As a Charter Member of The Shivas Irons Society, I am proud to announce that yet another member has won the coveted prize of "Golf Nut of the Year."
From
www.shivas.orgLIVINGSTON, MT - Steve Smith was named 2004 Golf Nut of the Year today by the Golf Nut Society.
This is the fourth time, and the third out of the last five years, a member of the Shivas Irons Society has earned this coveted title.
Smith, a Silicon Valley business executive and resident of Palo Alto, California, became the 19th golfer to earn the prestigious title. He had a solid entrance exam score of 13,541 points and 36,933 bonus points, placing him 9th among the Golf Nut Society’s all-time leading scorers with a total of 50,474 points.
Golf Nut Society points are awarded by Head Nut Ron Garland based on his own seemingly subjective (but not capricious) system of evaluating the actions and activities of the membership.
Smith, 56-years old, carries a 1.3 USGA Index and has been happily married to his long-suffering wife, Paula, for 34 years. They have two children: Kyle, 27, and Kendall, 23, and a dog named Seamus MacDuff.
In winning the title, Smith demonstrated the humility that seems to be the hallmark of all Golf Nut Society greats. When informed of his victory, he exclaimed, "This is horrible. My modest nuttiness could ruin you. I am nothing compared to your other winners. This is going to be a real problem at home if Paula finds out."
Considering that on his 34th wedding anniversary, after playing 36 holes of golf with his buddies, Paula asked him for the 34th consecutive year, "Don’t you think you are obsessed?" it is a good bet that she will not be surprised at all by the honor.
Here are some of Steve Smith’s more impressive feats:
First played golf at age 10, and has played over 3,000 rounds and practiced over 5,000 hours, hitting over 1,250,000 shots in his 47 years as a golf nut. 2,750 Points
The first U.S. Open he attended was in 1964 at Olympic Club, where in the second round he watched Ben Hogan hit all 18 greens in regulation inside 15 feet and shoot one over par. In the fourth round he witnessed firsthand Arnie’s famous back nine collapse. 1,918 Points
He has watched 70 of the last 80 majors on television. 780 Points
Impersonated Howard Twitty at the ’82 U.S. Open and rode in courtesy cars to and from the venue during tournament week. 582 Points
Was at the 17th hole at Pebble Beach in the last round of the ’82 Open when Tom Watson chipped in for his historic birdie. 582 Points
Was at the 7th hole in the final round of the ’92 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach when Tom Kite chipped in for a birdie on his way to victory. 708 Points
Has played in the U.S. Junior, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, and U.S. Senior amateur during his golf career, something he calls his USGA Lifetime Amateur Slam. 2,000 Point
First played Pebble Beach in 1964. The green fee was $8.00 108 Points
Played 18-holes at Spyglass Hill in winds so strong that after the round all of the roads on the peninsula were blocked by fallen trees on his drive home. 518 Points
Organized the World’s Greatest Nighttime Par Three Tournament, played at undisclosed locations around Pebble Beach (without permission). The participants drive from course to course in the middle of the night and play selected par three holes, record their scores, and return to "tournament headquarters" for more beer and merriment. 2,103 Points
Has kept his golf stats – including fairways hit, greens in regulation, chips, putts, sand shots, etc. – on his computer for every hole of every round he has played since 1993. 1,993 Points
Belongs to four clubs (six courses) but still paid the initiation fee for his son to join another club that had three courses just so he could play as his guest. 700 Points
Dropped everything – including a few thousand bucks – and flew to Scotland for nine days to play in the Dunhill Links Championship with the world’s top professionals. Taped all 16 hours of the coverage on The Golf Channel while away and began watching the taped coverage immediately upon his return home. 2,839 Points
Installed a 1,000 square foot synthetic putting green in the backyard of his vacation home and then spent over 80 hours putting on it in 2002 alone. 1,080 Points
In a moment of insanity in front of 40 friends, after a round of golf, he launched a 3-wood shot at an annoying marching band in the backyard of a fairway residence a couple of fairways away and the shot landed right in the tuba! 315 Points
Hired a sports psychologist/hypnotist in an ill-fated attempt to cure the yips. The first session went for four hours but the yips didn’t go away. 400 Points
"Steve is living proof that even successful business executives can fall victim to the disease," quipped Ron Garland, Founder & Head Nut. "He’s like so many of us who play this game, he nuts, but he’s normal. Which is better than being abnormally nuts."
Which reminds us of something his lovely wife, Paula said recently: "The Head Nut is an enabler to a bunch of sickos. He is actually every man’s dream; someone you can talk to that only wants to hear about your golf. Wow, better than a shrink…and cheaper."
For a complete listing of Steve Smith’s Nut points total, go to the official web site of the Golf Nut Society:
www.golfnuts.com