Older Players Making Statement To New Generation

Oakmont, Pa. – Randy Nichols stood on a barren 15th green Wednesday collecting his thoughts.

The 50-year-old competitor, a veteran of 13 U.S. Amateurs, had just gotten beaten by a player one-third his age. When Nichols couldn’t convert a 15-foot putt, 16-year-old Tom Glissmeyer walked off a 5-and-3 winner.

"This is my 13th Amateur and this will be my last one,” said Nichols.

Twenty-one-year-old medalist John Holmes is an example of today's crop of players, who sometimes wear their emotions on their sleeves. Holmes, hitting out of the rough Thursday, lost and snapped his putter in half. (John Mummert/USGA)

It was a tip of the cap toward today’s crop of players, more so than bitter grapes.

"It’s a new breed,” said Nichols. “Golf has evolved so much from the professional level all the way down to the juniors.”

Just off the green, Glissmeyer just shrugged when asked about playing someone who could pass for his grandfather. His body motion was a tossup between naïveté and innocence.

"It caught me a little off guard,” said Glissmeyer of the pairing. “I just know I can’t go into any match intimidated.”

On Wednesday at Oakmont Country Club, the first-round draw featured eight matches with an age differential of at least 15 years. Of those duels, four of them ended with the ‘old’ guys winning. So much for the young-ins taking over the sport.

Which leads to this: which will get you farther this week at Oakmont – raw power or being able to draw on years of experience?

Oakmont does require strong and accurate drives off the tee, which favors the younger player, but truth be told, strategizing on every shot must be executed. That gives the graybeards a legitimate chance.

"This is a golf course you have to think around,” said 50-year-old George Zahringer.

The ‘old’ guys who won first-round matches were Jerry Courville, 44, Steve Slayden, 37, Todd White, 35, Patrick Carter, 35, and Zahringer. All used guile to beat their opponents.

On Thursday, Carter, Courville, White and Zahringer advanced to the third round. Slayden lost by the slimmest of margins, falling to 21-year-old Zach Atkinson, 1 up.

In Thursday's afternoon rounds, Carter, Courville and Zahringer kept the magic alive, making the quarfinal round. White fell to Courville, 4 and 3.

It’s astounding to think that two years ago not a single player over 30 made it to third round of match play. Why is it different this year?

"I really don’t have an answer for that,” said Courville.

Zahringer, the defending U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, disposed of two players who didn’t add up to his age – Alex Hamilton, 20, and 19-year-old Korey Mahoney.   As the oldest Mid-Amateur champion, winning at 49, Zahringer showed little trouble keeping up with the kids.

Take, for instance, the 499-yard par 4 15 th hole, where Zahringer drove his ball 319 yards into the center of the fairway. Mahoney outdrove him by a mere 10 yards.

Courville, making it to match play for the 10th consecutive time, came in with a golfing resume that could spook a ghost. A two-time runner-up at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, Courville won the 1995 Mid-Am and holds the record for most match play victories in the event with 33.

Languid from a sore back caused by musculature spasms, Courville dispatched 20-year-old Shawn Stefani, 2 and 1, in the first round before taking down the Naval Academy’s Billy Hurley, 21, 1 up. Courville equaled or bettered Stefani and Hurley on drives throughout the matches.

It’s fair to say that Courville’s background probably gave him a 1-up lead against Stefani before a shot was taken in their match.

"[Tuesday] night it was entering my mind,” said Stefani when asked if he was a little intimidated playing Courville. “He’s been here so many times.”

Courville, of course, brushed off such balderdash.

"I don’t know if any of it plays to my advantage,” he said. “The younger players are fearless out here.”

There’s little debate that the up and comers in the game are driving the ball longer than they were five, 10 years ago. The root of it can be traced to new equipment and technology.

White, a high school teacher, is convinced of that. He’s watched younger players excel because of several factors, making it increasingly harder for him to compete each year, he said before beating 21-year-old Peter Tomasulo, 2 and 1, Wednesday.

"To be blunt about it, a lot of it has to do with the teaching today,” said White. “There have been a lot of advances in technology, too. The way speed revolutionized football, the way power has changed basketball, technology and speed has changed golf.”

Slayden, an NFL quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs in the late 1980s, believes conditioning has a lot to with more highly-skilled young players today. Slayden became a serious amateur player in 1992 after recuperating from massive brain surgery.

Randy Nichols, right, congratulates Tom Glissmeyer on Wednesday. (John Mummert/USGA)

"Players are just getting better,” he said. “They’re lifting weights, they’re getting bigger. They’re more specialized at what they do.”

Slayden freely admits he’s a disciple of upgraded technology, not because he likes it, but because he has to be in today’s game.

"I want to be able to compare my game to Bob Jones. I think to maintain history, I’d like to see something done about the balls and clubs,” he said.

If there is an x-factor on the course that favors the older player, besides relying on aptitude, it’s keeping the emotions repressed. After 21-year-old medalist John Holmes lost his second-round match against Michael McDermott, 28, he snapped his putter over his knee in a fit of anger while bee-lining for his ride.

When Mahoney mis-hit a chip on the 16 th hole, all but ending the match in Zahringer’s favor, he swung his club like a baseball bat in frustration.

It’s been rare to see the older competitor explode with aggression outside of the garden-variety tug at the hat or ‘wish-I-had-that-one-back’ practice swing on a bad shot.

"That might be from having a little experience,” said Zahringer. “It’s not always easy. But I’ve been playing in enough matches over the years to have learned that you have to keep your composure over the good shots, bad shots and even the surprise shots your opponent will have.”

The big question then is, has suppressing the emotions made him a better player than he was 30 years ago.

"I hope I’m a little smarter,” said Zahringer, emphasizing the last word. “I don’t know about better, but I hope I am.”

Ken Klavon is the Web Editor for the USGA. E-mail him at kklavon@usga.org with questions or comments.