A Bolt of greatness

LECANTO -- Golf was a bit bland. Players dressed alike, talked alike and, well, looked alike. To a certain degree, the sport lacked personality.

Tommy Bolt changed that. He dressed sharply, swung a fierce stick, talked a good game and left every emotion on the course.

If Bolt hit a good shot, he was everybody's friend. But if he misfired, he was John McEnroe with a 2-iron. And so, Tommy Bolt became "Terrible Tommy" to the press. He didn't care for the name then, and he doesn't today.

"I wasn't any more terrible than the rest of them," Bolt said. "The media really ballooned it out of proportion."

The irony is that by most accounts the media loved Bolt. He was a writer's best friend. One of the best players, he possessed flash and charm, spoke his mind and, of course, had that temper.

"It was good copy back in the 1950s," Bolt said. "Back when I played, newspaper reporters always waited around the 18th green for me to finish. It didn't matter what I shot. They wanted to know what I had to say, and I usually had something to say."

Today, Bolt is witty as ever. The easy-going 86-year-old former PGA star and his wife, Mary Lou, live at Black Diamond Ranch. Bolt plays as much as possible, and if you're wondering if he still has game, he does. Earlier this week, he shot par for nine holes.

Bolt learned the sport like so many men of his era. He started as a caddie at a public course in Shreveport, La. It was a good way during the depression to earn extra money, but Bolt soon fell in love with golf.

He played on what were called caddie days, and was a scratch player by 18. A self-taught golfer, Bolt was a quick study. He watched those he caddied for, then took mental notes to the practice tee and course.

"I decided when I was 13 or 14it was something I wanted to do," Bolt said.

But golf would have to wait.

During World War II, Bolt worked 30 months as an engineer in Italy. He needed money when he returned to the states, so he worked construction in the morning and played golf in the afternoon.

"I'd gamble to make a little extra change," Bolt said.

He turned pro in 1946. In '47, he won money in four of the eight tournaments he played. But it wasn't enough to keep him afloat, so Bolt returned to construction work. Finally, he found a financial backer and again headed to the course -- for good. He won $650 in his next event.

By 1950, Bolt was a full-timer on the PGA Tour. He won the North & South Open at famed Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina the following year.

In 1952, he captured the prestigious Los Angeles Open title by beating Dutch Harrison and Jackie Burke in an 18-hole playoff. According to an account in the Los Angeles Times, Bolt wore a felt hat and "became an instant celebrity playing the game with such a look of pure disdain that the galleries were fascinated."

Bolt was on two U.S. Ryder Cup teams and won 15 tour events. He missed six cuts in 17 years.

In the second round of the 1954 Insurance City Open, he shot 60, then tied for the lowest score in tour history. Some thought Bolt's ball-striking skills were the best of his era.

Bolt's greatest triumph came in the 1958 U.S. Open. At Southern Hills Country Club in Oklahoma, he led from wire-to-wire, defeating Gary Player by four strokes. Few golfers have been in such command at a major.

"I just had control of my emotions," Bolt said. "I was at peace with myself, at peace with the world, the way you have to be. I didn't always do that. I was human."

Thirteen years later, he nearly did the unthinkable.

In the 1971 PGA Championship in Palm Beach Gardens, Bolt, 55, was tied with Jack Nicklaus, then in his prime, for the lead after 63 holes. Bolt shot par over the final nine holes. Nicklaus, as he was prone to do, came in at 3-under to win. Bolt placed third.

"I could have won it if I could have kept my concentration," Bolt said.

Through the years, people have speculated as to how many tournaments Bolt might have won had his temper not gotten in the way. But he says his anger caused him to lose one or two events. Bolt's inability to sustain his concentration, he said, was a much greater problem.

"Sometimes I couldn't keep my mind on business," he said.

The "Terrible Tommy" moniker, though perhaps unjust, gave Bolt an identity. He wasn't just another golfer. He was the guy who let you know how it felt to make a double-bogey with money on the line.

He wasn't a stale quote but the person who spoke his mind, even if it ruffled feathers. Bolt wasn't so terrible then, and he isn't now.

"I never liked (the nickname)," Bolt said. "Now, 'Thunder Bolt' I didn't mind.

"Thunder Bolt" it is.

Hey, the man has earned it.

Keith Niebuhr can be reached at 860-7337 or online at niebuhr@sptimes.com .

AT A GLANCE

BIO

BIRTHDATE: March 31, 1916.

RESIDENCE: Black Diamond Ranch, Lecanto.

NICKNAME: Dubbed "Terrible Tommy" and "Thunder Bolt" by press in 1950s.

WIFE: Mary Lou (married in 1957).

TIMELINE

1946: Turned professional.

1950: Joined PGA Tour full-time.

1951: Won North & South Open for first professional victory.

1955: Selected to Ryder Cup team. Tied for third at Masters and U.S. Open.

1957: Selected to Ryder Cup team.

1958: Won U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. His earnings: $8,000.

1967: Retired from PGA Tour.

1969: Won PGA Senior Championship.

1971: At 55, placed third at PGA Championship.

2002: Inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame (through Veteran's Category) along with Ben Crenshaw, Marlene Hagge, Tony Jacklin, Bernhard Langer and Harvey Penick.

THE REAL STORY

In one event, Bolt was said to have asked his caddie what club to hit on a 200-yard approach to a green. "A seven-iron, Mr. Bolt," the caddie answered, to which Bolt replied, "A seven-iron! What makes you think I can get there with a seven-iron!"

"Because," the caddie said, "that's the only club you have left in the bag."

Great story, but not true, Bolt says.

In fact, Bolt swears he never broke more than one club in a single round. He does, however, admit to having thrown a few. Bolt's most famous club toss came at the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills. After hitting two balls in the water on a hole, he chucked his driver into a lake.

"The carp in the water were distracting me," Bolt said. "They were jumping beside the tee."

QUOTES ATTRIBUTED TO BOLT

"I know I'm not a villain. I'm a good guy."

"Golf is a game where guts and blind devotion will always net you absolutely nothing but an ulcer.

"The greatest liar in the world is the golfer who claims he plays the game for merely exercise."

"Always throw clubs ahead of you; that way you don't waste energy going back to pick them up."

"Putting allows the touchy golfer two to four opportunities to blow a gasket in the short space of two to 40 feet."

"I never threw a club that didn't deserve it."

DID YOU KNOW?

Asian Golf Monthly (www.asiangolfmonthly.com) rates Bolt as the 65th best golfer of all time, one spot behind legendary figure Bobby Jones. Jack Nicklaus is first.

HOME SWEET HOME

Bolt has lived at Black Diamond Ranch nine years.

He first settled in Citrus County in 1958. Back then, Bolt called Crystal River home and played out of the Paradise Country Club, known today as Plantation Inn.

"It was the greatest fishing place you could find," Bolt said. "We liked to fish and hunt. A lot of golfers on tour back then played out of Crystal River -- Bob Goalby, Ken Venturi. They all represented Crystal River and the Paradise Country Club."

IN BOLT'S OPINION

FAVORITE COURSE: Pinehurst No. 2.

TOUGHEST COURSE: The Olympic Club, San Francisco.

BEST SWING: Ben Hogan.

BEST TEMPO: Sam Snead.

BEST PUTTERS: Billy Casper, Cary Middlecoff.

BEST BALL-STRIKER: Ben Hogan. Of Hogan, Bolt once said, "I've seen Nicklaus watch Hogan, but I've never seen Hogan watch Nicklaus."

BEST THINKERS: Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus.

BEST UNDER PRESSURE: Jack Nicklaus.

MOST UNDERRATED: Doug Ford, Mike Souchak, Ken Venturi.

CEREMONY DIRECTIONS

World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame, is off Interstate 95 south of Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine. From I-95, take Exit 95A onto International Golf Parkway. Take a right into the main entrance to World Golf Village, then follow the signs to the hall of fame.

LAST WORD

"He never trusted a golf ball or a golf course in his life. He acted as if he were going through Indian country and could hear drums. It was not a game, it was a conspiracy. The game had it in for him. The world had it in for him. The world didn't have it in for him. The world loved Tommy Bolt. He was every man who ever missed a 2-foot putt, who wouldn't take a double-bogey lying down. Like hackers everywhere, Tommy knew what a two-timing tart golf can be. He let the world know what a trollop she was." -- Los Angeles Times columnist Jim Murray, 1993.

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