9/11 and Golf- Your Personal Stories

[Jud_T]

     Watching all the moments of silence on the exchange I was thinking back on those horrible days and how golf helped me get through them.  When the worst happened and we all left the office towers, I went to to the only place I could think of that could possibly take my mind off what had happened-my golf club.  I felt guilty about playing golf at a time like that but I simply couldn't stare at the television any longer.  I cried my way around the course thinking of all those I knew who had been in harm's way, including one of my best friends, and cursing those who had acted to take innocent life.  Then I sat in the men's grill staring once again at the endless news coverage with a stiff drink trying to numb the pain and disbelief.
     A year later on the one year anniversary I was in the men's locker room at Westhampton and was shocked to see the number of lockers with flags on them for members who had been lost.  Once again I sat in the bar with Dave Debusschere having a cocktail in somber remembrance.  Later I heard of a club in Connecticut that shall remain nameless that only allowed another lost friend's widow to assume his membership after enough complaints from other members that they begrudgingly relented.  He had graciously hosted a friend and I a month before the towers came down.  Damn, I think I need another drink...

[PCCraig]

Jud,

Nice thread and post.

I played golf that afternoon at Evanston Golf Club. Most of the day was devoted to watching television coverage and talking about the attacks on NYC and DC. Once we got on the course I admittedly focused on golf only to be reminded by the huge American flag at half mast near the clubhouse after returning after each nine. That night the President of my High School (a Jesuit Priest) openly wept during dinner at the club, which lead to a deep discussion of the days events.

I'll never forget that.

[PThomas]

is a good thread Jud as we should never forget..

i played Old Memorial once and there is a statue of 2 of the former members there who were killed on 9/11...as we passed it our caddy stopped and touched one of the hands on it

[Dan Kelly]

I was at work that day, stunned.

For the first (and last) time, I wrote the headline and cover copy for our Extra Edition -- the only Extra Edition we've published in my 22 years at the paper. It was (perhaps) my last writing-on-deadline -- over a picture of the burning World Trade Center:

"DAY OF INFAMY

"Sixty years after Pearl Harbor, the American Century ended today in a morning of horror. Terrorist attacks brought down New York's landmark World Trade Center, demolished a wing of the Pentagon and brought the nation to a standstill, awaiting the next blow."

That must have been one of the very few days, this century, when I have given not a thought to golf.

So I have no 9/11/2001 golf stories to tell.

On a few occasions since then, I've been on a golf course within view of a downtown skyline (Minikahda, Town and Country) when a jetliner has flown past, with the skyline in the background. I've thought of 9/11 then, as I have on every occasion since, anywhere, when I've seen jets intersecting with buildings.

[Michael Ryan]

Jud,

Appreciate starting this post and allowing me a moment to reflect.  I was in the WTC on 9/11 as I worked in building 5 for Morgan Stanley at the time.  While my office mates and I had a harrowing morning of running full speed from our building upon the first plane and then witnessing the jumpers and then second plane from one block north-it pales in comparison to those in buildings 1 & 2 and the first responders.  My heart breaks for those that didn't get to do what I did that night, which was go home to their families.

I recall on Thursday needing to get out of the house and it was a gorgeous day in upstate NY (as Tuesday 9/11 was).  I went to my little club thinking a round of golf would be a good distraction as I was watching news coverage almost 20 hours a day just trying to get a handle on what happened, why and how.  I knew about 3 or 4 holes into my round that I was in no condition to concentrate and stopped playing after 9 holes.  My post event grief process came to the forefront when I realized that I couldn't get through a round....something that only sickness or lightning had prevented in the past.

A picture of Tiger Woods and Calc circulated during that week showing them the moment they were told of the incident.  They were playing a practice round for the WGC event that ended up being cancelled (St. Louis I think?).  There was something about the greatest player in the world (please recall that this was way before Thanksgiving '09 when a lot of people’s opinions changed) reacting to something that took place at my office complex that really affected me.  Everyone personally involved probably had a moment that was similar; perhaps it was photos of people in other countries putting flowers at the US Embassies or children around the world raising money for victims’ families.  For me, it was that picture of Tiger's reaction that told me this was not just something done to NY, DC and Penn but to the world.  

I'll spend this Sunday morning at church and then I look forward to watching my friend Jim Holtgrieve captain the Walker Cup side.  I have spoken to Jim a few times this year and he is very aware that they are playing the last day on 9/11/11.  He has some inspirational items he plans to utilize with the team that morning prior to the matches that pay homage to the anniversary.

God bless the USA and everyone who values freedom around the world.

Mike

[David Cronheim]

I live in NJ not too far from NYC and I vividly remember how blue the sky was that day. In fact, I also remember getting up that morning being excited to play golf that afternoon. I had decided that after school that day I was going to walk 9 holes and enjoy a beautiful late summer day. Of course all that changed.

Like many of you, I too found solace on the golf course. I went and played my 9 holes that afternoon because I couldn't take staring at the tv anymore. I also remember being able to see the smoke in the distance over the first set of mountains from our 4th teebox.

For my generation (I'm 26), this is our Kennedy assassination moment in that none of us will ever forget where we were. Let's hope none of us ever have another day like that so long as we live.

[PCCraig]

A picture of Tiger Woods and Calc circulated during that week showing them the moment they were told of the incident.  They were playing a practice round for the WGC event that ended up being cancelled (St. Louis I think?).  There was something about the greatest player in the world (please recall that this was way before Thanksgiving '09 when a lot of people’s opinions changed) reacting to something that took place at my office complex that really affected me.  Everyone personally involved probably had a moment that was similar; perhaps it was photos of people in other countries putting flowers at the US Embassies or children around the world raising money for victims’ families.  For me, it was that picture of Tiger's reaction that told me this was not just something done to NY, DC and Penn but to the world.  

Michael,

The PGA Tour event that was canceled was the American Express Championship at Bellerive outside St. Louis. While most of the American players (Tiger included) drove home, most of the international players were stranded around St. Louis.

[PCCraig]

On a few occasions since then, I've been on a golf course within view of a downtown skyline (Minikahda, Town and Country) when a jetliner has flown past, with the skyline in the background. I've thought of 9/11 then, as I have on every occasion since, anywhere, when I've seen jets intersecting with buildings.

Dan,

Later in the week of 9/11/2001 I was at Beverly CC south of Chicago for the Chicago Open, which went on as planned. Chicago isn't as hilly as MSP so skyline views don't come easily on the area's golf courses, but there is a huge ridge at BCC which gives a long view over Chicago. Beverly is right by Midway and not far from ORD, yet I remember looking out and seeing the first plane fly overhead for almost a week. At that point it was the only plane in the sky.

[Chris Roselle]

  I was actually headed for a round of golf at Lake Lanier Golf Club just north of Atlanta.  I remember stopping at a gas station just outside the resort and the first plane had struck the Tower.  When I arrived at the club I walked into the Golf Shop and the second plane had hit.  To this day I don't know whay but I decided that I could sit and watch this all unfold and I made my way to the first tee.  The course was empty and I ended up playing one of the best rounds of my life.  For some crazy reason I didn't miss a shot all day and shot 69 (I still have the scorecard in my golf bag and I am sure I will look at it on Sunday).
  When I finished my round I made my way into the Golf Shop again and by this point both towers had fallen and the other two planes had crashed.  I was in complete and utter shock.  It was at this point that I received word via voicemail that my mom was supposed to be flying that morning from Seattle to New York.  I immediately freaked out because I still didn't know what planes had crashed and where they were from or where they were going.  Cell phone reception was so crazy that day because people were trying to get a hold of loved ones so I asked the Pro at the club if I could borrow the shop phone.  After what seemed like hours I finally got a hold of my brother who informed me that my mom's plane was one of the last one's grounded (she eneded up driving cross country later that week).
  I left the club shortly thereafter headed back down I-85 South when the most incredible thing happened.  I was overcome with such emotion that I pulled to the side of the interstate and broke down in tears.  Never before nor since has that ever happened to me.  I also noticed that there were no planes in the sky which is still chilling to this day.  Once I got off the interstate I found the nearest church (some Baptist Church in Duluth, Ga. I think) and prayed for what felt like 6 hours...

[Kalen Braley]

I too was playing golf on 9/11 at Indian Canyon.

We were on the back 9 when we got a phone call from a friend saying the twin towers had collapsed.  At first we thought it a joke and told him to quite bothering us.  But he insisted and gave the details and the shock started to sent in.  We finished out the round, but I don't know why.  It was dead silent in our group and nobody spoke a word...it was pure zombie golf the rest of the way in.

When we got back to the clubhouse, I still remember seeing it for the 1st time, it was just utter shock and disbelief.  I drove home and spent the rest of the day with my family glued to the TV set.

The next few days was the only time in my life where I seriously thought about leaving my career and joining the military.

[Ken Moum]

A few days after the event, on of the editors of GCM came down the hall and asked me if I had time to work on a story about how superintendents were affected by what had just happened.  Someone had just talked to Mark Kuhns at Baltusrol, and he had a story about watching the collapse of the towers from the fourth green with a number of other people.

I took on the story, and in the end I talked to golf course maintenance staffers from several courses, and their stories were riveting.

Some of them had members who worked in the World Trade center, because Teusday is often Aldies Day others had women at the course whose husbands worked there.

One was working in the shop at Army Navy when he heard a plane that was low... too low.  Followed by a huge boom.

John Carlone had an event canceled that afternoon at Meadow Brook on Long Island and was out on the course by himself.. without the sound of airplanes for the first time ever.  Then he heard a lone jet engine....

Read the story here: http://www2.gcsaa.org/gcm/2001/nov01/11sept11.html

[Lester George]

I was already on the 9th fairway at the newly opened Kinloch Golf Club.  My playing partner that day was Ron Whitten of Golf Digest.  I had known Ron for a good 8 or 9 years by then but this was the first round of golf we had ever played together.  As we approach our second shots on 9, two members of the Kinloch staff came out and told us what was happening.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  The first tower had just fallen.  We went inside the teaching facility to watch what was happening.  

Being a US Army Reserve LTC at the time (working with the 80th INF Div and the 82 Airbourne Div) I knew I was getting ready to get an alert status call.  As it turns out and I would be in uniform that night.  All airlines were grounded and Ron could not get home.  After watching for about an hour, we decided to go finish the round since neither of us could go anywhere.  Ron drove his rental car back to Topeka.

I honestly can say I don't remember a single thing about that back nine.  There was not much conversation and I can't recall a single shot either of us hit.  Ron and I have never played another round of golf together even though we have been on courses together for other occassions.  We just can't seem to do it.

With Kinloch Golf Club hosting the US Senior Chamionship starting tomorrow Ron and I had planned a reunion on Sunday for an article he was thinking of writing.  As it turns out, neither of us can be there Sunday.  Probably better.  

Lester

[Phil McDade]

I don't have a golf story, as I was volunteering that day at my son's school.

But I do have a sports story, that I always think about, when the anniversary of that awful day comes around.

In college, many moons ago, I was part of a remarkable group of young men -- an intramural basketball team. Our starting line-up consisted of my good buddie Paul, who was our 5'8" point guard, another 5'8" shooting guard, myself (a 5'9" 145 lb power forward), and our shooting forward (also 5' 9", but skinnier than me). Our first guy off the bench was my best college buddie, Jonathan, all of 5'6".

Paul, one of those gifted athletes accomplished at any sport he attempted, recognized our deficiencies, and went out and recruited Dave, who had the virture of being 6' 1" but the vice of never really having played much basketball. He couldn't dribble, couldn't really shoot, and we avoided giving him the ball too much for fear that he'd drop it and turn it over. But, he had amazingly nimble feet, arms the length of a 6'5" guy, and turned out to be a natural defender -- a guy who frustrated every single player he defended, because he was much quicker than any big guy he guarded (he guarded ALL the big guys when we played), and found ways to interrupt and bother shots without fouling anyone. And he was in great shape, hustled all over the court, and rebounded like a demon, mainly by getting to balls sooner than the bigger guys he played against.

Our strategy was pretty simple -- run everyone off the court, get as many fast-breaks points as we could, and when those were stymied, shoot from outside (we took a lot of outside shots...) and hope they went in. Oh, and defend all over the court, knowing that Dave would be our backstop (kind of like those old UCLA 2-2-1 presses), having that rare ability to defend two guys at once because of his quickness and hustle.

We got pounded in some games, but we won our share, too, and when the playoffs came around, we began an amazing streak of performances -- everything we shot went in, no one could figure out our hustling and pressing defense, and Dave somehow emerged as this force, a guy opponents started backing away from because he'd gotten so good at defending the hoop. We made it all the way to the title game, matched up against what turned out to be the dominant team in the league, and matched them basket for basket.

With 10 seconds left to play, Paul sank two free throws to put us up by one (to massive cheers; we had the entire crowd on our side). All we needed was one more stop. The opposing team struggled to get the ball upcourt, and with a turnover looming, their big center moved to the top of the key to receive a pass from a harried guard. Panic-stricken, having never touched the ball outside of the lane, he faced further problems because Dave had alertly moved up to cover him, all arms and legs harassing him to the nth degree. The center looked one way, looked another, and just before Paul and I converged on him, turned and threw up a shot at the basket.

It banked off the backboard and went in, just as the buzzer sounded. Game over. We lost.

As we were walking off the court, Paul's girlfriend Gretchen, who was also my writing buddie at the college newspaper, put her arms around each of us and said: "That's alright, guys. You made it really close." Paul and I, probably the two most competitive guys on the team, each nearly slugged her right then and there.

But Dave walked off with a bemused look on his face. Not a sports guy by any means, he just picked up doing something he'd never done much of before -- basketball -- and enjoyed the ride for what it was -- a fun three-month stretch playing games during a harsh Minnesota winter. He defended the shot perfectly, and never got upset at what I still regard as the sloppiest, ugliest, most awful basketball shot I've ever seen go in. "Oh well," he said. "He got lucky."

We all went our separate ways -- Paul's a dentist in North Dakota, Gretchen a college professor in Maine, Jonathan a business advisor in Chicago, me here in Wisconsin. David, to the surprise of many of us, went into the financial sector, and made his way to New York City. He was working on the 101st story of one of the Twin Towers on that day. He's no longer with us.

I suppose there are many ways to remember that horrific day. But I always think of Dave, and that crazy, goofy, remarkable time when we played hoops together, in our youth, the future bright and unending.

[Shane Wright]

delete,

Phil, et al, wonderful stories. 

I'm sorry to hear of the loss of so many loved ones on here.

[Dan Kelly]

Phil --

Great story, beautifully told.

Thanks for taking the time.

Dan

[Lester George]

Great story Phil, WOW!  Well written too.

Lester

[PThomas]

not a golf story, but..

I was walking thru Union Station when i saw a TV that a plane had hit one of the Towers...thinking it was a terrible accident, i continued to go to work when we heard about the 2nd plane and then the Pentagon.....when I panicked:  my wife, who was in DC for a nursing convention, was supposed to be one a White House Tour that morning...

We all went home - my federal building is about 2 blocks from the Sears Tower - and took my kids out of school...I cant remember how long it was til I talked to my wife...her tour was the next one/the first to be cancelled....when word got around what was happening that day, she and the others were literally told to "Run, get out of here!"

since she couldnt fly home, her and her Chicago friends had to try and get a rental car to get home....no luck doing so Tues and Wed, so i told her Wed nite, if you cant get a car by tomorrow Morning, I am going to drive and get you...fortunately they were able to get a car

still hard to believe the events of that day really occurred....my prayers to all those who lost loved ones

[Jim Franklin]

I was supposed to go on my first trip to Ireland Sept 18. Eight of the 12 going worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and were killed 9/11. Needless to say, we didn't go. I remember calling my one friend and not getting through and then calling another that worked on LI and asked him which tower the guys were in. He said the one that was hit and my heart sunk. Terrible day.

[David Whitmer]

I was working as a club pro at a club in Cincinnati. That was a Tuesday morning, and the 18-hole ladies' league had teed off around 8:45. We watched it all unfold from the television in the pro shop, and about 11:00 the then-owner of the club (the club is now member-owned) called and told me to get everyone off the golf course, as he wanted to close for the day.

I had to go around and tell the ladies that planes had hit the World Trade Center towers and The Pentagon, and a plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. I had to tell them the towers had fallen, thousands were dead, and they needed to come off the golf course. I'll never forget their reactions, as prior to my telling them they knew nothing of what had been unfolding.

The worst reaction came from a lady who immediately started screaming that her son lived downtown and worked at the World Trade Center. She got in my golf cart and we made about a 3-minute cart ride to the clubhouse, where she of course wanted to get to a phone (she had no cell phone on her, nor did I). Being with a mother who had just heard that her son may or may not have been killed ranks as one of the worst times in my life, and I was some 800 miles away from Ground Zero. Of all the memories I have from that day, those three minutes stand out to me.     

[Dan Kelly]

Bump.

There's some stuff here that ought to be read -- and I'm not talking about my own, minuscule contributions.

[Pat Burke]

I was nearing the end of my playing days.  Injuries, migraines and lack of money (and desire) were
pushing me in to retirement.  I played in a great pro-am event thanks to a good friend, and was introduced to Phil Marber.
Phil ran the equities division at Cantor Fitzgerald.  We had a great day, which led to some further conversations (again, thanks to my friend),
and we agreed to a personal services/endorsement deal.  My agent and the legal guys at Cantor, worked out the deal.
I was supposed to fly to Portland on 9-11 for a Buy.com tournament.  I was still recovering from my wrist injury, and decided to stay home an extra day, because I couldn't practice anyway.
As the horror unfolded on my tv screen, I was called by my agent.  He was glad I was not flying, but asked if I was watching Foxnews.  When I turned it on, there was a man from Cantor Fitzgerald talking on the phone, and he couldn't get out.
It hadn't even dawned on me that this was happening to Cantor until then.  I had only signed my contract the week before.
Shortly after the towers fell, We had a knock on the door.  It was Airborne Express with my signed and finalized contracts.
Address: 1 World Trade Center/    I showed my wife the envelope, and just sat and cried.
I was able to get through to my friend's office on Wall Street (who introduced me to Cantor), and learned that Mr Marber and my friend were not in the Towers that day, they were playing in a charity event.  All but 2 (I believe) of the equity employees at Cantor perished that day.
Phil Marber has been instrumental in the rebuild of Cantor Fitzgerald.  I have no idea how he has done it

[Kyle Henderson]

I took up the game of golf the same week of the attacks on 9/11/01.

[Dan Kelly]

Re-bump.

[Howard Riefs]

Thanks to Jud for starting this thread and to those who have shared their personal stories.

[Ian Andrew]

The town of Gander, Newfoundland has an International length runway and took in most of the remaining flights coming from Europe. The people on the flights found themselves completly stranded. Within hours the community simply showed up and began to collect the passangers and take to stay in their homes.