This article originally appeared in the March issue of NCGA Golf Magazine
Larry Williams puts it plain.
“I don’t go drinking. I don’t go gambling. I don’t chase women,” laughs the third-flight senior net champion at Sunnyvale Golf Course. “So I got to do something. They have beautiful golf courses in California. I enjoy being outdoors. It’s good exercise. I enjoy the game.”
Williams, 63, took up golf 35 years ago after moving to Northern California from Miami, where his main hobby had been deep sea fishing. Out West, he became inspired to play golf after passing the Half Moon Bay courses. His usual loops became Seascape in Aptos and Pasatiempo and DeLaveaga in Santa Cruz, where he posted his best round (scratch for nine holes) and won a tournament with his son.
After retiring from auto sales, Williams moved back to San Jose and three years ago met senior club members at Sunnyvale GC. His favorite hole at the par-70 layout in the heart of Silicon Valley is the par-4 first, because the dogleg right fits his fade. The toughest hole is the par-4 8th, with its narrow fairway, trouble from both sides and, for good measure, a pond protecting the green.
California is where Williams found his passion on the links. He has played rounds at Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and even Cypress Point, thanks to a friendship with the late legendary Jim Langley, the longtime pro there. “Right behind us was Clint Eastwood,” Williams remembers of a round that included parring Cypress Point’s signature par-3 16th. Williams laid up and executed his short game.
Williams has played other great courses across the globe. But these days the game is kept Stateside.
“I can’t get away that long,” says [1] Williams, who is a caregiver.
Back in Florida, Williams didn’t have his own clubs growing up when he tagged along with his cousin. “Sometimes he’d let me take a shot or something out of it,” Williams thinks back.
Now he has his own bag.
“I like my driver and my putter,” he says.
Now that’s a rare combo.
[1]Who is he a caregiver for?