The Immortal Locke

John Coyne is an American writer of both fiction and non-, probably best known for his horror novels.  But Coyne is also one of us, a golf nut who's written golf instruction books and the "Caddie" series of golf novels, The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan, The Caddie Who Played Wish Hickories and The Caddie Who Won The Masters.

Coyne of the realm.

I'm a bit late to this, but Coyne has been guest-posting a multi-part feature on "Bad-Boy" Bobby Locke at Neil Sagebiel's Armchair Golfer blog.  The series is well worth a read, delving as it does into lesser know stories about the great South African golfer of the 1940-50's.  I've touched on Locke a few times here, most notably in my answer to a Tour Confidential question about which player in gof history would you pick to sink a 10-footer to avoid an alien invasion of Planet Earth.  Locke is widely reputed to be the best putter EVER.

The series is now at six installments (no worries, they're each not too long), and the initial post can be found here.  Locke first came to the U.S. in 1947, and here's how it happened:

After Sam Snead won the 1946 British Open, the first one played since 1939 because of the

war, wealthy South African financier Norbert Stephen Erleigh, who had befriended Locke in '35 when the golfer was a teenage amateur, sponsored a tour for Snead in South Africa. Locke, who had finished second in the Open, would be Snead's competition, and Erleigh promised Locke that, when the tour was over, he would pay Locke's way to America.

It was not Bobby Locke's first invitation to the U.S. In 1936, Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood played with Locke during a six-week exhibition in South Africa and when it was over, Hagen, so impressed by the then-19-year-old amateur, asked him to come to the U.S. Locke's parents, however, said no, and while disappointed, Hagen advised Locke, "Young man, your golf might stay still or you may become a great golfer, but remember that your golfing education will not be complete until you have played golf in America."

Bobby Locke never forgot and 10 years later he was playing another American in South Africa, Sam Snead. The two dueled in 16 matches throughout the country. Snead won two, they tied two, and Locke won 12.

OK, he had home field advantage, but that was still Sam "Friggin' Snead he took to the cleaners.  

Part 2 deals with that first trip to the U.S., including his first trip to The Masters.  While those in the know disparaged his swing, he seems to have, you know, done OK:

Locke finished 14th in his first Masters. He then went onto win four of the next five tournaments he entered. He stayed only through that summer's tour. Altogether in 1947, he played in 15 US tour events, winning a total of six, finishing 2nd twice, 3rd once (in the US Open), and top-7 four other times. In total, Locke played full time on the American PGA tour for only 2½ years. In 59 events, he won 11 times, finished second 10 times, third 8 times and fourth 5 times (34 out of 59 tournaments in the Top 4).

Part 3 covers his subsequent trip to the U.S., and features cameos by Der Bingle, Bob Hope and some crooning.   

On this trip, Locke also began to draw the attention of the media beyond the sports world and his persona was being defined by the press. The New York Times called him "Old Muffin Face." Peter Alliss said he "looked 55 since he was 30." Sam Snead nicknamed him "Baggy Pants" because of what he wore playing golf.

Part 4's lede:

IN 1949, A YEAR AFTER HE WON the Chicago Victory Open at Midlothian Country Club by 16 strokes, which remains a PGA record margin of victory, Bobby Locke was banned from playing golf on the American tour. The reason given by the PGA was because he had failed to show up at tournaments and exhibitions without giving any explanations. However, many people thought that he was banned because he was simply winning too many tournaments, making too much money.

 Part 5 details Locke's troubles at home:

This was despite Locke winning tournaments in South Africa and Great Britain, and receiving

money to play in exhibitions tours in Australia. Also, he took the professional position at the Maccauvlei Golf Club in 1939. (Today, Maccauvlei is the home club of Masters winner, Charl Schwartzel.) 

Locke did not last long as the pro at Maccauvlei. He had just won his first South Africa Open held at Maccauvlei when he got the job, and immediately he ran into trouble. In the history of the club, written by member Derek Mocke, it appears that Locke was "forced out" of his position.

Part 6 delves into Locke's allegedly prickly personality and the possible impact thereon of his World War II military service.  And while Coyne notes Locke's death and the tragic end for his wife and daughter, a "To be Continued" at the end has me anxiously awaiting his next installment.  It's a great slice of golf history, for those that enjoy such trips.

Neil Sagebiel, you might recall, is the author of The Longest Shot, the account of Jack Fleck's improbable U.S. Open victory at Olympic Golf Club.  Since he was good enough to arrange for this enjoyable series, it seems appropriate to provide a plug for his forthcoming Draw in the Dunes, his account of the 1969 Ryder Cup at Royal Birkdale.  That's the one where Jack Nicklaus famously conceded Tony Jacklin's final putt on the 18th green, ensuring that the tie would end in a, you know, tie.  A gesture of great sportsmanship that royally pissed off Captain Ben Hogan and other team members.