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DEL.ICIO.USGreat oak, wisteria endure, enchant
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Augusta — Somehow, it seems, the Masters never begins until you have stood under the limbs of the great oak. It gives you the feel of a giant hovering guardian. And one lone figure stood there as I walked up. Jerry Kelly had finished an interview and was standing there, as if communing with the great oak. Just Jerry, alone.
It was early in the week, a quiet time for a man to dwell in thought. We spoke and we began to talk. Jerry Kelly is not world-famous. The sight of him doesn’t stop traffic, like, “Hey, that’s Jerry Kelly.” Modest, Midwestern average, even to his personal dimensions. He’s 5 feet 11, about 165 pounds. Smaller and more vulnerable appearing than on television. This would be his sixth Masters, and he was drinking it all in before the invasion of the milling throng.
And we talked, and as we did, he said of the Masters, “It’s the best of them all, the only one of its kind. The beauty of this place is breath-taking, always the same, with manners and taste. No tented village, no commercialism, and no player, no matter where he comes from, has any reason to be ill at ease.
“The members are always around, making you feel at home. The scene, it never changes, the tradition and all. This is the tournament I’d like to win the most. This is the place to be the first of April.”
Kelly has won twice on the PGA Tour, the Sony Open in Hawaii and one of the old established ones, the Western Open. Before there were “majors,” as we know them, the Western Open was on the scale of the U.S. Open. Not now. The one Kelly won had an “Advil” in its name.
“The place to be the first of April,” he’d said. “This will be six of the last seven for me. I missed two years ago, and that’s a feeling I’ll never forget. It was depressing, and I don’t want that to happen again.”
I recall Doug Sanders once saying, when his career was cresting, “If you don’t get in the Masters, you feel like you’re out of the universe.”
Kelly is coming off his best Masters finish, a tie for fifth last year, just a stroke back of Tiger Woods, three behind Zach Johnson, the champion, a sort of a kindred Midwesterner. Johnson is from Iowa, Kelly from Wisconsin, where his major sport once was hockey. Nobody broke par last year, the third time that has happened in the Masters, something hard to believe. But last year was a collision of the weather and the tournament, a kind of a “perfect storm,” they’re saying of it this year.
Kelly is a borderline grizzled veteran of the Tour, though he has been out here for 12 years after graduating from what is now known as the Nationwide. He has added a light shade of well-cultivated facial hair, toughening up his features somewhat, but a genuinely warm smile gives him away. He’s the kind of guy you’d buy a used car from.
So we stood there, swapping thoughts beneath the giant oak and the wisteria. Somehow, the wisteria never seems to get its share of attention, though the two have grown into each other as the wisteria leans forward from its station near the old stone clubhouse. The giant oak, though, dominates but not without outside aid, barely noticeable. Some limbs of the old tree have grown to such a proportion that they have to be supported by cables, and another cable is grounded to protect it against lightning.
No one has a perfect fix on its age, but assuming that it began life when the Berckmans established their nursery here, it should be about 155 years old. Holding up pretty well for an old guy. Expressing great admiration for the giant oak and the gnarled wisteria, and sharing the convivial feeling of being blessed, Jerry went his way and I mine, both content that this is a beautiful time and a beautiful place to have a golf tournament.
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Comments
By Pep
April 10, 2008 3:22 AM | Link to this
Awesome. Furman Bisher endures and enchants as well.
By LizDawg
April 10, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
First!
By DaBoze
April 10, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
Furman Bisher is like a bottle of good vintage wine - he gets better with age. I’ve been a fan since my days at Tech in the 50’s. I enjoyed the good-natured sparring between Furman and Jesse Outlar. Ahhhh!!! The good old days.
By John CL
April 10, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
McIntosh County’s founder requested to be burried under “the gaint oak at Bellville” This was circa 1810. The gaint oak is still there, putting its age at 400+ years.
By Oneiron
April 10, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this
John CL - and your point is…..?
By Oneiron
April 10, 2008 12:30 PM | Link to this
John CL - and your point is…..?
By Bill ladd Smith
April 10, 2008 5:25 PM | Link to this
I’ve been a fan of yours since about 1955, when you had that TV show with ED Mehre (sp?). After all this time I have lived in most of this country’s most populous cities, except NYC, and this ol’ boy just wasn’t going there. And I’e been a sports fan. too. I read every columnist in every city, but Furman, you are the best. I thank you for your body of work, and I thank God it is online. Best to you.
By bama1225
April 10, 2008 5:40 PM | Link to this
Bill ladd-that would be Harry Mehre (former UGA & OLe Miss Coach) and raconteur par excellence.
He used to say Georgia gave him a lifetime contract and after a bad season declared him dead - went to Ole Miss afterwards.
BTW Bill Ladd you must be getting a little long in the tooth (kinds like me).
By Tom GT
April 10, 2008 6:30 PM | Link to this
Thanks for sharing about Harry Mehre! Brought back memories of seeing Mr. Mehre @ the Roswell Rd. Duncan Dine Rest. back in the late 60’s. Another fine article by Mr. Bisher!
By Rick
April 10, 2008 7:02 PM | Link to this
Lets really call it like it is,(1) Bisher is all sappy about the tree because they are about the same age. (2)Bisher is in touch with today as well as the squirrels in the mighty(sniff..sniff )oak.