Jacklin: My uncomplicated friendship with Bob Charles

text size

Condon/Getty Images

Bob Charles won 23 times on the Champions Tour. His success on that tour in the 1980s and 1990s helped grow over-50 golf tremendously.

• MORE ESSAYS: Kessler on Shute | Streit on Thompson | Bisher on Wood | Spander on Wind | Hurdzan on Dye

Editor's note: One of Great Britain's pre-eminent Ryder Cup players and captains, Tony Jacklin was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. On Monday night, Jacklin will help welcome his good friend, Bob Charles, into the august fold. He talks about long-time friendship with Charles in this essay.

I've known Bob Charles a long time -- more than 40 years or more. I'm not exactly sure when we first met, but I think it probably was at the 1963 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. I was only 19, but I qualified and played quite well. So did Bob -- he beat Phil Rodgers in a 36-hole playoff.

Charles

I got to know Bob better in the mid-1960s when I went to Australia and his native New Zealand to play. Then we both began to compete on the PGA TOUR and we played a lot of practice rounds together. Our wives became friends, and our elder children got to know each other. We traveled a lot together as a family, and they did, too. My first wife passed away 20 years ago, and she was very close to Bob's wife, Verity. Astrid, my wife now, is close to her as well.

Our paths crossed many, many times. We played together in the final round of the British Open in 1969 when I won. That was at Lytham, too, so that place became synonymous with our getting to know each other quite well. Ever since I played professional golf, Bob Charles has been around. I am very glad to he has been elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. I have a high regard for his accomplishments. Having to travel such vast distances and to do what he did is quite a feat. He has always been a true gentleman, and I am flattered that he asked me to induct him.

Mark Cubbedge/World Golf Hall of Fame

Bob Charles became the first left-hander to win a major when he claimed the 1963 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes (his Claret Jug is seen here).

We were both from overseas playing here in the States. In the early days of the TOUR, we were referred to as foreigners. That was the reference the old diehards used. Now they are international players. That's a little more friendly term. Time passes and things change, you know.

Bob had a long and enduring career. He was always very fit, and he was conscious of his diet. He was quite the disciplinarian with himself. He was always immaculately turned out. He used to press his own slacks and shirts. He cared about how he looked. On the course, his greatest attribute was his wonderful short game. He was a great, great putter. That's the first thing any pro golfer would say about Bob. I plan to touch on that in my induction speech.

In fact, I remember being in Memphis once. I had finished my round and was back at the hotel, sitting beside the swimming pool with my wife. Bob walked by and I asked him how he had played. He said, "I putted quite well today." I thought, what in the word does that mean coming from him? So I asked, and he said, "I never missed anything under 30 feet." I was like, well, say, no more. He shot 63 that day. His long game was steady. But Bob is a great judge of distance. His prowess with the putter really benefited him when he went to the Champions Tour. He made mincemeat of everyone.

I remember one time we were at Turnberry. It could have been during a British Open or maybe it was for the old John Player Classic. Anyway, we rented a boat and took our families out in the Alisa Craig that sits off the coast of Scotland. We spent the early evening out there. There were 20-foot long basking sharks rolling around in the water, and the darn fish kept jumping on our hooks. So we took them to a restaurant in Girvan, Scotland -- everyone went there when we were at Turnberry, Arnold Palmer, Mark McCormick, everyone -- and they took all the fresh fish and cooked for us. It was a feast. That is a very fond memory.

We all have stayed close. We have kept in touch with the kids, as well as with Bob and Verity. It's been wonderful to see how well David Charles has done at the PGA of America, and his sister, Beverly, who settled in London. It's a very uncomplicated friendship. Knowing Bob, I am sure he will be nervous Monday night at the ceremony. I hope for his sake he doesn't veer from his speech. He's a wonderful guy, but it he doesn't follow the script, he gets beside himself. Public speaking is one aspect of his fame that he never enjoyed. But once it's done and dusted, I think he will quite enjoy himself. It will be great to share the night with him and his family.