Lord Byron Nelson – Golf Lesson I’ll Never Forget – Part 1

Richard Knorville of Oklahoma

With the US Open approaching in a week or so, it brings back memories of another great tournament, albeit an amateur one. The United States Amateur was hosted by the more historic Merion Golf Club. This golf course with lush greens that would make your own rugs look like a hardwood floor, was serving up another one of its majors in 1966. How could I forget the first and last major tournament I caddyed at?

My man was from Oklahoma and his name was Richard Knorville. I don’t remember much about his ability to play, except that he was beaten by Jack Nicklaus earlier in Jack’s amateur career. It wasn’t the fact that my player missed the 1966 cut by one or two shots, it was what happened shortly before the tournament took place.

My house was only a mile and a half from the Merion Golf Club and the same distance from the driving range. It was then known as The City Line Driving Range, as it is located just off the highway of the same name. My mom, who was so kind and understanding of my desire to practice my golf swing, would drive me to and from this golf course. This particular afternoon, maybe around 7 o’clock, I was hitting my driver and saw this man hitting line after line. I should say, arrow like shots that were completely straight. One after another, I couldn’t believe how precise it was. I went back to making my wild drive shots all the way down the range.

I looked up again and noticed something unusual for me about this man. He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a tie. It was quite hot on this June night. I also realized that this man was quite a bit older than me. At only 17 years old, anyone was practically older than me. He was about 10 booths away and I couldn’t get a good look at his face. I stopped what he was doing and walked over to watch this man and his seemingly perfect golf swing. Knowing about the upcoming tournament, which I was obviously caddying for, I was speechless when I realized I was looking at one of the most talented golfers in the history of the game.