When it comes to golf courses, Gene Littler and Phil Rodgers, veterans of the tour wars, are partial to the La Jolla Country Club where they honed their game.The two were featured at a Hall of Champions Luncheon forum earlier this year, in a foursome with fellow San Diegans Billy Casper and Scott Simpson.
They spoke of the changes of golf courses, equipment and the taller participants. Three of them are past winners of major tournaments.
“La Jolla was a great place when you had to hit from point A to B,” said the man who was once described as Gene the Machine. “It was not a power course but a great place to learn.”
Rodgers, like Littler, a La Jolla High graduate, concurred but joked, “Maybe I should say that because I’m still a member.”
Littler, 75, who lives in Rancho Santa Fe, is known as a man of few words en route to major victories, including the 1961 U.S. Open. He looked over at Casper and exclaimed, “I hate you!” Playfully, he was referring to the 1970 Masters when Casper beat him in an 18-hole playoff.
Actually it was at Casper’s insistence that Littler turned pro, after Littler won the 1955 San Diego Open as an amateur.
Littler was forced to take a break from the Tour early in 1972 after being diagnosed with lymph node cancer. Following successful surgery, he was back on Tour within months and won the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Classic. Later, he won seven Senior tourneys.
Rodgers, 67, described as the boy wonder of the PGA tour, won five tourneys but never a major. However, the tour pros consider him one of the best teachers and he is kept busy in the summer.
He once helped Jack Nicklaus correct his short game. In his earlier days, fans mistook the buzz-haired Californian for Nicklaus because of the resemblance.
The size of courses and advanced equipment in a pro golfer’s bag were great topics.
“It used to be you could hit a three iron or four wood off the tee when some of the course measured 6,200 ” now they’re talking about expanding them to 8,200,” Rodgers appraised. “In our day, we played with clubs so long we’d wear out the grooves. We used to hit the ball lower to gain more accuracy; now they hit them farther, higher and with compensating equipment.”
Littler, who spent hours in a garage reworking his clubs, agreed, stating, “We’d add taped weights as adjustments.”
Casper added that Littler had one of the best pro shops in that garage.
As for today’s clubs, Littler said, “I hit the ball farther now than I did four years ago … and that shouldn’t be. The club has a toe and heel so you can slice the ball in the right place. Kinda refined to what we were playing with.”
As for a major tourney, he said they weren’t focused on them.
“To us, we were playing to make a living,” he added.
Rodgers recalled leading a tournament by two strokes, while playing Nicklaus.
“‘Keep it up and I can’t win, but beat the guy ahead of us,’ Jack told me ” the other guy was Arnold Palmer,” Rodgers said.
“One of the players I admired was Sam Snead and the swing of his,” Littler said. “During the war he was in the Navy (stationed at NTC), and I’d follow him when he played at La Jolla. I think I picked up a few things, particularly the rhythm of his golf swing. He had one of the great swings of all time.”
And so did Littler.