Seve Ballesteros

~ ~ Ever since Seve Ballesteros, the charismatic Spaniard, burst into prominence in the British Open at Royal Birkdale way back in 1976, he has been thrilling the golfing world with his flamboyant adventures on the golf courses of the world. He didn’t win that tournament. An American golfer called Johnny Miller (now a renowned golf commentator in the States) pipped him at the post. ~ ~ But the young Spanish golfer immediately captured the hearts and minds of the golfing public. Why? Well, Seve was never what you could describe as your common or garden professional, splitting fairways ... more

"Seve’s got shots the rest of us don’t even know" Ben Crenshaw on Seve. Severiano Ballesteros makes the rest of a golf field look like a collection of cart horses. The glory of his game is his golf swing and the poise and rhythm of the follow through. But there is a contradiction. Watch the man on a practice ground or playing a competitive round: he is all worry and rehearsal. He frequently remarks on his dislike of the state of the game and is seldom happy with the position of his club at the top of the backswing. With the driver in particular he has often been crooked but long; ... more

What can you say about Seve Ballesteros? Here is a man who single handedly put golf on to a higher plane. He very nearly won The Open as a 19 year old in 1976 after having led for three rounds he was pipped by Johnny Miller. Still he was the one of youngest ever winners of a Major in the modern era when he won the Open Championship at the age of 22 in 1979 at Royal Lytham and captured 2 other Open titles in 1984 at St Andrews and 1988 back at Royal Lytham, he also won 2 US Masters titles in 1980 and 1983. As The Open is back at Royal Lytham this year it will be good to see Ballesteros back at ... more

For the last three years now I have watched on the TV the sad demise of probably the most natural player ever to play the game. Only 1 cut made this year just goes to show that he is not the force of the late seventies and early eighties he was. The reason? - well, if we could put a reason down I am sure that Seve would have thought of it already. I believe a possible cause is simply that he cannot play an easy shot. If faced with a straight fairway with a driver in his hands we all know that he will hook it into the trees. If faced with a fade around a tree and over a lake we all know that he ... more