Dear Harvey,
It was a splendid day in Richmond this Sunday for the annual Rube and Victory Shield Matches between The Richmond Golf Club and The Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club. This is one of the longest-standing interclub matches in the world of golf, dating back to 1897.
The history of the event
Teams of thirteen players from each club compete in two matches on the day. One club hosts players with handicaps of 10 and above for the Rube Shield, while the other hosts players with handicaps of 9 and below for the Victory Shield. Matches are played at scratch. Afterwards, everyone enjoys a coat and tie lunch and the camaraderie of being part of this wonderful tradition.
Team Richmond claimed the Rube Shield on our home ground this year by a close 7-6 victory. Team Royal Mid-Surrey secured the Victory comfortably on their own turf. I lost my match 2 and 1 to James Magrath, shown in the photo above in front of Sudbrook Mansion. Well played, James!
Honoring Harvey’s legacy
During our lunch, I seized the opportunity to honour your legacy by sharing with the competitors the story of The Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf. I explained how you coached Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, both Hall of Famers, as well as five LPGA Hall of Famers: Betty Jameson, Judy Rankin, Betsy Rawls, Kathy Whitworth, and Mickey Wright. These ladies and gentlemen won over 300 professional tournaments between them!
I talked a bit about Crenshaw’s second green jacket, which he won at age 43, the week of your passing. And how you gave Ben a putting lesson from your deathbed. It was a remarkable week and one in which Ben said,
I had a 15th club in the bag and it was Harvey!
This is a great summary about how you wrote the book at 88 years of age, with help from Bud Shrake. And how it became the number one selling sports book of all time.
I prepared a toast, in the form of a poem, celebrating the tradition of the matches and honoring your legacy. I’ll share it here:
The Rube & Victory Shield Matches
(With a nod to Harvey Penick)
For 128 years,
The Richmond Golf Club
and The Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club
have met.
Not playing
for a bet
but rather for
two trophies,
between two proud clubs,
one family of golf.
Thirteen a side,
ten and up,
nine and below.
Battle for
The Rube and
The Victory Shield
Names etched in silver
and in memory.
For over a century
fairways walked
by generations,
putts rolled on greens
before
any of us
first swung a club.
Back when scores
were tallied
by pencil
and pride,
not by apps
on a phone.
It is the kind of tradition
that makes you
stand a little taller
when you pull on
your club’s colours.
The kind of golf
where the handshake
after eighteen
matters
as much
as the number
on the card.
Across the sea,
in my former home
in Austin, Texas,
I learned a truth or two
from Harvey Penick,
our head pro,
a gentle teacher
with a little red book
and a gift for saying
much
with few words.
Harvey had this
uncanny way
of making
the game
simple.
All golfers know
To “Take Dead Aim.”
Because “Golf is a game
for everyone
not just the talented few.”
Those of us
who spew
our shots through
the morning dew.
We long for the day
when our game
is in one piece
when our game is
at peace.
If Harvey
was to suggest
a swing change
He might say,
“Please, sir, take just one aspirin,
Not the whole damn bottle!”
Harvey told his students,
“Go to dinner
with good putters.”
“The woods are full
of long drivers.”
“If you play poorly one day
forget it
If you play poorly the next
Review your fundamentals
grip, stance, aim
ball position
If you play poorly
a third time
in a row,
go see your pro!”
For me,
my favorite
Harvey quip
is not about the grip
or how to chip
or a swing tip.
But rather
simply this:
“If you play golf
you are my friend.”
So here we are,
Richmond and Royal Mid-Surrey,
linked by history,
by fairways and friendships,
by matches played
long before we were born
and matches yet to come.
Whatever the score,
whatever the weather,
whatever the silver says at the end
we walk the same fairways,
we share the same laughter,
we honour the same game.
Because Harvey was right —
and I’ll raise a glass to it now:
“If you play golf,
you are my friend.”
I hope you enjoyed that, Harvey. I sure had fun writing and sharing it with the lads on Sunday.
Until next time,
gPage
“Millions of people were charmed by the homespun golf advice dispensed in Harvey Penick’s Little Red Book, a sports classic that became the best-selling sports book of all time. Yet, beyond the Texas golf courses where Penick happily toiled for the better part of eight decades, few people knew the self-made golf pro who coaxed the best out of countless greats — Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright — all champions who considered Penick their coach and lifelong friend.” – Kevin Robbins, author of Harvey Penick: The Life and Wisdom of the Man Who Wrote the Book on Golf.
