Editor’s note: Saturday would have been Tony Gwynn’s 66th birthday. The occasion brought to mind many memories of the Hall of Famer. Here’s one recalling a good swing — on a golf course in Iowa.
Twenty years ago, I was covering the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., and decided to go golfing on an off day in the tournament. I was joined by Tony Gwynn, then the San Diego State baseball coach and a part-time broadcaster for ESPN who was in town to offer his insights during the CWS.
We rode over the bridge from downtown Omaha into Council Bluffs, Iowa, and pulled into the parking lot of the Dodge Riverside Golf Club.
I’ve often wondered how good Gwynn could have been in golf if he had dedicated himself to hitting a golf ball the way he did to hitting a baseball. He had a smooth golf swing that produced that sweet sound you hear on a ball well struck. He seldom played golf, both because he didn’t have the time and didn’t want to hurt a baseball swing that produced eight National League batting championships.
Our round that day was rather uneventful until we reached the 11th hole, a little 135-yard, par-3 framed by trees on both sides of the short fairway.
The 11th hole at the Dodge Riverside Golf Club. (dodgeriversidegolf.com)
While we sat in our cart and waited for the group ahead of us to putt out, two carts pulled up with the foursome behind us. Out jumped a guy who couldn’t wait to shake hands with Tony. He excitedly explained that his son’s Little League team was the Padres and Gwynn was their favorite player. (They weren’t alone.)
Tony Gwynn’s legacy lives on through kids named after former Padres star
Gwynn, gracious as always, exchanged some small talk. Then we took the tee as the green cleared. He hit a beautiful fly ball to center that came to rest about eight feet right of the pin.
As we got back in the cart and drove toward the hole, Gwynn turned and said, ‘Man, my booty was tight on that one.”
Huh. What?
“You’ve played in front of more than 50,000 people before,” I said. “Why would one foursome make you nervous?”
“Because this isn’t my game,” Tony said.
“After that shot, those guys think it is,” I said.
Gwynn laughed that laugh, then went and made his birdie putt.