[Jonathan Cummings]

Someone just told me that last week Paul Harvey finished his radio blurb referencing our own Bradley Klein!  Harvey suggested that everybody go out and read Brad's article in GW about 8 ingredients to preserve classics.

Harvey/Klein = strange bedfellows!

JC

[Sally Livingston]

That is awesome! I never realized Paul Harvey was a golfer, bet he could have had many years of good stories to relate in his own way!

[Jeff_Mingay]

Funny... I was just sending Brad an email specifically to compliment that particular article. It's a good one.

[Mike_Cirba]

And now...you know the REST of the story!  

[mikes1160]

Isn't Paul tucked away in some bungalow up at Desert Mountain, broadcasting right out of his home?

[Pat Jones]

He used to have a house on the first hole at The Phoenician.

Mr. Harvey has a love/hate relationship with golf.  He is (or was) a longtime member at Oak Hill in Chicago and, I'm told, played pretty much daily in the season.  

Then out of the blue in the early '90s, he went off on this extended rant about the evils of golf course pesticides that left a lot of us in the business scratching our heads.  

He was convinced that pesticides were killing wildlife, workers and probably golfers.  His "evidence" for this was that he didn't hear as many birds singing when he played...in the summer...during the middle of the day...in Chicago.  Quite the sound scientific basis for a public attack, eh?

After much consternation, he seemingly backed off the whole thing in the mid-90s (or maybe just Alzheimered it).  It was an odd time capped by a truly bizarre confrontation I had with him in Louisville in 1993 that involved about two-dozen other reporters, a bunch of executives from the Husqvarna power equipment company, NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough and Miss Sweden.  Go figure.

I'm fairly sure he's actually dead and has been replaced by some animatronic droid that randomly regurgitates pieces of his old broadcasts.

Jonesy

[Tommy_Naccarato]

If this indeed happened, someone has got to use their magical powers so we can get a tape of it!

Pat and others, Paul Harvey when he isn't in Chitown, lives just off of the 10th green of the Arizona Biltmore's Adobe Course, that is unless he has moved in the last year and a half. Billy Bell, Forrest Richardson and Paul Harvey........Hows that for the rest of the story!

[Dan Kelly]

Go to www.paulharvey.com.

Click on the link to the Tuesday (7/18) Noon show.

The part about Brad Klein's article is at the 10:35 mark.

(I note that paulharvey.com offers a link to the article -- but the link takes you not to Golfweek, but back to paulharvey.com. Hmmmmm. I want to know ... the rest of the story.)

Good ... day!

[Voytek Wilczak]

It was an odd time capped by a truly bizarre confrontation I had with him in Louisville in 1993 that involved about two-dozen other reporters, a bunch of executives from the Husqvarna power equipment company, NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough and Miss Sweden.  

Another GCA gem...

[RJ_Daley]

You mean Fireball and TEP missed it?!!!

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

Pat,

I'd love the hear the rest of your story about the confrontation in Louisville. Just another day in the life of Mr. Jones. Laugh out loud I'm sure. - Sean

[Steve Curry]

Pat,

Didn't further consideration of his claim about the songbirds suggest that the house cat was the greatest detriment to populations?
 

Steve

[Craig Sweet]

Steve...I believe further study blamed the demise of song birds on a virus, AND loss of critical habitat here in North America and in South/Central America....

[Doug Ralston]

Paul Harvey? .............. LOL

The famed liar! He has been caught several times completely making up 'the rest of the story'. Also changing those stories by conveniently leaving out facts to suit his political agenda!

May he stay hidden away and shut his filthy face!

But sorry, maybe I should tell how I feel about Paul Harvey? Naa-aah.

Doug

PS: Sadly, I actually listened to the man for years before I understood the con. Well, reality intrudes occasionally.

[Pat Jones]

Sean:

The not-so-short version was that I was the PR guy for GCSAA at that point and we'd made about 8 million attempts to convince Harvey to back down -- including having his friend Arnold Palmer speak with him -- all to no avail.

Husqvarna was a sponsor of his show and had asked him to speak at their distributor event at the equipment show in Louisville.  Turns out some Husky dealers also sold chemicals to golf courses and there was a bit of furor inside the company.  Husky's PR guy invited me down to the speech and ensuing press conference to "run interference."  Believe it or not, they were worried about superintendents showing up to protest or picket!  I jumped at the chance to get a few minutes with Harvey.

So, in Louisville, Harvey does his "God and country" speech (which was great by the way), and they trot him and the other celebs (Yarborough, Mark Martin and Miss Sweden -- who was a nice bit of cheesecake, BTW) into the press room.

The very first question from a reporter is, "Mr. Harvey, why do you have such problems with golf courses."  That's all it took to get him to launch into this diatribe which included a reference to superintendents as being "overpaid gardeners who'd do anything to keep their jobs."

At that point, the increasingly nervous prez of Husky says, "Hey Paul, there's a guy here from the GCSAA and maybe he can answer some of your questions."  I stood up, shook his hand and thus began this weird sort of debate.  

Not only were the circumstances surreal (Yarborough and Martin standing there in their NASCAR suits and Miss Sweden with her sash), but it was tense.  Harvey is not only an imposing public figure, he's also extremely wealthy and powerful in his own right.  I was scared sh-tless, but tried to stand my ground.

We went back and forth for about 10 minutes before he finally smiled and said he'd be happy to meet with our group (which of course never happened).  Then he insisted that I take a picture with him to show to his friend Ray Anderson, who happened to be USGA green section chair at the time.  I still have the picture.  I look shell-shocked and he looks like he just stepped out of a display at Madame Tussauds -- completely waxen.

But, the best moment took place after all the shootin' was over.  I went into a corner to compose myself since I was literally shaking.  Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to find Cale Yarborough standing there.  He looks and me kind of quizically and in his quiet Carolina drawl, says: "Just exactly what the f--k was that all about?"

Unforgetable.

Harvey did back down shortly after that.  I doubt the confrontation had anything to do with it.  He probably just lost interest and moved on to tilting at a different windmill.

Those were strange days, indeed.

BTW, just wrote an online column for Golf Course News on how Americans view British Open conditions that a few here may enjoy:

http://www.golfcoursenews.com/news/news.asp?ID=2581

PJ

[Pat Jones]

Steve:

During the height of the attempt to ban Diazinon use on golf courses because of its alleged impact on birds, a buddy of mine who was the public affairs guy for the manufacturer (Ciba, at the time) was quoted in The New York Times as saying:

"Look 50 million birds die every year from flying into windows and you don't see anyone trying to ban windows."

Oops.

Craig:

You are correct, sir.  Deforestation in South America and loss of migratory lands were identified as the big problem.

PJ

[PThomas]

that is surreal Pat

and I'm thinking most of us really don't care about seeing the picture of you and Paul H, but one of Miss Sweden wouldn't be bad...

[Gregg Vincent]

On one of my recent hunts for golf books I came across a very good copy of The Story of American Golf by Herbert Warren Wind. (the 1956 edition).

The book and the cover were in very good shape and the price on the inside flap was $20, so right away I knew I would purchase it.
I then flipped a few more pages and found the following inscription,

"To Paul Harvey,

Now, let's not make those commercials too good. They are, remember, supposed to be part of the show but not so strong as to shunt Nelson and Sarazen and the rest into the role of supporting players.

All good wishes,

Herb Wind"

I assume this is the same Paul Harvey but not sure what show to which he is referring. Possibly one of the old Shell's Wonderful World of Golf shows. Anyone remember Paul Harveys voice on one of them?

[Adam Clayman]

Pat, I enjoyed your article(and PH story) very much, even though I disagree with the article's conclusion.

And, you know what?  That’s good for us.  We provide a complex, creative and beautiful product that meets this demand.  Because of that, our industry has prospered and our profession has boomed.  You know what the average Head Greenkeeper in England earns annually?  Usually less than most second assistants or spray techs over here.

Will the mindset in the U.S. ever change?  Well, tomorrow never knows, but I doubt it.  Don’t look for a revolution any time soon.  And, before you wish that we could get back to the old days, remember that the cultural differences between us and our brethren across the pond are also what drive the economic differences, so maybe we should just let it be.

Allowing the masses to dictate the conditioning standard seems contrary to logic. Even if the long term goal is profit, failure to inspire the golfer, encouraging predictability, is a bad thing. Without the current renaisance, back to core principles, the Golf industry would be one step closer to going the way of the dodo. Of course, IMO.

[Dan Kelly]

But, the best moment took place after all the shootin' was over.  I went into a corner to compose myself since I was literally shaking.  Suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to find Cale Yarborough standing there.  He looks and me kind of quizically and in his quiet Carolina drawl, says: "Just exactly what the f--k was that all about?"

Unforgetable.

Harvey did back down shortly after that.  I doubt the confrontation had anything to do with it.  He probably just lost interest and moved on to tilting at a different windmill.

Those were strange days, indeed.

BTW, just wrote an online column for Golf Course News on how Americans view British Open conditions that a few here may enjoy:

http://www.golfcoursenews.com/news/news.asp?ID=2581

PJ

Pat --

Woke up. Got out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head. Went downstairs and ... well, don't smoke anymore, so I read GCA.com, and came upon this wonderful anecdote (thanks), and then read your Golf Course News piece.

This is really good stuff:

"Like it or not, the vast majority of American golfers equate green with quality when they step on the first tee.  They don’t want nature, they want a Disney-fied version of nature that features perfect turf, impeccable landscaping and hazards that aren’t really hazardous.  They don’t want to play against the course, they want the course to be a playing field to compete against their partners.  You can analyze it to death, but the fact remains that our culture is extremely unlikely to ever take a step backward from the expectation that they should get Augusta National conditions for their $36 green fee."

[ForkaB]

Ditto Dan

I'm glad I search out your comments regularly to find the real gems here amongst the chaff.

And thanks too, Pat, for livening up GCA.com.

Rich

[Dan Kelly]

Thanks, Rich.

To Pat Jones:

[Dan Kelly]

The link on Paul Harvey's site now takes you to the essay.  If posted previously, sorrry.

Redanman --

You misunderstood what I was saying. (My fault.)

The link always took you to the essay. But it didn't take you to a Golfweek URL; it took you, as it still does, to http://www.paulharvey.com/golf.html.

I'd think Golfweek deserves the "hits" -- no?

[Pat Jones]

Re. my piece on GCN's site, thanks to Dan (and about 15 others) for the Beatles/Golf image.  According to a couple of people, Ringo apparently dabbled with the game and Sir Paul sponsored a fund-raising tournament for his land mine charity.  More proof that my fact-checking skills have receded even more dramatically than my hairline.

To Adam's point about mediocrity and the masses dicating taste; it's simply the stark reality of the industry.  Yes, we absolutely need trailblazers who are determined to change things, but blazing trails is a very risky business...particularly when most courses are in a dogfight for their share of a flat market.

Cheers,

PJ

[Adam Clayman]

Pat, it's my contention that modern maintenance practices, perfected here in the great U.S. of A., along with much of the post WWII GCA, has unknowingly created the flat market.

Afterall, for centuries golf has always had increasing numbers of participants, up until this era.

The failure to "hook" golfer's is a result of the GCA/IMM along with an industry-minded protocol.

 Appeasing to a novices definition of fair, may also be at the root of the problem.

Great courses inspire all levels of player.

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