Playing The Big Ball and Missed Three Footers
Inside Shell's Wonderful World of Golf in Bermuda
This past weekend, we had a multitude of choices when it came to viewing live sports on television. College football on Saturday, playoff baseball both days, and NFL football, regular season NBA action, NHL hockey, and a U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday. It was difficult to watch the PGA TOUR from Congaree Golf Club for the CJ Cup in South Carolina, especially since it was only shown for three hours each day on the Golf Channel. Congratulations to Rory McIlroy for climbing back up to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
This week, the PGA TOUR plays the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southhampton, Bermuda. Again this week, there’s not a lot of history to draw from as this will be the fourth time the tournament will be played. It also features just one player in the OWGR top 50 (Seamus Power at No. 48). The tie-in this week will be the Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf match from the Mid-Ocean Golf Club in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda. Filmed in 1966 and broadcast in 1967, the match features a battle between Peter Alliss and Tony Lema. Scroll down to read about the match.
It was so much fun in California last week where I played in the Stroke of Genius Pro-Am helping the George Archer Foundation raise funds to help kids with reading disabilities learn how to read. Thank you to all at Peninsula Country Club in San Mateo for putting on such a great event. You can donate HERE. Also a big thank you to Gregg Davis, General Manager at San Francisco Golf Club, and Glenn Smickley of the Cal Club for hosting me for a round at each course. In three days I played a Donald Ross, an Alister Mackenzie and a A.W. Tillinghast. Quite the trifecta!
Also, a big thank you to Rancho Murietta Country Club for hosting Tour Backspin. We told some Tony Lema stories and met a bunch of new friends. Thank you to Katie Freeman, director of membership and the head pro, Brian Little for helping to make this possible. If your interested in having a Tony Lema night at your club, email me at larry@tourbackspin.com
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We’re playing 1966 PGA TOUR Trivia this week on the Tour Backspin Quiz. Scroll down to play.
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Peter Alliss and Tony Lema on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf
Jimmy Demaret (l), Tony Lema (2nd from left), Peter Alliss (c), and Gene Sarazen (r) (photo: Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf)
It is the first week of May 1966 and Tony Lema and Peter Alliss are playing a match that is being filmed for Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf at the Mid-Ocean Golf Club in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda. Charles Blair McDonald, with the help of his associate, Seth Raynor, designed the par 71, 6,520-yard course in 1921 and Robert Trent Jones, Sr., modified the course in 1953.
Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf was part stroke match play excitement, part travelogue and part advertising for the Shell Oil Company and was first aired in 1961. It was hosted by Gene Sarazen and George Fleming until 1966 when Jimmy Demaret replaced Fleming. The matches were recorded during the spring and summer for broadcast the next winter.
Lema’s father had emigrated to the United States through Bermuda and there were Lema relatives still on the island. Lema made it a family vacation trip bringing along his wife, his two brothers, his sister, their spouses, and his mother, Cleo.
Tony Lema’s mother, Cleo, in Bermuda to watch her son play on Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf (photo: Lema Family)
Lema and Alliss were good friends having played in Ryder Cups, as well as exhibitions, together. This would be Lema’s fifth appearance on the series while it was the second time for Alliss (he would play in two more after this appearance).
The Mid-Ocean Course provided a stern test for the two players with hilly terrain, blind shots and tricky Bermuda greens. In the opening, Gene Sarazen describes hitting blind tee shots on the hilly terrain and he describes the numerous bunkers present. The greens were not in very good shape due to a shortage of water that resulted in short and bumpy surfaces and you can see brown spots on the broadcast. Sarazen predicted “It’ll all come down to one thing, three-foot putts.”
“He only had big balls back in his day.”
The color broadcast shows the two young and vibrant competitors dressed in colorful attire. The match was played under the rules of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club and at that time, it meant that players could use the smaller British ball or the bigger American ball. With the smaller ball going farther, Demaret and Sarazen estimated that there is a 1-club difference between the balls.
“I think that practice swing registered at Cal Tech.”
After a few holes, Lema walks over to talk with Demaret and Sarazen on-air. Demaret mentions that Lema is using the small ball on some holes and the bigger ball on other holes, which was legal provided the change in balls happened between holes. Lema said that he was playing the smaller ball when he wanted to get more distance and the bigger ball if there was no wind to consider. Demaret then asks Sarazen if he ever used the strategy of using both balls and before he could answer, Lema leaned in towards the microphone.
“He only had big balls back in his day,” Lema said as all three men giggled. It’s a wonder how this made it past the usually rigorous censors. (Watch HERE at 19:14 mark).
The two players finished the first nine holes tied and, after trading a few barbs greenside with Demaret and Sarazen, they headed to the tenth hole. Alliss teed off first and then Lema stepped up to the tee. He pegged his ball and then straightened up and took a practice swing and took a large divot. Alliss burst out laughing while Lema gave an embarrassed little chuckle and the crowed murmured.
“I think that practice swing registered at Cal Tech,” joked Demaret. (Watch HERE at 32:36).
The greens were tough for both players but it seemed that they affected Alliss more than Lema. Alliss’ son, Gary, commented on the video of the match that Tour Backspin posted on YouTube (watch HERE):
“The greens in Bermuda were very bumpy, which ruined Dad's already fragile confidence, but God, his putting was dreadful.”
Demaret pointed out that he noticed that Alliss used a regular grip on long putts, but switched to a reverse grip with the left hand lower on the grip than the right hand.
“It’s very confusing, I would think,” Sarazen said.
Lema made a long putt on the 17th to pull one-shot ahead in the match. At the eighteenth hole, Lema just needed to get down in two putts from long distance to win the $7,000 winner’s prize. He lagged up to three feet. What was that prediction of Sarazen’s about it coming down to a three-foot putt? Sure enough, Lema missed the three-footer and the match was tied. Both players won $5,000.
As the players came off the final green, they joined the hosts. All the episodes of Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf ended with the players giving a tip for the viewers at home. Sarazen asked the two players if they would show those watching at home how to play shots into the wind.
“I’ll show them how to make three-foot putts,” Lema joked.
CORRECTION 10/27/22 11:30 am — Original post misspelled Jimmy Demaret’s name and has been corrected.
Tony Lema in Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf action against Carl Poulsen in Denmark, 1964. Gene Sarazen, in his trademark plus fours, watches.
Gene Sarazen wrote letters to Bobby Jones while on the road for Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf. Scroll down to read our Bonus Story.
This week’s playlist goes back to 1966. Listen to I’m In With The In Crowd HERE.
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Larry Baush
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WHAT HOLE IS IT?
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Tour Backspin Quiz | 1966 PGA TOUR Trivia
Who won the money title, PGA Player of the Year and the Vardon Trophy (scoring leader) in 1966.
Answer below
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Bonus Story
Gene Sarazen kept up correspondence with Bobby Jones and wrote him from many of the stops on the Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf world tour. In April of 1966, on the day before he was to depart for the Bermuda match with Alliss and Lema, he wrote from his home in Germantown, NY to catch up with his friend.
Sarazen had missed the Masters as he was filming two matches, one in Mexico City (Antonio Cerdá vs Johnny Pott) and one in Caracas, Venezuela (Miguel Sala vs Billy Casper). He wrote about one hole in Caracas.
In the Caracas match we had a very exciting hole. Billy Casper sliced a ball out-of-bounds, hooked his drive into another fairway, then proceeded to hole out his fourth shot.
The shows that were filmed in 1966 (and aired in 1967) were the first with Demeret as Sarazen’s co-host. Demeret replaced George Rogers, who Sarazen did not get along with. He was very comfortable with Demeret and in the same letter to Jones he pointed that out.
Jimmy D is so nice to work with.
He also related how he caught the “trots” in Mexico and how he had all his exit papers in order while Demeret did not. It took Demeret 48 hours to get home from Mexico.
Sarazen wrote another letter to Jones once he got to the Mid-Ocean Golf Club for the Alliss vs Lema match.
Tony Lema plays Peter Alliss. Should be a good match, and a beautiful show. The greens are not too good. They are so short of water.
No wonder he knew the match would come down to a three-foot putt.
Blind Shot
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Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Billy Casper won all three awards in 1966
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