Ace in the Hole

Historic Colonial golf tournament forged lasting memories

by Roger Enlow Hoopla Correspondent

Randy Frederick is the Forrest Gump of Granbury, so says his longtime buddy Steve Powell.

Just like Forrest, it seems that Frederick is always in the right place at the right time.

* He was among the frantic fans when legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix lit up Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth.

tee box at the 1975 Tournament Players Championship, which was played at Colonial that sweltering August weekend. My wife Karan was sitting on a camp stool when Nicklaus and his fellow players arrived at the tee. When he bent down to fill a cup of water, his derriere and sweat-soaked light-blue checkered polyester pants were only inches away from Karan’s face. A moment frozen in time.

May 25-28

Colonial Country Club

* He’s been in restaurants when he spotted Paul Newman and G. Gordon Liddy at nearby tables.

Fort Worth

Purse: $8.7 million

* He was standing in line for the Johnny Carson Show in Burbank when up walked Bob Hope to chat with the patrons.

* He was with the gallery on No. 2 tee box at Colonial Country Club when Jack Nicklaus was preparing to hit and accidentally tapped Frederick’s leg with his club. Nicklaus apologized before resetting and launching one of his towering drives.

Nicklaus’ golf club never touched me, but we had an up close and personal experience with the superstar on the 18th

The sweet Colonial golf tournament memories flow this time every year, on the eve of the longestrunning stop on the PGA Tour at the same venue. I grew up in Granbury, near the banks of the Brazos River where I’m sure I tramped through wagonloads of poison ivy. But it wasn’t until walking the Trinity River overgrowth at Colonial that I broke out in dozens of itchy blisters that warranted a run on calamine lotion at Ron’s Pharmacy.

My good friend Gary Marks was lucky. He never complained about the poison ivy or oak or whatever it was at Colonial because he was usually walking the pristine fairways. His dad, Glen Rose physician Dr. Roger

Marks, was a Colonial member and golfer. The two played together many Friday afternoons after Gary finished his last class at nearby Texas Wesleyan College.

Gary shivers when thinking back to one Friday afternoon when the temperature fell to 35 degrees with the north wind howling. “Willie,” a longtime caddy, carried both bags. Willie had his own way of staying warm that frigid day. When he thought no one was looking, he’d reach in his pocket for a shot of whisky.

Dr. Marks joined Colonial in 1967 when Gary was a senior at Glen Rose High School. For graduation his dad bought him a shiny new set of Ben Hogan woods. That same year the two began attending the Colonial tournament. “Big Daddy” Julius Boros became their favorite golfer.

“He was a big, tall guy,” Gary recalls. “He always had a cigarette in his hand.”

Boros didn’t waste any time playing. “When it was time for him to hit a golf ball, he pulled a club out of the bag, stepped to the ball and hit it,” Gary said.

Boros was one of the top golfers of the mid-century. He won 18 times on the PGA Tour, including three majors -- the ‘52 and ‘63 U.S. Open and ‘68 PGA.

Gary remembers seeing Nicklaus for the first time. The Golden Bear was standing on No. 15 fairway “a little overweight and smoking a big ol’ cigar. He obviously changed his ways.”

On late Saturday afternoon in the ‘71 tournament Gary and his dad were on 18 fairway when Gene Littler pushed his drive to the right in a draw under a tree. Littler had to hit under a long, low limb to reach the green.

Gary vividly remembers Littler contemplating the shot before hitting a perfect low iron that rolled up to the green and into the hole for a spectacular eagle 2. Littler went on to win the tournament.

Who can say they saw the immortal Ben Hogan compete on tour? Gary can. “It was probably his last year he played at Colonial. I remember I saw him on No. 11. He had a cigarette in his hand, a blue shirt and his white cap. He was so small. It was surreal to see him walking down the fairway. It’s something I’ll always remember.”

The two were more than tournament witnesses. Dr. Marks had the pleasure of playing in several Colonial pro-ams. Gary was his caddy.

“Dad was a pretty good amateur golfer for his age,” Gary said. “He played Colonial a lot.”

During the tournament the driving range wasn’t accessible to the amateurs, so on the way to the pro-am Dr. Marks liked to stop at a park in Benbrook to warm up and hit short irons. Gary shagged the balls.

Amateur golfers playing with a touring pro and in front of large galleries can be a daunting task. Gary remembers his father’s opening tee shot on No. 1. “He was as nervous as could be, but he stepped up and put it right down the middle of the fairway,” Gary said. “On No. 1 those fans are right there. You hook it and you’re going to nail somebody.”

The par 4 ninth hole at Colonial requires a precision second shot over water. One of Gary’s favorite memories is seeing his dad hitting his shot over the water and on the green and sinking the putt for birdie, giving his team a net eagle.

Colonial members lend their lockers to the pros during the week of the tournament. One of the game’s stars, Tom Watson, was assigned Dr. Marks’ locker. After a tournament Dr. Marks found a note in the locker. It said, “Tempo, dammit, tempo.”

Gary, now a Pecan Plantation resident, plays Squaw Valley Golf Course near Glen Rose these days, but he’ll always remember the glorious days of Colonial.

“I got to walk along with the pros -- Hal Sutton, Hubert Green, Bruce Devlin. I remember seeing Lee Trevino in the locker room sitting on the couch and reading a newspaper. They were all nice guys. I remember when dad was on No. 7 and hit a beautiful drive down the fairway. The pro said something to the effect, ‘I wish I had a follow-through like that.’

“I couldn’t have had a better father-son experience.”