- November 23, 2024
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When I hear people say Harry Davis is a great player, they are wrong.
He is a great human being.
He’s been my friend for many years, and I always thought there might be a time when luck had me in his golf foursome. Reality told me this wouldn’t happen because Davis is so darn good at golf and, well, my ability is no more than a nickel out of a dollar. If that.
My day became more than a dream when he offered to join my foursome in the Trinity Challenge last month.
I remarked, “You’re kidding.”
“I’ll play,” he quickly said. “It’s for the needy, right?”
That’s one phase of golfer Harry Davis.
Henry Angle, Joyce Chmel and I, the team organizers, saw another one. We were standing on the seventh tee, about 574 yards away looking at the water and distance.
Davis, also looking, said: “If you can get it out to 180 yards or so, I can put it on.”
Angle missed from the back tee. Chmel did the job from the red tees, and then Davis let fly. The ball landed on the green about five yards from the pin. Like broadcaster David Feherty says on TV: “That ball was so long, Lassie couldn’t find it if it was wrapped in bacon.”
I asked Davis if he ever regretted not taking a fling on the tour.
He said yes, but added: “But more important to me was to be home and make sure the children would grow up to be nice people.” He and his wife, Lucy, did that to perfection.
Their daughter, Wendy, became a movie star and is still featured on ABC in the show “Army Wives.” She has done other shows, too.
What people of Palm Coast don’t know about Davis is that much of his free time is devoted to local schools, teaching youngsters the proper way of life.
And oh yes, about that unusual club grip of left hand low, one that I and many have tried to copy with miserable results. Davis said at 8 years old, that’s how he was taught.
Notably, Davis is a Grand Club Hall of Famer and if the population of an entire city was given votes, he would have gained every single one.
But most importantly, like hundreds of golfers surrounding me, our deepest wish is to proudly say: Thank you, Harry Davis, for being a friend.
