Part Two of Three
In case you missed last week, here’s the world’s fastest recap; Bartow’s Herb Dixon, at 101 years young, is one of my new hero’s. Universally admired in the golf community, and still a thirteen handicap, Mr. Dixon hits the ball straight as an arrow, gets frustrated if he doesn’t play up to his standards and revels any opportunity to compete.
So, we’re competing.
More specifically, I’m competing with my friend Brandon Eady, a 27 handicap, against Dixon and an equally competitive player 92 years his junior – a third-grader named Jackson. Last week, we covered the first 3 holes of our 9-hole match at Bartow Golf Course. Today, we begin on hole 4, with our match all square.
HOLE 4
Par-4. Bartow Golf Course. Format: Fourball
After losing hole 3 to Team Dixon’s birdie, I give Brandon a vigorous pep-talk on the tee box.
“You see those woods to the left, partner? Don’t hit it there.”
To his credit, Brandon doesn’t – he hits his tee shot so far right it lands in the #2 fairway and receives some well-deserved trash talk from our 9-year-old foe.
“I thought we already played that hole?” says Jackson.
Both Jackson and Mr. Dixon hit good drives in the fairway (on the correct hole) and I hit my drive up the right side of the fairway, but runs out too far. I’ll have tree trouble getting to the green in regulation.
I ask Dixon, “You had 63 professional wins, which is amazing. What is the most memorable?”
Dixon smiles. “1951. I was playing the United Golf Association Tour. I had to pick fruit to get the money to play. I didn’t come up with money. My clothes were shabby, but I shot 69 the first day. Charlie Sifford said… you know Charlie Sifford?”
Sifford, who is widely credited with breaking the race barrier in golf, is member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, the first black player to earn a PGA Tour card, winning multiple times.
Both Jackson and Mr. Dixon hit solid approaches, but don’t have the distance to reach the green. After my best shot of the day, a low runner underneath the trees, I’ll have 18 feet for birdie.
Mr. Dixon continues his story.
“Well, Sifford didn’t know me. He looks at me and says, ‘who is this Tramp?’ He called me a Tramp,” laughs Dixon. “I said, well ok. Ok. The next round I shot 69 and I got him. I won the tournament.”
Mr. Dixon draws an awful lie in the lip of a bunker and eventually reaches the green in 4. But Jackson hits a chip to 15 feet and will have a chance for a par. Because of my handicap, I’m giving up a stroke to my older and younger opponents on most holes for our match, putting pressure on me to make the birdie. I don’t. In fact, I don’t even come remotely close, and am lucky to leave with a par. Jackson two putts for a 5, halving the hole.
All square through 4.
HOLE 5
Par 4. Format: Modified Alternate Shot
For this alternate shot format, both balls will be played through the hole. For clarity; both players hit a tee shot, then play from their teammates drive, alternating until they hole each putt, taking the better of the two scores.
On the tee, Brandon nearly whiffs. I groan as loud as I possibly can, the type of thing you do to your friend who leaves you 297 out on a 370-yard hole.
Fortunately, I smash my best drive of the day, leaving Brandon a 55-yard shot into the green.
Herb and Jackson hit their drives within a few feet of each other, but their distance disadvantage gets the best of them, and they come up slightly short of the green with their 2nd shots.
Meanwhile, Bartow Head Pro Chris Banks has joined us to offer his take on Dixon.
“It really is unbelievable what he’s doing at 101,” says Banks. “Most people at 101 can’t walk, let alone play golf. And he’s regularly playing 18 holes, sometimes more.”
This must have inspired my partner, because Brandon hits one of the best shots of his life, leaving me ten feet for birdie. Again I miss, leaving the door open for team Dixon, and Banks continues his story.
“Because I grew up here playing with (Dixon), it’s funny -- people ask me all the time, ‘I bet Herb was unbelievable when you were young, and he was younger.’ But my answer is always the same; ‘of course he was. But, I’m almost 50. When I was a kid playing against him he was already 65! When I got to be 18, and shooting under par regularly out here, he was still shooting 65’s when he was 70 years old.”
From the upslope of the green, Jackson hits a nice chip to 7 feet, and Mr. Dixon rolls in the putt.
All square through 5.
HOLE 6
Par 5. Format: Scramble
On the easiest driving hole on the property, we quickly squander our length advantage, hitting two poor drives, and making this reachable par-5 much more difficult than it should have been.
Unsurprisingly, Team Dixon gets two balls in the fairway, and advances their second shot inside 150 yards for their approach.
I ask Dixon that in light of the past, what is it that motivates him today?
“I’ve been playing golf for 86 years. I came up the hard way. I did any kind of work you can do to make an honest living. I worked in the mine, picked fruit…you name it. I always like to pick fruit, because the harder you work, the more you earn. And back when I started, $.50 cents would buy you your groceries. Now, it won’t buy you a hamburger,” laughs Dixon. “Today, I still enjoy this life of golf.”
Team Helm/Eady has a short chip for eagle after a better approach than our drives, giving us an advantage after Team Dixon misses the green.
After Brandon and I leave about 10 feet for our birdie, Team Dixon struggles for the first time since the opening hole. Brandon hits the 10-foot putt harder than his drive on hole 5, but it slams into the pin at Mach5 and drops in for a birdie.
Team Helm/Eady 1 up through 6
Stay tuned for the final installment with Mr. Dixon next week, along with video footage of the match.
The Link LonkDecember 23, 2020 at 01:47AM
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Joel Helm: A quick nine with Herb Dixon - The Ledger
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