9/11 and Golf- Your Personal Stories

[Tim Martin]

Although not a recollection from 9/11 I played in a Red,White and Blue tournament(pick 6 from each tee) today where the flags were replaced with U.S. flags and there were groups of Boy Scouts in uniform on selected holes tending the pins. A really nice touch.

[Tom Walsh]

Was at Bellerive CC for the tournament and followed Tiger and Calc early in the morning for their practice round. Went with my son who was 9 at the time. We both played hooky from school.

Big screen tv's in the hospitality tents chronicled the attack and its immediate aftermath. Many pros simply walked in as I recall. To say the morning was eerie is an understatement. A beautiful day, at a beautiful place, punctuated by the bizarre juxtaposition of jets crashing into buildings, all watched on tv in a tent on a golf course. I'm not sure what my son thought of the whole thing. I don't think we ever talked about it in depth since. More's the pity.

My young son is now a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton. Tempus fugit.

[Tom Walsh]

Didn't forget exactly. I think about it often, but Godspeed to those men and women who serve overseas and blessings to the family and friends who lost so much on that day.

[Evan Fleisher]

Phil,

Thanks for sharing your heartfelt story.

[Tim Book]

I was on a buddies trip on the Trent Jones trail during 9/11.  We were on the Links course at Grand National.  We received a phone message from our buddies parents stating that "your brother is ok", he lived in Manhattan.  Eventually once we connected with our families we went in to the clubhouse and watched the tv.   I just remember how eerie it was to be on the course the next day when a military jet would fly overhead.  Your initial thought was that another event was taking place.

[Howard Riefs]

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.

I highly recommend the related book about Gander & 9/11: "The Day the World Came to Town"

http://www.amazon.com/DAY-WORLD-CAME-TOWN-Newfoundland/dp/0060513608/ref=cm_lmf_tit_6

[Howard Riefs]

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.  

On GolfDigest.com, Ron wrote about the round at Kinloch with Lester on 9/11 and provided additional praise for Ballyhack.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2011/09/golf-on-91101-the-round-i-wont.html

[Doug Wright]

On 9/11 the first round of the Trans-Mississippi tournament was just beginning at my club, Denver Country Club. John Elway was in one of the first groups off and was on the third green when the tournament was called off. jack Nicklaus was scheduled to speak at a dinner that evening. Of course that didn't happen. The Trans-Miss was held at our club last year, and a lot of players there also were there on 9/11 so a lot of remembrances.   

[Forrest Richardson]

I was scheduled to speak at a golf development conference at Pinehurst in mid-September of 2011. We all thought it would be cancelled, but amazingly they decided to press on. I went ahead and left, flying Phoenix-Newark-Raleigh on US Airways. I believe it was the 17th. As we were making our descent into Newark — with about 12 total passengers on an Airbus 319 — we flew with perfect view along Manhattan. The towers were still smoldering. That is an image I will never forget...being in a plane, seeing ground zero still emitting smoke the week after.

The second image I have from that golf trip was arriving at Avis to find thousands of cars parked everywhere and a huge plastic garbage can full to the rim with car keys. The attendant was overwhelmed, explaining that people who could not get flights the week prior had driven their rentals back to Raleigh and simply left them. There were literally cars everywhere. The keys had been pulled and tossed into the trash can so no one would steal the cars. One by one the workers were trying to match them up, but it was an amazing puzzle because you had to find the right keys and car otherwise you could not move any of them!

Little did any of us know that travel would change forever.

[Howard Riefs]

A bump in honor of tomorrow. 

Will also share this touching article from Matt Ginella about 9/11 that features Bayonne, Eric Bergstol, Davis Sezna and his son Deeg.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-courses/blogs/wheres-matty-g/2008/09/911-remembering-a-forgettable.html

[Jud_T]

Why does Ian Andrew appear as a guest?!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Other than being riveted to the TV screen I remember getting calls from friends wives looking to find their husbands who were playing golf that day, who had children who worked in the Twin Towers.

I also had a number of  friends and clients with offices in the Twin Towers and was hoping that for one reason or another that they were all late for work or playing golf that day.

[Matthew Essig]

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.

In Seattle, planes landing at Boeing Field fly right by downtown, and you can only imagine what could happen, again:

[Jeff Shelman]

I was still in journalism on that day. I had a morning meeting for the journalism school alumni board at the University of Minnesota early that morning. I still remember people crowding around TV screens.

I went immediately into the office and, like Dan across town, helped put out an Extra edition.

Late in the afternoon, I was fried and went to the golf course. I thought a friend of mine was in the WTC (he wasn't) and wanted to clear my head. My club at the time was/is close to the MSP airport and you can see and hear planes take off.

I still remember how weird it was to not hear any airplanes there. I don't remember anything else other than being happy to clear my head, be outside and get away from the TV coverage from a few hours.

Golf is frequently a refuge for me and a break from reality. It very much was that on that day.

[Anthony Butler]

My wife was booked on American Airlines Flight 175 from Boston that morning... she was traveling to Los Angeles to shoot a TV commercial for Volkswagen.

She was home from work that day with a cold... when they announced the Flight number of the second plane, she came out of the bedroom holding her ticket...  Some shooting location issues had came up the previous Friday and the commercial was delayed two days...  the other 7 people at the agency also holding tickets on AA 175 considered themselves to be the only lucky people in the world that day until they realized their LA location producer Bill Weems had flown out to LA as originally scheduled to take care of some personal business....

He was a well known and well-liked guy in advertising and film production circles in Boston. If you ever see the documentary Fahrenheit 911 his name is listed in the credits... the film is dedicated to his memory.

P.S. Just noted that a number of Boston agencies have posted tributes to him on their Facebook pages today. And the weather today is eerily the same as it was in 2001... a perfect late summer day..

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

I took this from the 2nd tee of Inwood.  We were playing the Metropolitan PGA Championship and had the misfortune to witness the mass murder from a distance.

[David Davis]

Great thread and good stories guys.

Mine also pales in comparison. In 2001 I had not started golfing yet and was still in my tennis days but already living for many years in Europe. I went to NYC for the US Open at Flushing Meadows had the time of my life running around with a coaches pass (without the worries of being a coach), flew out of JFK on the 9th and was admiring the towers that weekend from close by. Of course this doesn't compare to living their and losing loved ones and experiencing it first hand just the fact that I was lucky enough to get out before and get back to my family was amazing (if only to me). Our entire office watched here in Amsterdam on CNN, one colleague from New York and one from New Jersey and both had dear friends in the buildings that perished. In some ways it was a hard time to live overseas as an American and in others I was grateful for where I've found myself, watching from a safe distance so to say.

I'd imagine for those of us not directly involved the terror of the images that kept being replayed made focusing and work extremely tough. I only wanted to be with my family. I can't ever begin to imagine what those of you who lost loved ones and colleagues or friends went and have gone through since. Godspeed to all of you and your friends and families directly affected by this day.

[Mike Sweeney]

Woke up and 85th and York on 9/11/01 (my wife's birthday), now waking up these days at 91st and Third with the same wife and two boys.

I did not read the entire Bethpage parking lot thread, and I get it, but let's look at the other side. There is a chance, not so small as Bethpage is the home course of NYC police and fireman, that the "obnoxious" parking guy is also a guy that maybe pulls you out of the Twin Towers on 9/11. A little attitude works both ways. Don't bug me about my parking spot, and if you need help on the 99th floor of a burning building, give me a call.

From Ambassador Mo of Bosnia:

http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/blog_post/911-from-united-nations-perspective-bleeding-blue-from-un-archives/56126

[Scott Sander]

(Sorry.  On second read, my self-absorbed prattle was too inconsequential to be included among the stories of true loss shared here...)

[Tom ORourke]

I was a New Yorker for much of my life. My father was the first Chief of the New York Transit Police from 1953 to 1966, which was the 3rd largest police force in the country when he retired. He passed away in 1999, and I was glad that he did not see what was done to his city. I attended Iona Grammar school in New Rochelle, one year behind Bill Harmon. The first time I watched the Westchester tournament after 9/11 I saw a piece that showed a plaque in the club house rembering the members who had died. 5 of them were at Iona with me, and 2 of them were brothers of classmates of mine. That made it even more personal.

[Anthony Butler]

Can't delete this post.. original post modified above..

[cary lichtenstein]

My wife and I were in Chicago, in a rental car, listening to an all news station when plane #1 hit. When plane #2 hit, we looked at each other and said "terrorism". As we pulled up to drop off the luggage, the announcer stated the airports were shutting down nationwide, the United terminal switched everything to "delayed".

We went back to our hotel and stayed there for 3 days, then took our rental car and drove it all the way to our home in Florida.

[Rick Shefchik]

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.

Missed this the first time.

+1

[Mike Sweeney]

Had a fundraiser/party for our surf buddies from California tonight at the Paul Colliton studio on 27th Street. Here we go:

[Mike Sweeney]

One more of the Surfers Healing dudes @ 9/11:



http://www.surfershealing.org