An interesting bit of golf and baseball history is up for auction: a scorecard signed by Babe Ruth.

As of this moment, the bid is $2,148

A little grammatical humor in the headline here. The Great Jack Nicklaus turns seventy two today (Jan 21, 1940); he didn’t shoot 72 (but I’m sure he’s still can get to even par).

‘72—1972—also was a great season in Nicklaus’ career. He won the Masters and US Open by three shots each, starting talk of a Grand Slam. His performance that US Open may be best remembered for his one iron into the par 3 seventeenth at Pebble Beach which struck the flagstick and ended up three inches from the cup. That title also tied him with Bobby Jones for career Majors (13) and with Walter Hagen for professional Majors (11th).  Then, Nicklaus finished second—one shot behind—to Lee Trevino at the Open Championship.  Player won that year’s PGA.  Nicklaus won seven tournaments, finished second in four and had fifteen top ten finishes.

That season has been written about in the terrific: Tour ‘72: Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, and Trevino: The Story of One Great Season

Happy Birthday to the Golden Bear—Golf’s Greatest.

(BTW, if you ever get the chance to visit the Nicklaus museum at Ohio State in Columbus, do so. It’s terrific.)

It seems that my fears have been realized: golf is going to be an issue in this political campaign; or more specifically, Obama’s golf habit is going to be an issue in this campaign. Likely GOP Nominee Mitt Romney has even got a website, FortyFour.Com, which takes a shot at the First Golfer and asks people to donate $18 to send him on a permanent vacation.

Now I’m no fan of the job performance of the President, but I think that golf isn’t a legitimate campaign issue. Lots of Presidents have played golf as a way of getting away from the pressure cooker of the White House. In recent years, Bill Clinton was probably most well known for his habits, including cheating (on golf, as well as in other areas). And we know that George W. Bush gave up the game for the duration of the Iraq War. George H.W. Bush was an avid golfer who since has been named to the Golf Hall of Fame. Reagan gave up golf after an assassination attempt went awry. Gerald Ford, a stellar athlete also played the game.

Going back a few years, more, I think a solid argument can be made that in golf terms, Dwight Eisenhower was as important a president as we’ve had. His well known obsession and his popularity combined to turn the game into a national pastime.

William Howard Taft played:

And he apparently played enough that it was used a political fodder in the humor magazines of the time:

Woodrow Wilson played—apparently quite a bit:

As did Warren Harding

So too, did more than a few Supreme Court Justices. Below you’ll see John Marshall Harlan:

And Justices McKenna and Pitney.

For me, the key is what they do off the course, not how much time they spend on it.

(note: most of these photos are from the Library of Congress, with the exception of Life’s photo of Wilson)

While browsing the Library of Congress website for the AP US History Class I teach, I ran across this cartoon from 1905 lampooning country club prisons.

Puck was the United States’ first successful humor magazine, publishing cartoons and political satire. It lasted from 1871 to 1818. Here’s a golf cover from 1911:

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I think this is worth reading:

George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;—for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our sasety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;—and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;—to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is an annual four-man golf tournament featuring that year’s winners of golf’s four Major Championships (at least usually. see below). The event is organized by the PGA of America, not the PGA Tour. The inaugural year was 1979, but the event had several years in which it was not played.

The four invitations are issued to the winners of the four modern Majors: The Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. If one player has won multiple events, or declines the invitation, another is given to a former major winner with the best overall finish in that year’s majors.

The format for the event has varied. As currently construed, it’s a two day, 36 hole tournament. It also has been staged as match play (1988 and 1999), and a one day 18 hole event (1979 - 1990). The Grand Slam was originally a wandering tournament, before settling in at the Poipu Bay Course in Hawaii from 1994 - 2006. In 2007, it moved to Bermuda.

The current prize fund is $1.35 million, of which $600,000 goes to the winner, and a $200,000 last place finish.

Past results are below. The letter after the name indicates the tournament won (a=alternate; M=Masters; U=US Open; O=Open Championship; P=PGA Championship.)