Steve Cohen dies. R.I.P.

[Colin Macqueen]

Gentlemen,


I have just realised that Steve Cohen has died.  I was delighted that he used Golf In The Kingdom and Shivas as a vehicle to enjoy golf all the more. He was always a sparkling individual from my perspective, wrote me some lovely emails, and the Shivas Irons Society will be the poorer without him.


Pax vobiscum.


Colin

[Steve_ Shaffer]

As an early member of Shivas Irons Society, I attended some events on the east coast when I lived in Philadelphia. One stands out in particular: It was a golf outing at Ridgewood ( Tillinghast)  in NJ. Fred Shoemaker, noted instructor and author of "Extraordinary Golf" conducted a clinic on the range featuring putting with eyes closed and throwing clubs on the range. After golf, I had my first experience with haggis at dinner and, of course, a piper played.
Here's an obit and tribute from Michel Murphy:


Dear Members and Friends of The Shivas Irons Society, It is with great sadness that I am writing to share the news of the passing of our dear friend, Steve Cohen, founder of The Shivas Irons Society. Steve died on August 12th of complications from a head injury he sustained in a fall. He was 76 years old. Those of us fortunate enough to know Steve experienced his great heart and humanity. He was a man blessed with authenticity, intelligence, kindness and creative imagination, gifts he shared freely with all of us. These qualities of being infused every part of Steve's life, from his relationships with his wife, Barbara, and son, Michael, to those with many hundreds of Society members he valued as friends. The Shivas Irons Society, which Steve created nearly 25 years ago, enriches our lives by transforming the compelling ideas of a work of fiction into an engaging reality we all have the opportunity to experience on and off the golf course. This was a core belief of Steve's -- that the game of golf can be profoundly educational if we use the experience to gather insight into our own being by coaxing the transcendent from the ordinary. His methods to help us appreciate the human potential of the game ranged from the mysterious to the mystical to the outrageous. But he always touched a place of lightness, joy and meaning that many of us had never experienced in golf. In doing so, he gathered an uncommon community of like-minded golfers that fostered many enduring friendships. Steve will be greatly missed, and his passing leaves a tremendous void. I last spoke to Steve on August 7th. A group of us at a Society-sponsored event at Ballyneal, in Colorado, called to express our love and gratitude for him as a person, as a visionary, and for his years of work on our behalf. We were having the very kind of golf experience he had spent much of his life fostering: accessing and nurturing the deeper layers of our being through the game. An experience that Steve would have identified as True Gravity. A memorial service will be held at a later time. In the meantime, if you would like to share personal memories of Steve or offer condolences to his wife, Barbara, and son, Michael, please send them via the Society at: Barbara Cohenc/o The Shivas Irons SocietyPO Box 222339Carmel, CA. 93923 You may also email Barbara at barbara@shivas.org Below is a tribute to Steve written by Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and a long-time friend of Steve's. Steve, our lives are much richer for knowing you. You have contributed deep meaning and wonderful memories to each and every one of us. With sincere gratitude,Ben Kline
Steve Cohen The Shivas Irons Society that Steve founded will leave a magic place forevermore in the hearts of its members and countless others it touched.  The friendships it fostered; the fun and new insights it produced; the revisioning of sport it celebrated came straight from Steve.  Its influence among men and women around the world reflects his inimitable, ever-surprising mind and soul. Writing The Kingdom of Shivas Irons I often thought about him.  He obviously belonged in the story I would tell, but how to describe him?  Those dark, soulful eyes, flickering with both sadness and mischievous fun.  The surprising power and grace in what did not seem to be an athletic body. That joining of street smarts and aesthetic sensibility.  He was unique.  He was complex. There are countless sport fellowships in the world today, but none quite like the Shivas Irons Society.  Steve brought a sophisticated but highly accessible approach to the psychology and rituals that made his Society unique.  He was a warm-hearted, insightful counselor before his golf adventures began and the attributes that served his work then contributed to the joys and comradeship the Society has produced.  He also harbored a high aesthetic, which has always been evident in the elegance and beauty he demanded for his program locations, rituals, publications, and rhetoric. But again, how would I describe him while writing my book?  There was an elusive qualtity about him, something beyond the reach of metaphor.  At times he reminded me of Bilbo Baggins, a patriarchal Hobbit who might at any moment morph--during a summoning of the occult while playing golf, for example, or in the midst of a revel on some Scottish links—into Gandalph, the greatest of wizards. Only in a world that he gave birth to could you play a golf match in Brora, in the far Scottish wilds, against a team led by Peter Thompson.  Or in an altered state hit luminous balls at night on the edge of the law at America’s most guarded courses.  Or gather with comrades in the Himalayas to play a team from the Indian army!  Because of him, I came close to God one day in Dornoch, over a single malt, after a round in fierce wind that had worn my defenses thin.  It was an experience I will never forget.  If you don’t glimpse heaven during a moment like that you might not get there when you die. We cannot quantify the hints of resurrection that Steve has summoned among the countless men and women he touched.  We played with Gandalph for a while.  And he’s not gone altogether.  We thank you and we love you, Steve, wherever you are.