PEOPLE
The Wit and Wisdom of Lee Trevino — The Hispanic Yogi Berra of Golf
What a strange year it’s been for sports fans, whatever your passion. No March Madness. No Major League Baseball. Are people really watching re-runs of previous Super Bowls? And then there’s golf.
Golf had been one of my father’s passions, so I was introduced to the game quite early. When we were kids in Cleveland he’d drive us to a certain stretch of forest adjacent to golf course where he’d have us do a scavenger hunt for golf balls. He knew exactly where to have us look, in part because a few of these may have been his at one time.
I later caddied for a couple years while in high school, enjoying the benefit of playing free on Mondays. Though my skills never advanced beyond being a hack, I enjoyed the game and followed the PGA circuit enough (via Sports Illustrated and televised tournament golf) to know who the name players were. My dad was part of Arnie’s Army, the nickname given to the fans and followers of that golf great whose chief adversary (and respected friend) was the “Golden Bear” Jack Nicklaus. Gtandpa liked Sam Snead. I myself liked the South African Gary Player, in part because he always wore black, like an outlaw of sorts.
