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Top: "Alyson Palooza" Golf Outing, featuring Kent, Aunt Lois, Alyson, Tonia and Wayne
Middle: Brickyard Golf Outing with Bruce, Michael, Kent and Wayne
Bottom: Lee, Todd and Jay play a round with Chris before his marriage to Jay's daughter Rachel. After a couple of obligatory OB's by Chris, the wedding took place as scheduled.
Golf is the family sport.
And as far as my immediate family (the Jerry Dixon crew), Dad and I were the only ones not to master the sport.
That's right, my mom beat me at golf... and not just when I was a little kid.
My brother Jay is the alpha golfer in the family. He hits a golf ball like Larry Bird shoots three-pointers. It all seems like slo-motion... until the ball takes off.
Many Dixon's, and a few Thackers, love to play golf. Most took it up later in life. But a few started early. Jay, Todd and Kent are examples... all played on the Highland High School golf team.
My brother Jay shared recently how he got started in golf... plus a few stories (edited for a family audience, of course!) and listed the highlights of his golfing achievements.
Mammaw and Pappaw Wellons were the first to play golf in our family. Mom probably picked it up from them. Uncle Bob (Wellons) played later also. Mom played in the Grandview Ladies league for a number of years. She used to score in the high 80s and low 90s, pretty good in her day. She played until her back problems and arthritis in her hands made it too painful. I caddied for her in the Club Championship once. She lost that day but I did convince her to try to hit a shot through the forks of a tree on hole #17. She pulled the shot off, but lost on #18. I must have been about 13 at the time.
I first played golf at age 8. Mom took me out and I believe I used her clubs, which were too long for me, but I didn't know what I was doing anyway. I shot 82 on the front nine at Grandview and I was hooked. I hit a particuarly good shot on #5 that impressed Mom. The ball went about 150 yards. Mom didn't know until later that I had teed it up in the fairway when she wasn't looking! I played a round here and there with Mom and Pappaw Wellons at Grandview. The tees and fairways weren't watered back then and the tees had about 1" of dust on top of rock hard clay. Pappaw carried a ball peen hammer to drive his tee into the ground! Later we used an invention called a Pee Gee Tee which was a plastic three legged tee you could set on top of the ground. If I were lucky, Pappaw would buy me a new Po-Do ball before we started. Anybody remember those? When I got a little better at the game, I remember Mom hooking me up with the Grandview Ladies Champion and I aquired her old driver, a three wood, and a four wood. Dad had a set of irons but he didn't play much so he let me borrow them.
For my 12th birthday I got a season pass to play all the golf I could play at Boca-Re-Al, the 18 hole par three course on Cross street and the 109 by-pass about a mile from home. For a couple of summers I would load my golf bag on dad's Bag Boy pull cart, Jump on my Huffy bicycle and ride down Alex Pike past the Livestock Sale Barn to the 109 By-pass. When there were no cars coming for as far as I could see, I would pedal like crazy to Cross Street (the By-Pass was only two lanes back then but wasn't nearly as busy as it is now) and chug up the hill to the Golf course parking lot.
I played in an organized kids league on Wednesdays and they gave three new golf balls for first place each week. By the time I was 14 I could shoot from 59 to 64 for nine holes. During my high school years my birthday present was a membership at Grandview each year.
My freshman year at Highland I was the first alternate (five kids played on the Varsity) for the first meet, and was moved to the varsity the second meet, which was played in a Spring snowstorm at Tipton. With only a hooded cotton sweatshirt (Goretex came way later) playing for the Highland team didn't seem near as fun as I had imagined. When you putted, the ball would roll up snow like building a snowman and come up way short. Our third meet was at Elwood and we played in freezing rain while the Coaches watched the Masters in the warmth of the clubhouse. This was April 15th or so. I've never been that cold since. I shot 93 for the 18 holes and won both of my matches. I lettered varsity all four years of high school and was all Conference my Junior and senior years and MVP my Junior and Senior Years. We had good teams all four years and made it to Regionals my Sophmore and Junior years. I made some good friends including Mike McKnight, Randy Bodkin. Steve Hosier, and (name witheld to protect the guilty) (who sadly cost us a chance of the team going to the State Finals when he showed up at the coaches house the morning of the Regionals so drunk he couldn't sit up straight in the car on the ride to Richmond. He had broken up with his girlfriend at the Prom and got drunk and no sleep all night. He was our best player and a Senior at the time and I knew our chances were ruined when I saw him puking on the #9 green as I played the 5th hole.) Our team won 17 matches that year and lost only one... you guessed it... to state champion Marion. Don Bale, Mike Gentry, and Rod Windlan also were on the teams.
Some of my accomplishments in almost 49 years of golfing include:
two holes in ones (1972 and 1979; Pappaw Wellons actually saw the one in 1972 go in the hole!)
won the Madison County Junior in 1968 shooting a 61 at Meadowbrook (3 under par )
won the Madison County Championship in 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1989, and was runner up 6 times (Uncle Jim caddied for me in 1989)
won the Anderson City Tournament in 1987 and 1989 and was runner up 3 times
won the Indiana Match Play Championship in 1988 and was runner up in 1989
won the Edgewood Fall Festival in 1984 shooting 68, 69, and won again in 1989 shooting 65
led the Indiana State Amatuer the first day in 1981 with a 70 at Otter Creek
was runner up in the Indiana State Four Ball with Steve Barnett in 1983
was runner up in the Indiana Tournament of Champions in 1979 and 1987
won the Indianapolis 4-Ball with Jerry Steenerson in 1979 and was Runner up with Mike Bell in 1994
won the Ft. Wayne best ball Tournament in 1992 with brother Todd in 1992 and with Steve Barnett in 1982
won the Elwood Glass Festival shooting 65 in 1985 and 69 in 1987
was chosen a member of the Indiana Challenge Cup team (a Ryder Cup Event for amatuers versus the Indiana Pros) in 1986, 1989, 1992, and 1993
won the Killbuck Club Championship 15 times from 1973 to 1999
was awarded the Clifford Wagner Award for lifelong sportsmanship and character in 2003
The lowest scores I have recorded are 64 at Killbuck (3 times), 63 at Grandview, and 62 at Edgewood C.C.
All from a scrawny little kid who missed most of first grade because he was homebound with rheumatic fever! Although he was my "little" big brother, he actually was a sub on the Highland basketball team that beat some pretty good teams and was a star in little league baseball.
Let me summarize my own achievements in golf. With a few practice rounds, I have a better than even chance of breaking 100. I also can find my ball most of the time. I gave up the game early because I could never find my ball, even though it was in the middle of the fairway. That white clover made finding the ball very difficult. Jay still helps me find my ball when we play a friendly round. I usually have no idea where the ball goes after I hit it.
I hope that the other Dixon family golfers will have a few stories to tell about how they came to take up the game and their experiences.
And as far as my immediate family (the Jerry Dixon crew), Dad and I were the only ones not to master the sport.
That's right, my mom beat me at golf... and not just when I was a little kid.
My brother Jay is the alpha golfer in the family. He hits a golf ball like Larry Bird shoots three-pointers. It all seems like slo-motion... until the ball takes off.
Many Dixon's, and a few Thackers, love to play golf. Most took it up later in life. But a few started early. Jay, Todd and Kent are examples... all played on the Highland High School golf team.
My brother Jay shared recently how he got started in golf... plus a few stories (edited for a family audience, of course!) and listed the highlights of his golfing achievements.
Mammaw and Pappaw Wellons were the first to play golf in our family. Mom probably picked it up from them. Uncle Bob (Wellons) played later also. Mom played in the Grandview Ladies league for a number of years. She used to score in the high 80s and low 90s, pretty good in her day. She played until her back problems and arthritis in her hands made it too painful. I caddied for her in the Club Championship once. She lost that day but I did convince her to try to hit a shot through the forks of a tree on hole #17. She pulled the shot off, but lost on #18. I must have been about 13 at the time.
I first played golf at age 8. Mom took me out and I believe I used her clubs, which were too long for me, but I didn't know what I was doing anyway. I shot 82 on the front nine at Grandview and I was hooked. I hit a particuarly good shot on #5 that impressed Mom. The ball went about 150 yards. Mom didn't know until later that I had teed it up in the fairway when she wasn't looking! I played a round here and there with Mom and Pappaw Wellons at Grandview. The tees and fairways weren't watered back then and the tees had about 1" of dust on top of rock hard clay. Pappaw carried a ball peen hammer to drive his tee into the ground! Later we used an invention called a Pee Gee Tee which was a plastic three legged tee you could set on top of the ground. If I were lucky, Pappaw would buy me a new Po-Do ball before we started. Anybody remember those? When I got a little better at the game, I remember Mom hooking me up with the Grandview Ladies Champion and I aquired her old driver, a three wood, and a four wood. Dad had a set of irons but he didn't play much so he let me borrow them.
For my 12th birthday I got a season pass to play all the golf I could play at Boca-Re-Al, the 18 hole par three course on Cross street and the 109 by-pass about a mile from home. For a couple of summers I would load my golf bag on dad's Bag Boy pull cart, Jump on my Huffy bicycle and ride down Alex Pike past the Livestock Sale Barn to the 109 By-pass. When there were no cars coming for as far as I could see, I would pedal like crazy to Cross Street (the By-Pass was only two lanes back then but wasn't nearly as busy as it is now) and chug up the hill to the Golf course parking lot.
I played in an organized kids league on Wednesdays and they gave three new golf balls for first place each week. By the time I was 14 I could shoot from 59 to 64 for nine holes. During my high school years my birthday present was a membership at Grandview each year.
My freshman year at Highland I was the first alternate (five kids played on the Varsity) for the first meet, and was moved to the varsity the second meet, which was played in a Spring snowstorm at Tipton. With only a hooded cotton sweatshirt (Goretex came way later) playing for the Highland team didn't seem near as fun as I had imagined. When you putted, the ball would roll up snow like building a snowman and come up way short. Our third meet was at Elwood and we played in freezing rain while the Coaches watched the Masters in the warmth of the clubhouse. This was April 15th or so. I've never been that cold since. I shot 93 for the 18 holes and won both of my matches. I lettered varsity all four years of high school and was all Conference my Junior and senior years and MVP my Junior and Senior Years. We had good teams all four years and made it to Regionals my Sophmore and Junior years. I made some good friends including Mike McKnight, Randy Bodkin. Steve Hosier, and (name witheld to protect the guilty) (who sadly cost us a chance of the team going to the State Finals when he showed up at the coaches house the morning of the Regionals so drunk he couldn't sit up straight in the car on the ride to Richmond. He had broken up with his girlfriend at the Prom and got drunk and no sleep all night. He was our best player and a Senior at the time and I knew our chances were ruined when I saw him puking on the #9 green as I played the 5th hole.) Our team won 17 matches that year and lost only one... you guessed it... to state champion Marion. Don Bale, Mike Gentry, and Rod Windlan also were on the teams.
Some of my accomplishments in almost 49 years of golfing include:
two holes in ones (1972 and 1979; Pappaw Wellons actually saw the one in 1972 go in the hole!)
won the Madison County Junior in 1968 shooting a 61 at Meadowbrook (3 under par )
won the Madison County Championship in 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1989, and was runner up 6 times (Uncle Jim caddied for me in 1989)
won the Anderson City Tournament in 1987 and 1989 and was runner up 3 times
won the Indiana Match Play Championship in 1988 and was runner up in 1989
won the Edgewood Fall Festival in 1984 shooting 68, 69, and won again in 1989 shooting 65
led the Indiana State Amatuer the first day in 1981 with a 70 at Otter Creek
was runner up in the Indiana State Four Ball with Steve Barnett in 1983
was runner up in the Indiana Tournament of Champions in 1979 and 1987
won the Indianapolis 4-Ball with Jerry Steenerson in 1979 and was Runner up with Mike Bell in 1994
won the Ft. Wayne best ball Tournament in 1992 with brother Todd in 1992 and with Steve Barnett in 1982
won the Elwood Glass Festival shooting 65 in 1985 and 69 in 1987
was chosen a member of the Indiana Challenge Cup team (a Ryder Cup Event for amatuers versus the Indiana Pros) in 1986, 1989, 1992, and 1993
won the Killbuck Club Championship 15 times from 1973 to 1999
was awarded the Clifford Wagner Award for lifelong sportsmanship and character in 2003
The lowest scores I have recorded are 64 at Killbuck (3 times), 63 at Grandview, and 62 at Edgewood C.C.
All from a scrawny little kid who missed most of first grade because he was homebound with rheumatic fever! Although he was my "little" big brother, he actually was a sub on the Highland basketball team that beat some pretty good teams and was a star in little league baseball.
Let me summarize my own achievements in golf. With a few practice rounds, I have a better than even chance of breaking 100. I also can find my ball most of the time. I gave up the game early because I could never find my ball, even though it was in the middle of the fairway. That white clover made finding the ball very difficult. Jay still helps me find my ball when we play a friendly round. I usually have no idea where the ball goes after I hit it.
I hope that the other Dixon family golfers will have a few stories to tell about how they came to take up the game and their experiences.
Update... Jay adds more family golf info... including kudos to his caddies, and experiences as a golf official... and there is crying in golf!
Aunt Lois plays regularly at Meadowbrook.
Dad played with Mom occasionally until Mom started beating him regularly. Dad played with me a couple of times but he played more for relaxation and didn't seem to be real competitive by nature. Dad would always come out to the County Tournaments and follow me around. He was especially excited as he followed Todd and I in the IN Golf Assn Best ball and we won both matches that day.
Todd has played well in quite a few tournaments in Ft. Wayne and in the state tournaments. He was runner up in the Ft. Wayne City Tournament and has been in the top ten other times. He has also played in the Tournament of Champions, Indiana Four ball, and Indiana Mid Amatuer. Speaking of the Indiana Mid Amatuer... I forgot to mention that I was runner up in 1985. Todd also played well in the Indianapolis Open one year.
Uncle Jim used to caddy for me in some of the City tournaments and County Tournaments. He had a calming and confident effect on me and I think I won one County. one City, and a Edgewood fall festival with him on the bag. Todd and I have caddied for each other in tournaments.
In 1989 I replaced Steve Barnett on the Indiana Golf Association Board of Directors. He passed away from lukemia after a heroic three year battle. Other than family, he was my best friend in life, and an inspiration to me.
Most of the Dixon golfers would always get together and play the day before the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.
One of my favorite things to do is to be a Rules Official at tournaments around the state. I've officiated at the Womens Big Ten, The Womens MAC Conference, Boys and Girls State High School, and Indiana State Amatuers and Opens. It's both fun and rewarding. Once at the Womens Big Ten, a young lady from Ohio State University was about to take an illegal drop to the wrong side of a cart path. I stopped her before she hit the shot from a wrong place and told her she had to drop the ball on the opposite side of the path (There is only one nearest point of relief :the shortest distance). She told me she didn't want to drop the ball there because a huge pine tree was in her way and started to drop the ball on the other side again. I informed her that if she dropped the ball on that side of the path and hit it, she would be assessed a two shot penalty and if she completed play of the hole without correcting the mistake, she would be disqualified. I was only trying to help her avoid a penalty. Well, here comes the tears. She bawled and sobbed and cried until another official came over and confirmed my ruling. Finally after 15 minutes or so she finally quit crying, chipped around the bush, picked up her bag and gave me the dirtiest look for the longest time. I was biting my lip trying to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter. I could really feel the hate.
3 comments:
As another member of the Dixon family who loves golf, I have a few distinct memories of starting the game. Down in Hilton Head, SC when the family gathered there in the early 90's, I went along with Grandma (Mary Alice), Dad (Lee), Uncle Todd and Uncle Jay and was able to play a few holes. It was that day and many times after that Grandma would teach me the importance of always counting every shot in golf, because its better to have a bad day (and a high score) than to cheat yourself. Soon after that, maybe the next day, I remember dad allowing me to play a full 9 holes and I believe I shot a 72, which looks great if I didnt mention it was only 9 holes. Later in life, dad and I would play many weekends down in Okeechobee which meant our choiches were somewhat limited. Between my sophomore and junior years in high school, golf season was moved to the fall season which meant no competition with baseball so I joined the team. I loved the competition of high school golf and the one-on-one format while you played eventhough teams combined scores. I've always felt that competition gave me a greater focus on every shot and really felt it brought out the best golf in me. Another great part of playing in high school was playing so many new courses over on the coast whether it was in Vero, Port St. Lucie, or Palm Beach. There's nothing like playing a course for the first time where every hole is a new challenge. My two years in high school my yearly average was between 40-41, so I wasnt the best, but far from the worst. My most memorable round was a 37(+1) which tied my best round if my memory is correct. This round was memorable in particular because that 37 should have been a 35 if not for an OB on the dog-leg right #5 hole at Okeechobee C.C. I'll always remember that round not because of the 37, but because of what could have been, which is what makes golf great. So considering my skills I fall somewhere in the Dixon golfing spectrum between Uncle Jay and dad, which is where all of us would fall.
One of those days down at Hilton Head, we pulled into the parking lot of the course and noticed a lot of black SUV's... back when SUV's weren't owned by a lot of people. There was an ambulance also, and some squad cars.
As we were about to tee off, somebody informed us that President Clinton (the sitting president)was playing and was coming up the back nine. We saw his group pass in the other direction as we played the first or second hole.
The Clintons liked to go to a Rennaisance Weekend event that was held in Hilton Head annually for a few years.
Randy's junior year, he was the 5th or 6th man on the team, but he played well enough for his score to count several times. The team's best four scores counted at a match. I was excited because I felt that school's team could win a state title. The first four players all went on to play college golf. Similar to Jay's story, something stupid happened... this time the young coach (and son of our superintendent of schools)engaged in a wrestling match with one of the two best players alongside the 9th green and the player broke his collarbone. It was just horseplay, but a good example of a young teacher not knowing to set boundaries. The team was 2nd out of 18 teams on a very, very windy day at the first level of the state playoffs (like a sectional in Indiana)... and only the winning team advanced to the next round.
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