JB Carr Earns Ultimate Accolade
Date: November 2007
Joe Carr is the first Irish player to enter golf's Hall of Fame and, writes Dermot Gilleece, and Jack Nicklaus was the perfect man to introduce the Sutton maestro.
Far from the chill November winds of his beloved Sutton, Joe Carr last week became the first Irishman to enter the World Golf Hall of Fame on a comfortably cool night in Florida.
And amid all the emotion and fanfare, there was an awareness of how fitting it was that this, the ultimate accolade, should have come on American soil, for no nation other than his own took Carr more to its heart.
This was exemplified by the presence of a true American icon, Jack Nicklaus, giving the introductory address. The Bear spoke for seven minutes about a man he described as a great friend and one of the greatest amateur champions the game has seen.
And when the ceremony was over and the six new inductees -- Carr, Hubert Green, Kel Nagle, Charles Blair Macdonald, Se Ri Pak and Curtis Strange -- had brought the Hall of Fame's number to 120, Joe's widow, Mary, and the children of his marriage to his first wife, Dor, went to Nicklaus to thank him. It was 8.0pm and, as if to order, stars shone brightly in the night sky.
It had been both a difficult and enriching two days for the Carr family. On Sunday, they attended the Night of Legends Tribute Dinner, held in the upstairs area of the Hall of Fame building where two glass cabinets contained memorabilia of Joe's career, ranging from his golf clubs and Walker Cup blazer, to two remarkable letters. The first was written by the great Bobby Jones on February 1, 1967. It began: "Dear Joe. To my delight I have just found on my desk your letter to Cliff Roberts saying that you will play in the Masters this year . . ."
The other, from John O'Connor, president of The Old Head of Kinsale, was written on June 5, 2004, three days after Joe's death.
It began: "My dear friend Joe. I have just this morning learned of your passing and I feel quite overcome with emotion as I sit here on the terrace of The Old Head. I have written this letter to somewhat comfort myself on receiving the bad news. But also, I want your family, on reading this, to be reminded of one of the two things that they may not know about the great Joe Carr . . ."
During Sunday's meal, there were regular visitors to the Carr table from friends and admirers anxious to meet Mary and the family. Among them was former USGA president, Bill Campbell, whom Joe beat in the quarter-finals of the British Amateur in 1958 and who, remarkably, lost again to Joe's son, Roddy, in the Walker Cup 13 years later. "Joe was loved everywhere," he said. "There was a quality about him which made him wonderful company."
Later, in an after-dinner speech, American golf-writer George Peper gave a fascinating perspective to Carr's latest achievement when he said: "Since that first shepherd struck the first pebble on the links, my guess is that the total number of souls who have attempted this crazy, fascinating, frustrating game is around one billion. One billion golfers . . . and how many of them have made the Hall of Fame? One hundred and twenty."
From my own perspective, the honour didn't really hit home until the flag-raising ceremony on Monday morning. That was when the Carr’s were joined by GUI president Tommie Basquille, Mairin Byrne, president Sutton GC, Bill Twamley, captain Portmarnock GC and Des Fitzgerald, president Mount Juliet GC. Long-time friends of Joe's from Sutton GC, Brian Wallace and Bill Thompson, were also present.
At 11.30am, all gathered before a silver flagpole which carried the plaque: Joe Carr Ireland. Then, in delightful sunshine, Mary, along with Gerry Carr, ceremoniously raised the Tricolour. Ireland, later described by Nicklaus as a proud country, now stood among only 15 of all the world's golfing nations to be so honoured.
So, a newly-formed semi-circle of flagpoles in front of the Hall of Fame, comprises (clockwise, with individual winners), Ireland (Joe Carr), Canada (Marlene Stewart-Streit), Zimbabwe (Nick Price), Germany (Bernhard Langer), Norway (Karsten Solheim), Argentina (Roberto de Vicenzo), United Kingdom, US, South Africa, Spain (Seve Ballesteros), Australia, Japan, Sweden (Annika Sorenstam), Fiji (Vijay Singh) and Korea (Se Ri Pak).
Inside, in the lobby of the Hall of Fame building, the same flags hang from the ceiling. And the fact that the facility had 280,000 visitors last year gives some idea of the significance of Carr's inclusion on golf's ultimate roll of honour.
In the afternoon, there was the opportunity to meet Nicklaus in the newest exhibit. Titled 'Jack Nicklaus: Golf's Golden Champion', it covers four rooms marking the great man's life and times. Centrepiece of more than 250 items is a re-creation of 'Nicklaus Drugs' one of the drugstores his father owned in Columbus, Ohio, evoking Middle America in the 1950s.
Clearly happy to recapture the mood of those far-off days, Nicklaus gave a press conference while sitting on a red-covered stool, his feet on the rung. Behind him was a counter with two jukebox display units and soda dispensers, where the Bear took a metal beaker and pretended to fill a milkshake as he once did as a boy.
Later, I wondered how he had come to be giving the Carr address. "To be honest, I had no idea Joe was being inducted," he said. "But the Hall of Fame people knew I'd be here for this and that I was a great friend of Joe's. And I was tickled to death when they asked me to do the address. I told them: 'Absolutely'."
Then, looking back at the Carr era, I wondered how he felt about many of today's players, who tend to view their amateur past as some form of disease which they were pleased to rid themselves of by turning professional.
Nicklaus chuckled at the notion. "It's ridiculous," he said. "What they seem to think is that it doesn't count anymore. It certainly counted for me. I had a great amateur career. I loved it. Maybe it has to do with such a big focus being put on the professional game nowadays and not much attention being given by the press to the amateurs. But it's still ridiculous.
"When you're growing up, you're playing against the best competition there is available. And, for me, that included Joe Carr. Generally speaking, you'll find that the US Amateur, the British Amateur or the NCAA are really difficult tournaments to win. And I can tell you that you don't have to play a whole lot better to win a US Open than to win one of those. If, in fact, you have to play better."
He went on: "I often wondered if Joe would have had the temperament for a professional career. He was essentially a fun-loving guy with a matchplay temperament. Mind you, he sure as the devil didn't like to lose, which is what made him a great champion."
Meanwhile, for Mary and Joe's offspring, Roddy, Sibeal, John, Gerry and Marty -- Jody had to remain in Dublin for a family function -- it was an unforgettable experience. "It was all so emotional, especially seeing so many of Joe's things on display," said Mary. "But they did it all beautifully. I was so proud of him." On Monday night, the elderly volunteer who drove me in a buggy back to the car-park, expressed the view: "I think it's a pity they present these things post-humorously."
He had a point. The fun of meeting all his old friends in such glittering circumstances would have been right up Joe's alley.
