Golf Knack at an Early Age

This story was excerpted from Guts in the Clutch. See below)

By

Richard J. Noyes

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, age 22, won the 2011 U. S. Open with a -16, a record. Rory’s dad, Gerry, who was a scratch golfer, realized that by the time his son was four there was no more to teach him. It was all there, including the liquid swing, all Rory had to do was practice.

98 YEARS EARLIER   Before 1913, golf was not a game for working-class stiffs. That all changed when 20-year-old Francis Ouimet won the Massachusetts Amateur title and entered the U.S. Open at The Country Club. That’s it, no other name, just The Country Club. It’s like The Crown to a British subject; no further explanation is needed.

Ouimet lived near and had caddied at The Country Club, and now he was back inside the toney Brookline, Massachusetts landmark, but this time as a contestant. Most everyone in the golf world expected either Harry Vardon or Ted Ray, two standout British pro golfers, to win the 1913 U.S. Open. Francis Ouimet was barely noticed, never mind being considered a serious contender.

But Ouimet knew the course, played it impressively now that he had the chance, and stayed in contention into the final round. The sports world was electrified when they learned that Ouimet sank a long birdie putt on the 17^th hole to tie and force a three-way playoff with Vardon and Ray.

The following day, all three men went out in 38, and Ouimet took the lead when both Vardon and Ray three-putted the par-3 10^th. By the time they reached the par-4 17th Ray had given up the fight, but Vardon was only one behind when he caught a bunker with his drive and took bogey. Ouimet then drilled a 15-foot birdie putt to put the championship on ice and endear himself to the world, with a little bit of help from his ten-year-old caddie Eddie Lowery, a pint-sized neighborhood kid who added a touch of whimsy to the photographs.⁶

FRANCIS OUIMET’S legendary upset win made him a national hero, diminished the perception that golf was a game only for the privileged, and initiated it as a national pastime for the rest of us. In 1913 it is estimated that only 350,000 Americans played golf. Ten years later, fueled by Ouimet’s heroics, that number was up to 2,000,000. So it is that Ouimet is rightfully called the Father of Amateur Golf.⁷

It must be mentioned, however, that the great Bobby Jones was the finest amateur golfer in the history of the game. Many experts would argue that he was the best golfer ever. (Jones’s wrists were so strong that he could grasp three pool cues at the tips between the fingers of one hand and lift the butt ends off the table.)

6 Courtesy of the World Golf Hall of Fame, http:www.wgv.com/hof/members/fouimet.html, available as of 9/24/05

7 WGHOF, Ouimet

Richard J. Noyes, former Associate Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a consultant to public and private sector organizations.

Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy (one of the men is a professional pitcher who suffers sudden, unexplained, career-threatening wildness) and the unforgettable women in their lives.  http://larcenyoflove.com/ 

“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.”  –Kevin Marcus     

Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN.   http://gutsintheclutch.com/            

“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.

The Knack of Being Bogey

Among sterling contenders such as Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Vivien Leigh, Alec Guiness, Marlon Brando and many more, the majority of polls nominate Humphrey Bogart as the foremost actor in the history of movies. He was slender, of average height and his face was interesting but not handsome.

   Bogey’s New York-accented baritone voice with a slight lisp was masculine, distinctive and especially suited to playing tough guys. Men respected Bogart and wanted to be like him, and women found him irresistible. The ethereally beautiful Ingrid Bergman being in love with Bogey as Rick in Casablanca was totally believable.

   And he delivered great lines from that film with natural conviction: “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” And, “We’ll always have Paris.” (It’s impossible to imagine anyone else in the role of Rick in Casablanca, but George Raft turned down the role and Ronald Reagan was an early choice.)  

   One director said that when Humphrey Bogart was on the screen you didn’t see anyone else. How did he do it? Why does the camera love one person but not another? What was Bogey’s secret? Well, that’s like describing presence, it’s either there or it’s not. 

   Citing five more of his many great films, Bogart was unforgettable as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest; Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon (the part that made him a star); Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre; Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep; and Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. (John Huston directed three of these masterpieces. Can you name them?) 

   Bogey’s acting was unforced and authentic, and he maintained a cool detachment while coming across as likable. Paraphrasing the words of one song, he looked like a seeker of wisdom, justice and truth. There was, is, and unlikely will be, any actor remotely like Humphrey Bogart; and he is a national treasure.

Richard J. Noyes, former Associate Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a consultant to public and private sector organizations. (more)

Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy and the unforgettable women in their lives.  http://larcenyoflove.com/              

“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.”  –Kevin Marcus, Real Estate Vice President

Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN.   http://gutsintheclutch.com/

“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.

Political Knack: Jimmy Walker

                                              POLITICAL KNACK: JIMMY WALKER

By

Richard J. Noyes

Some people who are not naturally glib attempt to acquire the skill of “deceiving without offending” through strenuous means. The Irish, for example, will hang you upside down over a parapet to help you reach and kiss the Blarney Stone located near Cork at Blarney Castle. The myth being that the gift of gab is bestowed on anyone who manages the kiss. If successful you may be able to spin a more enchanting yarn, but in the end you’ll likely be accused of being “full of the old Blarney.”

Speaking of blarney, Jimmy Walker, also known as “Beau James” because he dressed impeccably like a dandy, was mayor of New York City from 1926 until 1932 when he resigned and fled to Paris under threat of prosecution.

The dapper Walker didn’t fancy the grind of office; but he loved the nightlife, racetracks and the ladies. He even wrote a hit song: “Will You Love Me in December as You Do In May.”

The gallivanting mayor was a deft off-the-cuff speaker who could dismiss rivals and other critics with a quip. During a meeting with Governor of New York and future president Franklin D. Roosevelt, FDR asked the Mayor, “Mr. Walker, why do the Irish always answer a question with a question?”

Jimmy replied, “Do they now?”

Richard J. Noyes, former Associate Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a consultant to public and private sector organizations.

Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy and the unforgettable women in their lives.  http://larcenyoflove.com/       

“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.”  –Kevin Marcus

Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN.   http://gutsintheclutch.com/

“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.

A Stage and a Spotlight

A STAGE AND A SPOTLIGHT

By

Richard J. Noyes

As many experts have pointed out, musical aptitude is less about the ability to play a beautiful melody and more about the innate capacity to hit the right note at the right time with the proper emphasis, how long to hold that note and how to blend multiple notes into a sublime performance. Phrasing is a good, general term to describe this capability. Feeling and timing are also useful adjectives in describing musical talent. Phrasing, feeling and timing were embodied in the talents of Frank Sinatra, one of history’s celebrated rhythmic instrumentalists.

Sinatra was also a thorough artist who could read music. In one recording session with a full orchestra, one of the horns hit a wrong note. Sinatra called for a pause and asked the offending member in a gentle way if what he played wasn’t supposed to be a B-flat. The horn player acknowledged his mistake. Sinatra smiled, said in a joking way, “So let’s play the music already,” and they moved on.

According to many experts, most musical instruments are designed to mimic the human voice, and the piano makes the closest approximation. For that instrument, the transcendent classical master Vladimir Horowitz and the legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans closely corresponded Sinatra’s gifts.

All that was written above about Frank Sinatra could also have been said about Judy Garland. “Just give her a stage and a spotlight, and get out of the way,” –Harold Arlen

Some years ago, I tuned the car radio to a classical music station and listened to the last few minutes of an opera. I was immediately struck by the quality of the female singer’s voice. I wasn’t a true opera fan, but had heard enough to know that this performer’s potency was  thrilling and distinctive. After the final aria, the announcer reported that we had just heard Maria Callas as Tosca, in what was perhaps her defining role. I did a little research and learned that Callas was the supreme exponent of bel canto singing and opera’s greatest diva. All I knew when I heard Maria Callas for the first time was that her voice gave me pleasant chills and the need to listen to her sing again. I later learned that Callas had been Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onasiss’s mistress and that he dropped her to marry Jackie Kennedy. I don’t know if the recording I heard came after the breakup, but I do know that Maria Callas, along with Edith Piaf, Billie Holliday and very few others, could sing of lost loves with heartrending fervor.

As described above, knack can also be used effectively during periods of extreme stress, and, given the resolve, a bountiful gift will not be denied. Judy Garland did some of her best vocal work when she was not a well person. The accomplished Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich wrote his Seventh Symphony while under the long and bitter Nazi siege of Leningrad during World War Two.

Playing any instrument well off a score demands a definite capacity, especially when it demands keeping time and tempo with a group. What really requires aptitude is having what it takes to extemporize and riff with an improvisational jazz ensemble. This aptitude is similar to the creation of an abstract painting where the artistry comes from the proper arrangement and relationships of all the elements, including color, shape-size, balance, dimension and more into an intelligent and eye-filling composition.

I watched with admiration a business associate of mine, a talented saxophonist, sit in on several sessions of Jazz at Noon in New York City and blend, impromptu, with master hands like the vibraphonist Lionel Hampton and Freddie Hubbard on the flugelhorn. In one gig, Hubbard, along with his supporting cast, winged thirty minutes of “Teach Me Tonight” without repeating a single improvisation. If that’s not having knack, I don’t know what is.

Richard J. Noyes, former Associate Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a consultant to public and private sector organizations.

Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy and the unforgettable women in their lives.  http://larcenyoflove.com/ 

“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.”  –Kevin Marcus, Real Estate Vice President

Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN.   http://gutsintheclutch.com/

“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.