You usually don’t hear the word “toughness” in descriptions of professional golfers. But Hale Irwin is an exception.
Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star talks about Irwin’s background:
Hale Irwin grew up playing Baxter Springs Country Club, which was anything but the exclusive playground its name implies. Irwin’s home course in Kansas was a nine-hole municipal course with sand greens. It was an incubator of dreams.
“My fantasy was to hit the shot to play in the U.S. Open or to win the U.S. Open,” Irwin said. “I was always thinking of the U.S. Open, U.S. Open, U.S. Open because that was something I could qualify for.” […]
Irwin’s background bred determination.
He never thought about it while growing up in Baxter Springs, an old cow town along Route 66 in southeastern Kansas, but his roots are lower-middle class. His father, Hale, sold mining equipment in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma and played golf on weekends with his son. The latter had cut-down adult clubs with electrical-tape grips.
Irwin wasn’t just a golfer. He was an All-Big Eight safety in football at the University of Colorado. He also played basketball in high school.
Irwin has qualified in 32 consecutive U.S. Open golf tournaments, a record. He’s won 20 PGA tournaments, including three majors. He won the PGA’s Heritage Classic at age 48, making him one of the oldest winners on the regular tour. He’s won 45 titles and $23 million on the seniors tour.
He is now 64 years old, and will be playing in the U.S. Senior Open later this month. Although he’s long in the tooth even for the seniors circuit, his superb athleticism and toughness (that word again) ought to keep him in contention.