine holes at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa, because when asked about them he said: "Obviously, 13 and 14 are quite smelly." As for Stewart Cink, when he squandered a chance to win the PODS Championship this month, he was openly critical of his finish and some reporters wondered why he was so hard on himself. "You can't just paint a rosy picture and expect everything to dissipate," he said. Told that some players would do just that, Cink shook his head. "Those guys aren't being honest with you. That mirror? Sometimes when you look into it, it's not pretty."
Winning proposition
Told that bookie parlors in London had Tiger Woods at the outrageous odds of 1-to-2 to win the CA Championship, Geoff Ogilvy laughed. "[The bookies] have been getting burned, and I read somewhere this week that everyone kept loading upon Tiger and they keep taking the bets and they keep losing. That's reality," he said. Pondering the fact that was relayed to him, that Ogilvy was 5-to-1 to win, the Aussie said, "If I wasn't playing, maybe I'd have a go [on Woods]."
Short on strategy
Zach Johnson's strategy in winning last year's Masters has been well documented. Hardly one of the bombers, Johnson laid up on all 16 par-5s that he played, yet played them in 10 birdies and six pars, a near-flawless performance that went a long way in earning him a green jacket. Phil Mickelson was understandably impressed, but don't look for him to adopt a similar game plan. "I don't like to lay up," said the two-time Masters champ. "I like to try and go for it. I know [Johnson] won by laying up and he played awesome, but that's not the way I play Augusta the best. I've got to go for it."
Strength in numbers
Folks in the media wanted to make an issue of the fact that the lead group in the CA Championship would have to play 25 holes Sunday because Saturday's play had been halted. "It's going to be a long day, but you've got to be pretty amped up for a World Golf Championship," said Adam Scott. When several minutes later the topic was revived, Scott smiled. "I think we're all in pretty good shape and can handle 24 holes. I've seen both Geoff [Ogilvy] and Tiger [Woods] in the gym, so we should all be all right."
Quite a painful feat
Martin Kaymer, the 23-year-old German who has roared to No. 23 in the world rankings, opened with a 4-under 68 at the CA Championship, but woke up the next morning with a rash. "It's all over the place. Underneath my feet is actually the worst. It hurts when I'm walking," said Kaymer, who didn't have time to go to the doctor, so he played through and shot 74. He was able to have it treated late Friday, but he shot 73-73 on the weekend and finished tied for 57th.
Rolling right alongSpectators may have been confused by Ian Poulter's choice of club as he stood over a 20-foot putt at the 18th hole in Saturday's third round of the CA Championship, but when he made the putt with a wedge, it gave them good reason to cheer. "I think I might have to go with a wedge a bit more often," said the Englishman, after saving par at the 18th and making a 4-foot birdie roll at the 16th. He had been forced to that club change when he dropped his putter while walking from the 14th green to 15th tee. He didn't deny that the drop was "probably a little bit out of frustration," so he was not allowed to replace it after the characteristics of it changed.
