ONCE upon a time professional golf was full of characters.
Some had very strange swings, some had equally strange religions and even others had quaint clothing habits.
The one thing they all had in common was public appeal.
Oh, and they could play.
Golf fans wanted to see them, were entertained by them and just as importantly talked about them long after a tournament was concluded.
Take the 1960-’70s version, Doug Sanders.
Sanders had a swing which was said to have been fashioned in a telephone booth.
It was a thing of beauty only to its owner, but it was good enough to take him to a playoff for the Open Championship.
Back in the day he and fellow Yank, Ray Floyd, took partying to a new level and would ring a caterer in the town hosting the next tournament and put their orders in a week in advance.
Bobby Jones and Sam Snead drew crowds as did Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodreguez and later Payne Stewart and John Daly.
They didn’t come from the college system sausage machine.
They could play and entertain and engage with the fans. The best today’s fans can hope for from our sport’s lifeless journeymen is a fist-pump or hand slap.
There will always be a need for the Ben Hogans, Peter Thomsons (who could have played and won in a suit) and Nick Faldos but if golf hadn’t worked out, they had no future as stand-up comedians.
As a player, Faldo was wildly successful with six majors but he was about as entertaining as cold porridge or cooked lettuce.
I’m sure he can live with the fact that he is never going to be a master of wit, but then he won’t feel lonely because so few tour players are.
Unfortunately, the winner of the 2023 US Open, Wyndham Clark, showed all the emotion of a seasoned undertaker’s assistant.
Australian golf bosses make a pilgrimage every year to the majors.
Part of their charter is to see if they can lure some of the world’s good players to Australia for our PGA Championship and Open.
Let’s hope when they knock on the doors of Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick, Charl Schwartzel and company they are out, deeply absorbed in watching grass grow.
One struggles to come up with modern-day versions of the Trevinos and Floyds.
What about a visit to our shores of, say, Bubba Watson, Danny Willett, Phil Mickelson (bound to say something that will make headlines) or even John Daly who, even if he only plays on Thursday and Friday, will pull crowds through the gate.
And then there is Spaniard Migual Angel Jimenez, whose warm-up routine is unlike anything and is highly entertaining. Google it. And he’s a damn fine player.
Some of those people who have flocked to watch him play and entertain have said: “Sensational. The classiest golfer on the planet and possibly the coolest man too.”
Another: “There’s a reason the guy is playing this kind of golf at his current age (60). A big lesson to all of us in why mobility is important. He puts me to shame and I’m 24.”
Then this: “Rumour has it that John Daly witnessed Jimenez warming up on the range and had a heart attack at the sight of physical exertion.”
In 2022 and 2023, we drew no-one from the overseas talent pool although the Australian Open was won by Poland’s Adrian Meronk (2022) and Joaquin Niemann (2023) – hardly crowd pullers.
Still, we have locals Cam Smith, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and co who will have fans clustering around them. Make sure Min Woo returns as he is one player who does entertain the fans between shots.
Australia’s golf hierarchy should use their wiles to lure somebody here, which is no easy task when the total purse for our tournaments is around what the first prize is in a regular weekly US PGA Tour event.
The tyranny of distance and the exchange rate doesn’t help.
Australia was spoiled rotten in the days when Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player came here and often went home with the winner’s cheque.
In fact, Player, who won seven Australian Open titles, says his wins allowed him to put his kids through school.
It will be interesting to see who our chiefs can pull from the hat.
If Australian golf fans just want to see classy golf shots, they can just follow the Aussies.
Other sports enjoy the presence of a few larrikins. Let’s hope we don’t lose ours.
Editor-at-large David Newbery, recently recgonised by Golf Queensland with an award for his 40-years of service to the golf industry, continues to be a valued and respected contributor to Inside Golf.
Chief writer David Newbery has been living, breathing and writing and editing golf for more than 30 years. His extensive knowledge of the game comes from covering golf around the world. Hired by Inside Golf in 2009, David previously worked as the editor of The Golfer for 25 years and before that worked for numerous daily newspapers in Australia and overseas. The Brisbane-based journalist describes his golf game as “a work in progress”, but has had the privilege of playing golf with some of the game’s best players including nine-time major winner Gary Player. David enjoys travelling, reading, music, photography and spending time with family and friends – on and off the golf course. 
