Nine Holes with Lee Trevino

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Elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981, Trevino is truly a memorable character in golf lore. His ability to distill truth into a Trevino-ism is well known. His ball-striking exceptional, his ability to talk in the middle of a swing a little odd, and his PGA and Champions Tour records have cemented him as one of the very best to have stalked the fairways.

 

 

Trevino once said, "I'm down in the top 30. I won six majors, but I wasn't dominant, wasn't long enough for courses like Pebble and Augusta." And while he doesn't give himself much credit, history will make up the difference. He is one of a kind.

 

 

Hole One

Trevino won a total of 29 PGA Tour events, including six majors (U.S. Open twice, British Open twice, and the PGA Championship twice). He went on to win another 29 events on the Champions Tour.

 

 

Hole Two

Trevino claims to have, "won all my majors in the mud." Because of his low ball flight he scored much better when the greens were holding shots. My two British Opens weren't in the mud," said Trevino, "but I could run the ball on."

 

 

Hole Three

Trevino never knew his father and was raised by his mother and grandfather, a gravedigger. He started caddying at eight years old and practiced golf religiously growing up. He joined the Marines at age 17 and served four years before joining the PGA Tour.

 

 

Hole Four

His bread and butter shot was a fade, a shape he saw Hogan use almost exclusively. Nicklaus said that Hogan and Trevino are the two best ball-strikers he has ever seen, and Trevino is known for saying "you can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen."

 

 

Hole Five

The golf simulation Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf debut in 1988 and was "by far the best video golf simulation available" according to the U.S. National Video Game Team.

 

 

Players could pick one of four players: Pretty Amy, Big Jumbo, Super Mex (Trevino himself), or Miracle Chosuke. One American and one Japanese golf course were available for game play with four players sharing two controllers. Though it was known as Fighting Golf there was no fighting involved in the game (unfortunately).

 

 

It is pretty rough compared to Tiger Woods 2007. You'll want to check out Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf screenshots. Makes you long for the good old days of gaming, right? Not!

 

 

Hole Six

Trevino won the 1968 U.S. Open, only a year after joining the PGA Tour. From the time he joined the Tour until 1974 he dominated the competition, winning 5 of his 6 majors, four scoring titles, and most-memorably defeating Jack Nicklaus at the 1971 U.S. Open in an 18-hold playoff.

 

 

Hole Seven

He was struck by lightning during a tournament in 1975 which likely (along with that wide-open stance) contributed to his back problems. While he never regained the form of his first years on Tour he went on to capture another PGA Championship in 1984.

 

 

Hole Eight

He has one of the most recognizable and unique swings in PGA Tour history. He lined up well left of his target and faded the ball in with remarkable accuracy. Some would say that he'd have won many more tournaments had the rough been deeper as he was able to hit a lot of fairways.

 

 

His creativity shaping the ball was second to none.

 

 

Hole Nine

Trevino is famous for some of the best quotes in golf:

 

• "There is no such thing as natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls."
  
• "You can talk to a fade but a hook won't listen."
  
• "The older I get the better I used to be."
  
• "If you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1-iron."
  
• "I still sweat. My guts are still grinding out there. Sometimes I have enough cotton in my mouth to knit a sweater."
  

Photo Credits: © Moby Games, © Golf Legends.