"The Peacock of the Fairway"

Written by: Jim Fitzpatrick	2:17 PM PST - 3/11/2009
Photography by:	Previous Photo  |  Next Photo

Professional golf has made changes in the last hundred years. The livelihood of early pros came from making feather golf balls and clubs, and gambling in matches the whole town would wager on. The pro, however, was not allowed in the clubhouse at fine clubs. Today, manufacturers cater to the pro's every need. The pro is not only allowed in the clubhouse, he owns it…and a jet! And great players just keep coming: Tom Morris, Walter Hagen, Jones, Hogan, Nicklaus, and Woods.

However, there will ever only be one Doug Sanders. From the cotton fields of Georgia, Doug came with a quick wit, a quicker golf swing, a great short game, and an incomparable wardrobe, to win twenty professional events. He beguiled celebrities, kings, presidents, and a few princesses along the way. He may just be the greatest player to have never won a major.

Q&A

Jim: In 1956 you won the Canadian Open as an amateur, that's incredible.

Doug: It really was… you know that was my first PGA Tour event. I was just 22 years old. Shortly after that, ten members put up $10 each and I turned pro. Wilson offered me $5,000 to represent them “they already knew I could win.” That was more than anyone had been paid at that time turning pro. Then in 1958 I won the Western Open which was considered a Major back then.

Jim: You went on to win 20 events with runner-up finishes in four majors.

Doug: That's right, and those were all by just one stroke. I lost the British Open twice to Nicklaus. One was in a play-off.

Jim: You're down at the Bob Hope Classic this week. That should be fun with Arnold hosting it. Everyone should be there. You won that once didn't you?

Doug: It's funny you mentioned that. I did and it was in 1966, in a play-off, and against who else…? Arnold Palmer. The first play-off hole was a par 3, and the second a par 5. I had to birdie the par 3, because Arnold with his power, I knew would birdie the par 5. Arnold hit an 8 iron hole high, just off the edge. Then I knocked a 7 iron to about 22 feet. Arnold put his chip right next to the hole. I had to make that putt, and I did!

Jim: Chi-Chi told me you're a great ball striker, and maybe the best money player of all time.

Doug: He actually claims I'm the best money player with my own money. You know I came from a poor family, from a small town in Georgia. I went to work in the fields picking cotton from sun up to sun down, for 5 cents a day. For 26 cents you could go to a movie and get a drink, popcorn and a burger. I started in golf as a caddy at the local club, and realized I could make more money chipping and putting against the members for nickels and dimes. In fact, I have a book out right now, 130 Ways to Make a Bet.

Jim: That's a long way from being the celebrity you have become, and hanging with entertainers and Kings. How many presidents have you played golf with?

Doug: Twelve presidents and one King. In fact, it was at my tournament, The Kingswood Classic, where President George H.W. Bush was the first president in office to play in a PGA Tour event. I had astronauts, Presidents, you name it, in our event, even Hope and Gleason.

Jim: You spent some time with Sinatra, too? Was that 'rat-pack' life everything they say?

Doug: Jim, you know that was a different time. Sure I've stayed with Frank at his house, he's stayed at mine. We were good friends. At events everyone stayed in the same hotel. The girls knew who everyone was and where they stayed. They would come up to you and hand you a note or a room key. It was crazy. After performing, Frank would party until the wee hours of the morning. Tom Dreesen, who opened for Sinatra told me he was sound asleep one morning, at 2 or 3 AM, when there was a knock at the door. The man at the door said Mr. Sinatra was downstairs and wanted Tom to come party with him. Tom gave the man $20 and said, tell Frank you couldn't find me. He said, “I can't, Mr. Sinatra gave me $100 to make sure you come down!”

Jim: Your tournament, “The Doug Sanders International Junior Championship” has become a very prestigious event, but I heard in the beginning there were tough times, and you reached into your own pocket to make sure the tournament went on.

Doug: I do the tournament to help give these kids a chance to do something with their lives. When you're gone it's not what you take with you it's what you leave behind.

Jim: Golf has been a great sport to a lot of people.

Doug: Golf has been damn good to Doug Sanders.