I first met Ken Venturi right after he won the 1964 Open.
He came to my home course to play an exhibition match against my dad for a charity.
He also gave a clinic prior to the round.
He was a very down to earth individual, a regular "guy's guy".
There were several things I remember about him.
One was his forearms. They were very powerful and no doubt a great asset in his ball striking.
The other was his dress.
Grey slacks, white shirt, white cap. I think he emulated Hogan and Nelson in many ways.
His demeanor was exceptional, he was friendly and open to everyone.
We spent several hours together after the round talking about everything under the sun.
Years later he wrote a book which I would recommend to everyone.
I'll look into my collection for the name, but, it was a fascinating story about his early life.
Years after 1964 I would run into him at various golf courses.
At Jupiter Hills one year, he spent an hour with me and showed me how to hit a shot from off the green from everything from a 2-iron to a putter, keeping the basic stroke the same, just modifying the power that went into the stroke and the run you wanted.
I think his Carpel Tunnel might have also been associated Reynaud's Phenomenon.
On a few occassions we discussed his "golf" interests, the Senior Tour, playing, practicing and the Masters he almost won.
Years later, in the library at USGA headquarters, I was fortunate enough to be alone with Byron Nelson, who was traditionallly paired with the third round leader of the Masters. Instead, because Nelson was Venturi's mentor, the Masters changed the traditional pairing and had him play with Snead. I think he hit 15 greens, but, lost the tournament with a final round 80. I asked Byron if he thought Venturi would have won had they been paired together. He said "absolutely." He said that he pleaded with Cliff Roberts and others NOT to change the pairing, but, to no avail. Venturi, to his credit, never blamed his loss on the change in pairing.