legends have
their week to shine

they are professional golfers from the time when only a few holes were televised, when checks were cut to the penny, when $15-a-night motels were the lodging of the road. they had 1-irons and shag bags, and they clicked and clacked when getting from car to clubhouse. the demaret division of the liberty mutual insurance legends of golf in savannah, ga., is where players 70 and older gather to recall the old days and enjoy a two-day taste of the world they knew so well. “competition always lingers inside you,” said 75-year-old butch baird (shown, far right with larry laoretti). “otherwise, you wouldn’t have been out here to begin with.” baird was one of three dozen golfers in their 70s or 80s who teed it up at the club at savannah harbor, the oldest duo being doug ford, 89, and billy maxwell, 82. (Jack fleck, 90, and bob toski, 85, couldn’t start after toski withdrew because of flu-like symptoms.) a pair of relative young bucks, gibby gilbert and J.c. snead, each 71, won the $120,000 first prize in a playoff over frank beard and larry ziegler, after the teams tied with better-ball scores of 21-under 123. for a full account of this enjoyable reunion of these golf oldtimers, see the april 30 issue of Golf World. —Bill Fields (@BillFields1)