Jack And Jimmy Hold A Bash In The Big Thicket

Facilities at the course consist of one of the most comfortable and congenial locker rooms in existence, a large room for eating and drinking and a swimming pool. "When LeeRoy comes out to play golf," Burke explains, "he wants a place to change his shoes and to get a sandwich and get going. He does not want to find the dining room all cluttered up with Mrs. O'Leary's bridge party or Mrs. Smithwick's daughter's wedding. There is no reason why golf clubs should have to take care of America's social problems. Let the tennis clubs do it. Last year we opened another 18 holes so that there would be one course just for men. On the other one the husbands can play with their wives and children.

"Golf should be a tough, competitive game. The Scots have the right attitude. They feel you go out on the course and try to beat the other guy's brains in. That's recreation. If LeeRoy goes out on the course just to sell a load of pipe or an insurance policy, that's not golf."

Since Burke and Demaret began the Champions Cup tournament in 1961, they have regarded the event as a kind of missionary attempt to promote the amateur game on just such a tough, competitive basis. Their main objective has been to get a field of the country's best players, but this also brings in some interesting nongolf personalities—and attracts a number of nongolf fans who would rather watch Bob Sterling miss a 40-foot putt than Deane Beman sink one. This year Sterling, one of the best of the movie golfers, was teamed with Nicky Hilton, whose father owns all those hotels.

Burke and Demaret play down the celebrity aspect, though, and the week's social activities are kept at a minimum. "We won't let this turn into some kind of outing," Burke says. "We don't want people to be more interested in the dance band than the players. If we can make this the kind of tournament it ought to be, then the guys will take the message back to their clubs and the idea will grow. The next thing you know, there will be more tough golf tournaments for the best amateurs, and there will be some incentive and recognition for them. That is what the game needs. There is room for no more than 100 touring pros, so if you are going to keep the sport alive for the 10,000 eager amateurs you've got to have good tournaments for them. You get all those guys beating each other's brains in and pretty soon you'll have LeeRoy coming out to watch. That's real golf."