Did I tell you about my albatross? A yo.

Here we go. Come on.

Welcome to another episode of did I tell you about my

Albatross? I'm your host, Albie. This is the golf

podcast for honest Degenerates. It's like teeing up with your

favorite foursome every week and diving into the best stories

in and around golf. You guys ready to tee off?

Let's go.

We added chillin on the right side of the green, sip a

little,

Something, and we working on

welcome back, folks.

We've got another episode of did I tell you about my Albatross? Landing later

this week. But in the meantime, I'm thrilled to roll out

a brand new bonus series for all of our listeners.

Now, the reason I started this podcast is to ultimately

celebrate the best golf stories in and

around the sport. It's my favorite part about the game.

As we cover more and more, we start to unravel layers

beyond what we have time to really dig deep into during our primary

show. For instance, let me set the scene here. In a

recent stump the panda segment, I threw out what I thought

would be a perfect question to stump our beloved panda. A man has won

an event on the LPGA tour. True or

false? True. Sam Snead.

What?

A man has won an event on the LPGA

tour. What's the answer?

Brandon?

That makes no sense to me. True copycat.

Dude, that is such a copycat move. And I have to drink.

I have to do a shot for that's bullshit. Well, I got

it right, too. Well done. Let's go. What's the

answer, Sam? Sam snead 1962.

Now, shockingly, his story is

1000% true. No, not shockingly.

Panda already knew the answer. We got to dive in, by the.

Way, at some point in the future on why he knows all this golf trivia.

It's insane. Now, admittedly, I'm not rain man like our boy

panda here when it comes to golf history, but I'm a huge

golfer. I mean, I started a podcast on the subject.

I spend all of my haul passes, which I cherish, by

the way, on guys golf trips. I also have a

walk off albatross to win a two day golf tournament on the

last shot. Happy to tell you more about that.

Anytime, but I still had never heard.

Of this story until I was researching.

The questions to stump our beloved panda. I had to know

more about it. So here we are.

Now, as I start to peel this onion back more and more, there are many

interesting layers to this story and many interesting layers

to our budy slammin'sammy Sneed. Even

if you know the story, hopefully you will get something additional out

of this. So to understand the setup of the story, I think it makes sense to

remind everyone just who we're talking about here.

So let's start with the history and.

Career of Sam Sneed.

Sam Sneed, famously known, as slam and Sammy. Now,

this moniker highlighted his powerful and effective golf swing,

which was admired throughout the golf community, really, for its grace and

fluidity. Snead swing was not only a significant

component of his playing style, but also one of the

most celebrated and analyzed in the history of

golf. More on that in a minute, because his swing

absolutely deserves it. Sam Snead,

born Samuel Jackson Snead. I love

that. On May 27, 1912, in

Ashwood, Virginia. Now, by the way, I would argue that

1912 could go down as one of the most important years for the

game of golf. You have three of the

greatest golfers to ever live born

within six months of each other sam Snead,

Ben Hogan, and Byron Nelson.

Snead's journey with golf began in the hills of Virginia. He

began caddying at age seven at the

homestead's old course in hot springs. This

is also crazy to me, age seven. I mean, I

have a three and a five year old, and the idea that in two years my five year

old be lugging around clubs, around any golf course

is hilarious. But think about the era that we're talking about. It would have

been 1919, when Sam was seven years old. This

is before world war II. So many golf courses back

then had caddy yards full of eager young caddies,

many struggling just to help feed their families. Back then,

caddying was how most pro golfers got their introduction to

golf. A few examples include birth of your buddies

hogan, Nelson, and Snead, and others include Arnold

Palmer, gene Sarazan, and Lee Trevino. Now, Sarazan,

he also began caddying at age seven. And then on this same

note, I promise I'll leave this tangent, but I just think

it's fascinating here that these young caddies you have

steve Williams. All right, so before he famously looped for

Greg Norman, tiger woods and Adam Scott, he got a start

when he was just six years old in New Zealand.

This is nuts to me.

Absolutely ludicrous, the idea of a seven year old carrying around a

bag for someone, but I guess it happened. Snead was one of these guys who

reportedly never had a golf lesson, but was an absolute

natural. In 1929, he worked as an assistant pro at

the homestead at age 17. Now, think about this

era here for a minute, because 1929 is the start of the great

depression. Ashwood, Virginia, is positioned close to the

northwest border of west Virginia, and as the economy

toppled, so did, too, local coal mine industry.

As a result, once bustling mines became ghost towns and

thousands of families were impacted in this area of the country. So

imagine any kid in that era and how difficult it

must have been.

To learn golf or afford a set of golf clubs.

Snead he was creative, though.

He learned to swing by watching and imitating his brother Homer.

Homer and Sam, they'd take an old maple tree, they would

take the maple limbs off of it and they would use that for the

shaft, and then they would carve out rudimentary club

heads out of the rest of the maple tree.

Pretty impressive.

Many golf historians say that the reason his

tempo and swing was so smooth was because he grew up

playing with these clubs made from tree limbs.

So after being the assistant pro at.

The Homestead in 1934, he had

moved over to the Cascade Course. Sneed,

after being denied a, dollar raise, decided

he's going to turn pro. And in 1936,

he was able to.

Join the PGA Tour. That same year, he

achieved immediate success by winning the West Virginia

Closed Pro Tournament in a purse of $10,000,

which really afforded him the opportunity to play.

Full time as a professional. Once Sammy went

pro, this dude never looked back.

His career, dazzling and extensive, spanned

over six decades.

I'm going to pause there for a minute.

Six decades, 60 years. The

longevity piece with Sneed is crazy. He

was a beast and a force into even his

60s, where he continued to be a threat.

He played second in

1974 at the.

Los Angeles Open at age 62, and in

1983 at age 71, he

shot.

Around of 6012 under par at

The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia. In

1997, at age 85

this guy.

Shot around of 78 at the old.

White Course of Greenbriar

in White. Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. So

longevity wise, I mean, I don't think anyone

can even compete with this guy.

But let's just take a peek at.

His trophy cabinet for a second.

He won a record 82 PGA Tour.

Events, tie with Tiger and about 70 others

worldwide. Let's get into the

majors. Let's starting with the Masters masters

Tournament

4952-5449.

Snead was also it's interesting, he was also the first

Masters Tournament winner to receive the now iconic

Augusta green jacket, symbolizing the winner as an honorary

member of Augusta National Golf Club. He also won the

PGA Championship 42.

49, and 51 and the Open

Championship in 1946.

Oh, and, let's not forget the US.

Open. Well, I'm going to get back to that in a

minute.

So he was a member of the US. Ryder cup team

eight times, including 1969, when he captained the

squad but did not play, and was a member of the winning World

Cup teams in 56, 61, and

62, also winning the individual title in

61. And if you're like me, I didn't know this

part, but that was actually called the Canada Cup before

1967. So for me, this

next stat is.

Near and dear to my heart.

I grew up about 35 minutes or so away from Greensboro,

North Carolina, in Winston Salem. That's home of

CP Three, by the way. Shout out CP Three.

And so what Sam did to this Greater Greensboro

open, I just love. He holds two major

PGA Tour records that still hold to this

day. He won it in three eight.

4649-505-5566.

He won it eight times. The first to ever win a PGA

Tour event eight times. Now, when he won it

in 65, Snead was

52 years old, 311 days, making him the oldest

player to ever win a PGA Tour event. Now let's get back

to one major I skipped over in his trophy case the US. Open.

In spite of his great achievements, his reputation

has always been slightly tainted by his failure to win a US.

Open.

But there's more to the story. I mean, the guy finished second a

lot. And there's one story in particular I'll share.

In 1939. The US. Open was held at the Philadelphia

Country Club.

Snead found himself in a tight spot. All he needed was a

par on the 18th hole to win. Now, there's two

different sides of this story.

Snead says he made a mistake in counting his strokes,

but it's also been reported that someone was

a spectator on the 18th tee told him that he

needed a birdie.

Go for the green, Sammy. You need a birdie.

And he decided to go for the green, but landed in the

bunker, ultimately making a triple bogey eight.

He finished second four times between

37 and 49.

All right. And as we conclude our tour

of Sam Snead's trophy case, let me just share with

you the records he still holds. Most PGA Tour

victories 82.

Debated by some historians, by the way, for Tiger.

Most PGA Tour victories at an event.

Eight, as I mentioned before, at the Greater Greensboro Open.

Oldest player to win the PGA event. That's also at

the Greater Greensboro Open.

As I had mentioned, us.

PGA Tour player to shoot his age.

He's the first one to do it.

Shot 67 in the second round of the

1979 Quad Cities Open.

Oldest player to make a cut on the PGA Tour.

The player age at date of cut.

67 years, two months, and 21

days.

That's crazy to me.

But records and victories only tell half the tale for

Sam. His swing is what

most people remember about the guy. Gary Player once said, I

don't think there's any question in my mind that Sam Snead

had the greatest golf swing of any human being

that ever lived. That's a strong statement. Jack Nicholas

said, Snead's swing was so.

Perfect, it was renowned for

smooth, natural.

A poetic motion that seemed as effortless.

As it was effective.

He timed his swing to align with classical music

when he was starting to learn. Snead had arguably the greatest

golf swing in history.

It looked effortless to all that watched.

Now, if you visit to this day, if you visit Ashwood,

Virginia, there is a Sam Sneed

Tavern. And on one of the walls

in one of the corners is a picture

of Slam and Sammy at the 1953

Ryder Cup. And in small caption at the bottom of the

photo is a quote that sums his swing up.

Best to watch Sam practice golf was like

watching a fish practice swimming.

For those golf nerds out there who may have forgotten what his swing

looks like, I highly recommend checking it out. When researching

this podcast. My ADHD kicked in extremely high

gear, usually does, and I watched a slow motion video

loop of his swing probably 200 times.

It's absolutely mesmerizing.

Now, I love this part of his story because this is really where

the similarities between Sammy and Albie begin

and pretty much end.

He famously employed an unorthodox

method of.

Putting in order to counteract problems caused.

By a twitch known in our golfing world

as, the. Yips. Love that.

I've been there, Sammy. In fact, I'm there right now. Now, when I say

unorthodox, I mean.

This guy putted with a croquet style putting

stroke, and he got so good at it that the PGA made him

stop.

So that's the history of Sam Sneed. Now, I think in

order to really paint a full picture before we dive into

why Sam Sneed played a bunch.

Of women for money, I think it.

Makes complete sense to share with you a couple of stories that really kind.

Of tell you the sort of character this guy had.

So at the 1952 Jacksonville Open,

snead forfeited rather than play an 18 hole playoff

against Doug Ford after the two golfers finished in, a tie

at the end of regulation play, the forfeit stemmed from

a ruling Sneed received during the tournament's second round of play.

On the 10th hole, Snead's drive landed.

Behind an out of bound stake, while.

Chuck Harbert, who was playing with Snead, thought the ball was out of

bounds. A rules official ruled differently due to the

starter not telling the players that the stakes had all been moved

after.

The previous day's play had ended.

Afterwards, Snead explained why he forfeited.

Even though Ford suggested that they play.

Sudden death to the title.

He said, I want to be fair about it. I don't want anyone to think I

took advantage of the ruling.

Yeah, even like I'm anonymous degenerate. But this

is not something I see myself doing. If the rules official said

it's in.

Play, it's absolutely in play. This cost him a

golf tournament.

In December 1959, Sneed took part in.

A controversial match against Mason Rudolph

at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda.

Snead decided to deliberately lose the televised

match played under the World Championship Golf

Series during its final holes after he.

Discovered on the 12th hole that he had too many clubs in

his bag.

Players limited to 14 clubs during competitive.

Rounds, the match was tied. At that stage, the

extra club in.

His bag of fairway wood sneed had.

Been experimenting with in practice would have.

Caused him to be immediately disqualified according to the rules of golf,

even though he did not use it during the round. After the match

was over, Snead explained the matter and said he did not

disqualify himself in order not to spoil the show. The

problem did not become known outside a small circle

until the show was.

Televised four months later. After the

incident came to light, the sponsor canceled further

participation in the series.

So now we know the myth, the

legend. Let's jump into the story.

So we know Slam and Sammy is one of the greatest goffers

of all time. That's without question.

So how in the world do we find out that out

of all the tournaments and accolades, he would deem it

necessary to add an LPGA Tour event to his

stacked trophy cabinet, too? Well, let's start with the

tournament itself. It was an official LPGA Tour

event, true, in 61 and in

62. And it was played at the Palm Beach Golf Club

in Palm Beach, Florida. Now, here is one of the most important pieces

of this puzzle. It was a par three

course. The tournament was one of the first

in its professional golf, featuring a battle of

the sexist concept with a parth recourse that

neutralized power and emphasized precision

golf. Now, this course, it was

2688 yards. The

longest hole measured 215 yards. The shortest

was 105. The parking lot could accommodate

150 vehicles. Telephones give you an idea

of the time. The telephones at this time were still

dialed by two letters followed by five numbers.

Now, another interesting point. Sam won the tournament in

62, but this was the second time he played

it. He lost the previous year in the.

Same tournament and in 61. The field consisted of 24

men and.

Women, both amateurs and professionals.

The tournament was 54 holes and won by

Louise Suggs by one stroke over.

Local pro dubbed Pagan.

Sam Snead was third, two shots behind. Now, here is where the

story takes.

An interesting twist, in my opinion.

So Sammy loses in 61, signs up again to

play the event in 62.

In 62, the battle of the sexist.

Concept was changed to 14 LPGA

professionals.

Versus one man, PGA of America

superstar Sam Snead.

The tournament was played over 72 holes.

Snead won by five strokes over future hall of

Famer Mickey Wright, making him the only man

to win an official LPGA Tour

event. Now, here's another, I think, eerie and

interesting fact.

Mary Catherine.

Mickey Wright, the golfer that he

beat.

She became a member of the Tour.

In 55 and won 82

LPGA Tour career events.

So, for those of you paying attention here, mickey Wright won the

same number of LPGA Tour events as

our budy.

Sammy won PGA Tour events. I just thought that was

extremely ironic.

Now, when I first heard the story, I figured Sam

Snead was doing this for publicity or

he was doing it for money. But the grand prize for this thing was

only $1,500. Now, I get it 1962, one

$500. A lot is a lot more than it is today.

But keep in mind at this point.

Sam Snead was already one of the.

Most famous, if not the most famous.

Golfers of his generation. At that point in time.

He was already the holder of three master champion green

jackets, three PGA championships.

And one open championship.

He was 48 years old going into the event, and from

everything we've learned so far, 48 for Sam Snead.

The guy was in his prime. He had already had a very

comfortable living, and he was also known as being one of the most frugal

people on the planet. So I don't really see

that being the case here. I don't think he was trying to do it for money

or publicity.

I actually think it's the opposite.

This guy respected the heck out of women's golf. In

fact, after he won the tournament, he was quoted

as saying, mickey should be on the PGA tour. Like,

she's just as good as any of us. So, I mean, as much as I'd love to

hate this guy, especially when.

I first heard the story, I just can't.

Like, this guy is the real deal. Now, one thing I've noticed about people like

Sammy snead top of their game, top of their industry, top of

the world, basically, and whatever they do, it's that they're

extremely competitive.

Snead was no different.

In fact, a lot of people said he had a feud with Hogan. And I think

this quote kind of sums it up best. A lot of things this is from Sam

Sneed a lot of things that.

Were written in those days just weren't true. Snead said

freddie Cochrane used to be a writer who quoted me and a lot of the other

guys in those days, and sometimes he would get the right quote

with the wrong guy. For instance, one thing he wrote was that

I only feared three things

lightning, a, downhill putt, and Ben

Hogan. That was a great quote, but it

wasn't me who said it. Freddie should have known better than to say

that about me. Anybody who knows me knows I'd never say

something like that. When my game was on, I feared no

man.

Snead acknowledges that his competitive juices flowed more freely

when he had a chance to go head to head against Hogan, which was only

three times.

I played him three times and beat him every time, Sneet

said. The first was in a match play tournament in San Francisco,

then in the La. Open, and then in

1954, masters. And he did

beat me on shell's wonderful world of golf. But I took

that on short notice and didn't have time to prepare.

But even when he gives a shout out to Hogan for beating him, he still

throws in the little jab. Oh, but I took it on short.

Notice and didn't have time to prepare. I love that.

This guy's super competitive.

As we wrap today's episode, let's take a

fleeting glance back through the fairways and greens traverse in this

iconic life of Sam Sneet, we've wandered through a

labyrinth of compelling tells. From his early days caddying at age

seven, honing his natural, fluid swing in the hills of

Virginia to amassing a treasure trove of

accolades, including seven major championships,

82 PGA Tour events, and records still etched in

gold in the anals of golf history. Through the highs and

lows, the magnificent victories and painful near misses like

the heart wrenching incident at the 18th hole

during the 1939 US. Open, we've

seen Snead's unyielding perseverance and

determination, which carved a legacy as grand and enduring as the

man himself. But of all the tales unfurled

today, perhaps the most intriguing is Snead's unprecedented

victory in an official LPGA Tour

event in 62. Why would one of the greatest golfers,

amidst a plethora of achievements, decide to

participate and ultimately win an

LPGA Tour event? I think it reflects just

how competitive slamming Sammy was. Part of me

thinks that he wanted to be known as the most precise.

Golfer that ever lived, man or woman.

In participating in the LPGA Tour event, he

not only showcased his versatility and mastery, but perhaps

also extended an unspoken acknowledgement and

respect towards the women who shared his passion and

dedication to the sport. It's a wink across the

greens, a subtle nod of camaraderie to every athlete,

male or female, who has ever picked up a

club. Whether that golfer picked up the club at the local

golf store or he or she carved it out of an

old maple tree. What I love about his

story is golf has at least shown

me that anything truly is possible,

including a walk off albatross to win a golf

tournament. And Sam Snead's story

fits that mold perfectly.

I mean, a man won an LPGA Tour

event. Like anything's possible. I love this

game.

So this is Brandon, better known as Albie. And

you've been listening to did I tell you about my albatross? Where the

game is beautiful, the story is unforgettable, and where legends like

Sam.

Snead, they live on forever.

Many sources to create this episode. I'll cite them all in the

show notes. Thanks, everyone, for joining. We'll see on the T

box.

Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Don't miss out on our upcoming

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And until next time, golf's easy. Think fairways and

greens.

Here we go. Come on. Did I tell you about my

albatross? a yo. How you know?