Sandy Tatum's influence on golf immeasurable

Tatum's influence on golf immeasurable

By john reid

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 11/02/2011 10:23:13 PM PDT

Updated: 11/02/2011 10:23:15 PM PDT

Sandy Tatum, class of '42 at Stanford, is a large reason TPC Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco is hosting this week's Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Tatum played in 40 city golf championships at Harding Park as one of the Bay Area's top amateur golfers.

"I came back and took a look at Harding Park and realized it was turning into a weed patch," Tatum said. "I couldn't bear that thought. I'm a friend of Chuck Schwab's. I said to Chuck, 'Somehow, we need to try to save it. The only way to save it is to get the tour involved.'"

Schwab talked to PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem about bringing an event to Harding Park.

"Chuck arranged a dinner with Tim Finchem, Chuck and I," Tatum said. "I explained to Tim what I thought was available here. I thought the Tour would be passing up an opportunity if they didn't come here because it's one of the best markets in the whole country. He told me at that dinner if his guys confirm what I was telling him about Harding Park, he'd be on board. That got it going."

Tatum, now 91, was part of two NCAA championship teams while at Stanford (1941 | 1942). He won the individual title his senior season at Notre Dame Golf Course in South Bend, Ind.

1942 National Champoinship Team - click to enlarge

"It was more than exciting," Tatum said. "It was mind-boggling. I played well for a lot of years, but I never thought I could be that good. In that particular setting, I was. Playing golf at Stanford was one of the most important elements in that whole experience. The golf course, golf coach Eddie Twiggs, the players, the whole scene was added dimensions to that experience."

Frank Donovan "Sandy" Tatum Jr. chose Stanford after being influenced by his older brother, Don, who had attended Stanford before him.

"Stanford experience was the answer to a dream," Sandy Tatum said. "I had some exposure to the place because of my brother. He was eight years older. I told myself, 'I'm going to set my sights on Stanford. If I could just get there, I'd have that dream realized.' And it was. Those four years were the most effectively important years of my life. It also matters to me to see how much that institution has developed. It has been amazing."

Tatum, an engineering major, was in the Navy three years during World War II. When he was stationed in Arizona, Tatum befriended Stanford golf great Lawson Little, class of '34.

"They dealt with me in a remarkable way," Tatum said. "They sent me to the University of Arizona for an indoctrination program. I was there for two months. The place was wonderful. One of the guys there was Lawson Little. We played an exhibition match for the Red Cross. That's how my Navy career started."

Tatum was transferred to the University of Michigan, where he got a nine-month crash course in Naval architecture.

"It was fascinating," Tatum said. "There was a great golf course there, so I played a fair amount of golf. They then sent me to the San Francisco Naval Shipyard where they put me in charge of ship modeling and repair. The admiral there was a golf nut. So I played a lot of golf during the war. I don't deserve to be identified as a war hero."

Tatum went to law school after he got out of the Navy, abstaining from going professional as a golfer.

"It never occurred to me to go pro," Tatum said. "It wasn't that I didn't think I could play that well. The life they led didn't appeal to me. I started practicing at a small firm and we did everything. I loved it."

Tatum, still practicing law after 62 years in the profession, has stayed connected to golf in various ways. Tatum served as president of the United States Golf Association from 1978 to 1980. He was on the USGA executive committee from 1972 to 1980. Tatum was involved in the design and development of The Links at Spanish Bay golf course in Pebble Beach. He codesigned Lockeford Springs Golf Course in Lodi and Mount Shasta Resort in Mount Shasta.

After 55 years living in San Francisco, Tatum and his wife, Barbara, moved to Hyatt Residence near the Stanford Shopping Center.

"I told my wife, we're going off to the sunset in real style," Tatum said.

When he finds time, Tatum plays some golf.

"I'm so grateful to be out there swinging at it, I could get down on my knees and weep," he said.

Wally Goodwin to retire after 67 years in coaching

Editor's Note --- Wally Goodwin coached Stanford for 23 years winning the national championship in 1994.  He recruited and coached Tiger Woods, Casey Martin, Notah Begay, head coach Conrad Ray, Joel Kribel among many other stars from Stanford proud golfing tradition.  A 5-part video interview of Wally produced by Stanford men's golf can be found at http://www.stanfordmensgolf.org/video-Goodwin.htm.  

The following Article by Tom Milstead in the Buffalo Bulletin, June 1, 2011 --- http://www.buffalobulletin.com/articles/2011/06/01/sports/doc4de56536a772f992920766.txt

Wally Goodwin’s life has been about new beginnings.

The 2010 Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame inductee coached golf and basketball at eight schools during his career, which began in 1960. At every school he went to he was tasked with either building or rebuilding a program. He specialized in wiping the dust off of tarnished championship banners and building programs into national powers. Now, after 47 years of creating and resurrecting, Goodwin has decided to rest.

He has left behind the whirlwind lifestyle of a college coach, the constant recruiting and fundraising, and retired to a small house on the former Rafter Y Dude Ranch in Story, a property his family owned since 1921 until his son, Putter, sold it earlier this year.

“When I think back about my life in athletics, I don’t think any other coach has ever had the same kind of life that I had,” he said. “Everything turned out good. There was always an excitement to go to the next place.”

That excitement to see the next place fueled Goodwin throughout his career. After playing on the PGA tour in 1959, Goodwin began coaching basketball at a high school in Colorado. After a stint at a prep school in Ohio and a spell as the athletic director at Robert Louis Stevenson School in California, he became an assistant basketball coach at Stetson University in Florida. His time at Stetson was his first brush with major college athletics. While there, he coached against Larry Bird’s Indiana State teams as well as other major programs like Ohio State and Michigan. He coached at Stetson for three years, but in 1981 he got the call that would shape the rest of his career.

“A dear friend of mine became the director of athletics at Northwestern and he called me up the next day to see if I’d come out there and start their golf program,” Goodwin said. “I said ‘yeah, I’ll give it a shot.’”

The decision to coach golf turned out to be one of the most important of his career. Goodwin’s impact at Northwestern was immediate. After starting from scratch, Goodwin recruited Jim Benepe from Sheridan and made him into an all-American. The future PGA Rookie of the Year was Goodwin's first important recruit, but he certainly wouldn’t be his last.

“We started from scratch and had some all-Americans,” Goodwin said. “We had some good teams.

“Then Stanford called up.”

It was at Stanford that Goodwin would make his name. He turned a once-proud program that had fallen on hard times into a national powerhouse during his 13-year stint. He recruited the best players in the country to play for the Cardinal, including players that are now household names.

He brought in players like Notah Begay, an eventual PGA tour mainstay, Casey Martin, who famously sued the PGA in order to use a golf cart during tour events because his right leg was crippled at birth, and Tiger Woods. Goodwin constructed a diverse unit at Stanford, and he made history.

Goodwin was named the national coach of the year in 1992 and 1994. In 1994, the year before Woods came to Stanford, Goodwin led the Cardinal to the NCAA Division I men’s golf championship. His team defeated Texas on their home course to claim Stanford’s first championship since 1953.

“That would be the peak of it,” Goodwin said. “It was a thrilling thing to have happen. I was so proud of the guys. This is Texas. We were in their territory. All of their fans were there.

“The alumni and boosters at Stanford had signs up all over my office and everything. It was a great time for the university.”

In 1995, Woods joined the team. Goodwin had first heard of Tiger when Woods was 13. After seeing him in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd feature, Goodwin wrote Woods a letter that planted Stanford in the young man’s head. Years later, when Tiger was a senior in high school, he remembered it.

“I looked at this kid and I thought ‘what a smile,’” Goodwin said of his first impression of Tiger. “This kid is different. There was something different there. So I wrote him a letter. It has become a really famous letter.  It was to just let him know who I was, and if he was interested in going to Stanford to write me a note and let me know and I’d follow him and see where it goes. He writes back this letter. It’s a perfect letter. I mean perfect. His handwriting was great. He had capitals, punctuation; every sentence had a verb in it. It was great.”

Goodwin recalled having pizza with Woods when the young golfer informed him of his decision to attend Standford.

“He said ‘hey coach, I’ve got something to show you.’ He reaches under his chair and he pulls out a Nevada-Las Vegas golf hat and puts it on,” Goodwin said. “I said ‘hey you little twerp.’ You wouldn’t have asked me to come down here if you were going to go to Vegas. I can’t understand why you’d want to go there anyway. You wouldn’t have me down for dinner for that, you’d have your father call me on the phone. He said ‘relax, coach.’ Then he reaches down and pulls out an Arizona State golf hat. I said ‘Tiger, if that’s as close as you’ve come to making up your mind I’ve got to go. I have to get back to Stanford.’ He stopped me and put on a Stanford hat and said ‘coach, I’m with you.’”

Goodwin said having Woods at Stanford brought an incredible amount of interest to the team. Before Tiger, Stanford golf tournaments were nearly deserted.

“Before he came, the spectators there would six or seven sets of parent and two or three girlfriends that come with puppy dogs. That was it,” Goodwin said. “Tiger comes to college and there are hundreds of people. It was totally out of control.”

 The team would go on to finish second in 1995 after losing a playoff with Oklahoma State. Woods went on to win the 1996 individual championship before going pro the year after.

Despite all of Tiger’s success, Goodwin doesn’t talk about him any differently than he does any of his former players. One of the players he most admired was Martin, who Goodwin defended against PGA legend and Stanford alum Tom Watson, who spoke out against Martin during his trial against the PGA.

“Here is a crippled guy that, since birth, has done the maximum he could do with his body,” Goodwin said. “He played on the tour, which was his lifelong dream. I remember going through the trial because that case went clear to the top. I was down in Tucson at the time and the judge in the trial made arrangements to talk to me on the phone.

“There will never be another one. I told Tom Watson, ‘hey, what if he was your son?’ He didn’t have an answer and he had a different attitude about the whole thing.”

Martin, who is now the head coach at the University of Oregon, said he enjoyed playing for Goodwin, but the relationship between coach and player was the real highlight of playing for Wally at Stanford.

“I think relationships are the most important thing,” Martin said. “I think those relationships you forge in golf are going to last. A trophy gets kind of dusty. I think this is probably his life lesson: that relational victories are probably better than victories on the golf course.

“I think he showed that you could be really competitive and really good but you don’t have to be a jerk to do it. He showed that you could be a kind person and still be successful, and that has always stuck with me because Wally was secretly very competitive. He cared for other people and he put up other people first a lot.”

At his ranch in Story, Goodwin’s office isn’t filled with trophies. He admits winning tournaments was fun, but like Martin, his real treasures are the relationships he formed during his years in golf. According to Goodwin, he wants his legacy to be athletes who followed him into coaching instead of players who became professionals.

“I’ve got three guys that played for me that are now college coaches. That shows you not necessarily what kind of players they were, but what kind of guys they are. They’re entrusted with the lives of all the kids that play for them and they’re all doing a great job.”

Goodwin retired from Stanford in 2000. It was his first try at living on his family’s ranch and it didn’t take long for Goodwin to realize he had a few more years left on the course. He served as the head coach for Northern Colorado from 2003 to 2007 before finally settling down to a simpler life in Story.

“There was something definitely missing in my life. I was bored here in the wintertime. The minute it came up I knew it was the thing to do. I was so busy down there I was going out of my mind.”

Goodwin maintains that this time, he has found whatever he was missing and that his retirement is final. Martin, on the other hand, isn’t sure Goodwin can handle being 100 percent retired.

“I don’t think so,” Martin said. “I think he’ll have to get out and do something. I don’t see him as sitting in a ranch and whiling away the hours. I think he’ll want to be involved, maybe not coaching, but be involved in some capacity around college sports. I know he loves sports. We really hit if off because we talked basketball and football all the time. I think he probably wants to be around that to some degree. Probably in the summer time he’ll be up there and I guess in the winter time he’ll sneak down to Stanford or somewhere to be closer to the action.”

But Goodwin doesn’t see coaching golf in his horizon. He said that what he wants to go fishing, maybe play a few rounds at the Buffalo Golf Club and watch the Colorado Rockies play at night. This time, he says he is really done.

“I’ve built memories, I’ve built satisfaction and a little bit of money,” he said. “I’m sure there are going to be days when I get a little bit restless and there are going to be days when I have a hell of a time. I think I’m prepared to go into both of those kinds of days. Nancy and I have a great life together. We don’t have any questions about our lives or how they’re going. Our lives just go. I think we’re both content.”

Story by Tom Milstead, tom@buffalobulletin.com.

David Chung Video --- My Stanford Story

Jim Young, Senior Assistant Athletic Director/Communications and Media Relations

Editor's Note: "My Stanford Story" is a continuing series on GoStanford.com intended to profile select Stanford student-athletes and their extraordinary accomplishments on and off the playing fields. Video work by Bud Anderson, Director of Creative Video Services.

April 5, 2011 STANFORD, Calif. 

As a young boy growing up in Fayetteville, North Carolina, David Chung fondly remembers playing golf with his father, Christian, early in the morning on Masters Sunday, then hurrying home to watch the final round of the tournament he and thousands of other junior golfers his age could only dream of playing in one day.

He remembers the 1997 Masters, when a 21-year old Tiger Woods, just a few years removed from Stanford, won his first green jacket with a record-setting score of 270 (-18), earning a 12-stroke victory over Tom Kite.

In 2006, David and his father made the three and a half hour drive down the I-70 from Fayetteville to attend their first Masters together as patrons. The experience left him awestruck.
"Every blade of grass is perfect," said Chung. "You can't help not to get caught up in the history and prestige of Augusta National. It gave me chills."

Fast forward to August of 2010 when Chung, now firmly established as one of the top amateur players in the world, stood on the first tee at Chambers Bay Golf Course prior to his match against Ben Ahn in the semifinals of the United States Amateur Men's Championship. A victory not only would secure a spot in the 36-hole championship match, but would assure the winner a spot in the Masters. 

After closing out Ahn on the 18th hole to earn a 1-up victory, this one time child prodigy who was introduced to the game by riding around in a golf cart with his father at the age of four, had seen one of his golfing dreams come true. David Chung had earned a spot in the field at the Masters.

"I think I was more nervous before that match than the finals, knowing a trip to Augusta was a possibility," remembers Chung.

As one of this year's participants, David was afforded the opportunity to play Augusta National for the first time over winter break.

"It was December 27 and there was only one other group on the entire course, so I had the course all to myself," recalls Chung, who was accompanied by his father. "Driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time was a special experience I will never forget. We purposely slowed down so we could savor every minute of the drive."

Once on the course, it didn't take Chung long to realize he more than had his work cut out for him.
"I didn't realize how difficult the course is to walk because every approach shot appears to be uphill. The temperature was in the mid-40's and the course felt like it played 8,000 yards. I thought it was the longest golf course I've ever played and the greens are so demanding."

As one of this year's participants, David was afforded the opportunity to play Augusta National for the first time over winter break.

"It was December 27 and there was only one other group on the entire course, so I had the course all to myself," recalls Chung, who was accompanied by his father. "Driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time was a special experience I will never forget. We purposely slowed down so we could savor every minute of the drive."

Once on the course, it didn't take Chung long to realize he more than had his work cut out for him.
"I didn't realize how difficult the course is to walk because every approach shot appears to be uphill. The temperature was in the mid-40's and the course felt like it played 8,000 yards. I thought it was the longest golf course I've ever played and the greens are so demanding."

He managed to sneak in another practice round at Augusta on March 25 prior to Stanford's appearance in the Linger Longer Invitational, which was held in nearby Greensboro, Ga. After the tournament, he chose to travel straight to Augusta with his family to begin preparing for his first Masters in earnest.


"I am certainly glad that I was able to spend some time here before tournament week," said Chung, who is bunking in the Crow's Nest above the famed Augusta National Clubhouse, with the other amateurs who are in this year's field.
"There is no other place in the world like the National, with its mystique and history. J.J. Weaver, one of the head professionals at Augusta, said amateurs need to visit this place as often as possible before the event to get rid of some of that "awe" factor. I'm hoping my extra time here will help me concentrate on my game."


Chung, who will be paired with 1988 Masters champion Sandy Lyle and Alex Cejka of Germany in the first two rounds, thinks the ability to drive the ball well will be one of his many keys to success this week. He will also rely heavily on a longtime Augusta caddy, known as "Rowdy" to guide him around the course.


"I have to drive the ball well, no doubt about it. I'm confident with my approach shots but the key is to get in the right position, both in the fairway and on the greens, to give myself a chance."


Chung managed to play a practice round on Sunday with PGA standouts Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy, along with Oklahoma State standout and U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein.


"For the first several holes, I was pretty nervous but they are all great guys and their easy going demeanors helped me to settle down. I am going to try to play with as many professionals as possible before the tournament begins on Thursday. Anthony Kim and I share the same swing coach so I will be practicing with him. I hope to play with Tiger, as well."
Chung mentioned Woods, who will be gunning for his fifth green jacket, gave him a welcome embrace on the putting green.


"That was pretty special."


When asked about his goals for the week, Chung plays it pretty close to the vest, saying nothing more than he will try to play his best.


Good enough - for hasn't that been the approach that got him to Augusta in the first place?


by Jim Young, Senior Assistant Athletic Director/Communications and Media Relations
Editor's Note: "My Stanford Story" is a continuing series on GoStanford.com intended to profile select Stanford student-athletes and their extraordinary accomplishments on and off the playing fields. Video work by Bud Anderson, Director of Creative Video Services.

Zack Miller on Tour --- AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am & Nissan Open at Riviera

2007 Stanford grad Zack Miller continues his fine play increasing his money winnings to more than $300,000 on the PGA Tour.  He writes about his experiences in a blog for CSNBayArea.com.

Zack Miller
PGA TOUR Professional

The last two weeks have been great golfing weeks.

Photo by CSN Bay Area

Let's start with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. I love playing in the Monterey area. I don't make it down there from the Bay Area too often but they've got so many great courses in such close proximity. I stayed at a friend's house who lives just down the road from Pebble which was extremely convenient for me to get to the three courses that week. I played in a Pro-Am at Monterey Peninsula Country Club (MPCC) for the Boys & Girls Club of Monterey on Monday and then played the next two days at Pebble. My amateur partner was Scott McNealy, founder of Sun Microsystems and a good friend of mine who has been an avid supporter of Stanford golf for a long time now. I've gotten to know Scott and his family (Susan, Maverick, Dakota, Colt, Scout, and their dog Shelby) over the past 7 years. A great teammate for the week. The rest of the group was comprised of Joe Bramlett, my teammate for one year at Stanford and Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo! and another great supporter of Stanford Golf. The week was shaping up for a lot of fun.

[REWIND: Points and his sidekick, Murray, win Pebble Beach]

I open opened up with even par (72) at Pebble and -1 (70) at MPCC. A few of my highlights from Pebble included chipping in twice and holing out a 56 yard shot on 18 for par after hooking my drive into the Ocean. That shot alone -- saving par and avoiding bogey or worse -- was such a huge momentum saver.

My third round at Spyglass was one to remember; it was my most solid round of the the year. I really didn't miss-hit a shot until my first bogey on the par-3 12. I made nine birdies and three bogies that day, which included being 8-under through 15 holes. A truly great ball striking round with a solid putting day to add to it. Just one of those days where everything clicked. I shot 66. It propelled me into 12th place going into the final round and earned a pairing with Hunter Mahan and Phil Mickelson at Pebble Beach! Unfortunately our Pro-Am score was not quite good enough to make it to the final day. Scott and I lost in a card-off for the final Pro-Am berth.

The only times I felt nervous that last day was at the beginning and end of the round. My caddy said, "Don't be freaked out when Phil shakes your hand and has glove his on". I only felt a little nervous when I saw him on the putting green, but once we met and announced on the first tee I felt comfortable. Both Phil and Hunter were complete gentlemen and could not have been any nicer. That goes for both their caddies as well, John wood and Bones. Bones comes over to my bag on 1 because we were waiting for the green to clear and asked what my Saint Marks Elementary golf team bag tag was all about. I said I just got it from my PE teacher from back in the the day and I guess I had just become an honorary member of the team. He just chuckled to himself.

It was a day to remember. A great weather day at Pebble and a pairing with two Ryder cup members who are both Top 20 in the world -- not too bad. I shot 71 (-1) and finished tied for ninth for the week, collecting my biggest pay check of the my career ($163K+). The Top 10 finish also solidified a spot for me in the L.A. Open at Riviera the following week -- a great perk since I was not going to get into the event before Pebble.

Now moving onto the L.A. Open. Riviera is a beast of a golf course. The event boasted the strongest field for a tournament I had participated in all year. For the first time, I saw guys like Louie Oosthuzien, Paul Casey, Luke Donald, and Ryo Ishikawa.

Read more: Miller: Making PGA cuts and cashing checks
Tune to SportsNet Central at 6, 10:30 and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area for more on this story 

Zack Miller on Tour --- Phoenix Open and 1st two days at the Sony Open

You can follow Zack's PGA Tour exploits on his blog at http://www.csnbayarea.com/pages/on_tour.

Miller: Maintaining momentum

Last week at Torrey Pines, Zack Miller joked with Tiger Woods about not being able to beat a rookie. They both shot 69 in the opening round. (Courtesy Zack Miller)

Feb. 1, 2011

GOLF PAGE

Zack Miller
PGA TOUR Professional

I am currently in Phoenix as the fourth alternate to get accepted into the Waste Management Open. Unfortunately, the prospect of getting into the event with only two days to go before the event is not looking great. It would be great to play because my game is solid right now. As a rookie, however, getting into popular events with smaller fields is just hard to come by.

[RELATED: Waste Management Phoenix Open preview]

I've loved the ride the PGA TOUR has given me the last three weeks. Starting in Hawaii I had some nerves walking around not knowing the majority of players or the people who are affiliated with the TOUR. I played great but left the course Friday with a sour taste in my mouth. 

I went into 18 thinking a birdie would get me into the weekend. A reachable downwind par 5 was all I had left. I drove it behind a palm tree and decided to try to be aggressive when maybe if I had some experience I would chip it out and rely on my wedge game. I ended up smoking the tree dead on and it ricocheted into a bush and ended up making a bogey on the hole. 

Imagine the experience -- putting out on 18 knowing that that bogey cost me over $10,000 dollars. I just wanting to get on the next flight out of Honolulu and prepare for the next event.

Read more: On Tour with Zack Miller
Tune to SportsNet Central at 6, 10:30 and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area for more on this story 

CSN Bay Area is featuring Zack Miller online.  Zack was an All-American at Stanford graduating in 2007.  Here is the first part of Zack's experiences at the Sony Open in Hawaii:

Zack Miller
PGA TOUR Professional

I'm here in Honolulu, Hawaii for the first PGA Tour event of the season, and my first PGA Tour event ever, the Sony Open. It's amazing seeing some of the big names walking around the locker room and practice facility. My locker is next to Brian Gay and David Duval. 

It is pretty popular to leave your clubs right next to your locker so I have been checking out the names on the bags and seeing what clubs are being playing with and if there is anything I've never seen before. The new hot club right now is the Taylor Made R11 driver and 3 wood. The head is painted cream white and stands out from a mile a way. You will really be able to see it on TV.

[RELATED: Introductions in order at Sony Open]

I played 7 holes with Pat Perez on Tuesday. It's amazing that this will be his 10th year on tour. He is one of the best ball strikers I've seen on the golf course. He helped me with where to hit it and what the wind usually does on certain holes, something he definitely did not have to do. But it was a really great learning experience seeing his confidence and how he attacks the holes.

The Tour set up a Pearl Harbor excursion for us; there were more family members and caddies than players, but I hung out with my old teammate Joseph Bramlett. We walked around on the USS Chafee and had the opportunity to meet four-star Admiral Bob Willard who controls the naval operations in the Pacific. A cool fact about him was that he was in Top Gun in the scene where Tom Cruise was 'flipping the bird' to the Russians while inverted. Well, the Admiral played the Russian pilot in the front seat of the other plane. TOP GUN! Awesome.

Headed to an offsite Pro-Am today to play with people who have contributed to make the Sony Open possible. I am playing Thursday with Chris Baryla and Kevin Kisner, both of whom I know well. I tee off at 1pm Thursday and 8:30am Friday.

Read more: Miller: Sony Open -- my first two days on tour 
For the complete article click here.