Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011 - 52

( Backspin
Taking the Long View
Considering fl at fairways, big purses and great shots,
the author found 2010 to be one for the books.
By Jon Roe
S
tand on the 18th tee at Sutton
Bay Club and slowly
turn a full circle. As you
rotate, scan the South Dakota landscape
surrounding the widening of the
Missouri River called Lake Oahe.
According to Sutton Bay's proprietors,
you have just gazed upon almost
one million acres of rolling plains and a
man-made lake. That's one million-as
in 1,000,000-acres.
My late in-laws tried to support a family of four on a 160-acre
Jon Roe
farm in southwestern Minnesota-and succeeded.
All of which is just one way of saying that there are times when
golf can make you contemplate and cogitate about the world in
which we live. That was the case many times during the past year.
There are times when golf can make
you contemplate and cogitate about
the world in which we live.
In particular, a moment at last year's State Open has remained
in my memory bank. After winning, Clayton Rask was discussing
some of his shots during the fi nal round. He mentioned that he
had hit an 8-iron from 192 yards out of the rough on the 16th hole
at Bunker Hills.
Nobody should be astounded by the distances that players can
now hit a golf ball, no matter what club is being used. But Rask
knew he had 192 yards to the pin. Not 190 yards, or 195 yards,
but 192 yards. Not to the front of the green or to the middle, but
to the pin.
Yes, he had a range-fi nder, an implement
that is legal when sanctioned by
the event's governing body. It's part of
the current golf technology-titanium
club heads, precision-measured graphite
shafts, aerodynamic golf balls that seem
to never come down-that has taken much of the guess-work out
of the game.
Hit it far, go fi nd it and hit it again. The player is always armed
with knowledge of the exact distance of each shot. One wonders
what Old Tom Morris would have thought about that. Or even
what Young Tom Morris would have thought.
On another matter, our own Tom Lehman, as good a person as
you could ever meet, collected about $1.5 million in winnings in
2010 while playing on both the PGA and Champions Tours. His
career earnings so far, in a span covering approximately two decades,
come to about $21.5 million; he ranks 25th on the all-time
money list. Lehman has doubled what Tom Watson has compiled
in known career earnings. Watson ranks No. 96 on the all-time
list. Jack Nicklaus is at No. 193 at $5.7 million. In case you were
wondering, Tiger is No. 1 at $94 million.
In 2010, Troy Merritt of Spring Lake Park cashed in for $786,977
on the PGA Tour. He just managed to fi nish No. 125 in earnings,
and retained his players' card for 2011. In Sam Snead's entire career-including
82 victories-the Slammer won $660,000.
Yes, yes, we're comparing apples and oranges. But, man, those
are juicy oranges.
And fi nally, 2010 provided another example of golf's fi ckleness.
From the tee on Braemar's 22nd hole (the fourth tee on the third
nine), a 5-wood shot was launched on the 195-yard par 3. It was a
good shot-very well-struck, the player and his two playing partners
agreed, as the ball sailed into the afternoon sky and was lost
from view in the sun's glare.
In six decades of taking on the game, a few shots have been hit
as well by the Old Golf Writer. Not very many, but a few. Why
did this shot-as well as two others over the years-fi nd the cup
when other well-struck shots did not? Why didn't the Old Golf
Writer-and his playing partners-get to actually see the ball go
in the hole? Only once in three times has The Ace been seen all the
way into the cup.
Ah, well. We used to think the world
was fl at, and then explorers and cartographers
and all kinds of scientists told us
the world was round.
Obviously, none of them have played
golf in South Dakota.
50
MINNESOTAGOLFER Directory 2011
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Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2011

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