PASSING OF A LEGEND by Philip Reid (Irish Times)

04/06/2004

In the book Breaking 80, which chronicled the life of Joe Carr - Ireland's greatest amateur golfer who died Wednesday 3rd June, aged 82, in Dublin's Mater Private Hospital after a short illness - there's a story of the time when the player was asked to play a round of golf with the US president, Dwight D Eisenhower, at Portmarnock Golf Club.
But with one stipulation: that a golf cart be furnished for the president because of his heart condition.
At that time, as Joe put it, "there wasn't a single golf cart in all of Ireland". So, just as he had done in extricating himself from tricky spots in numerous championships throughout an honour-laden career, JB used his ingenuity, and an open-top Rolls Royce was borrowed from a friend and used for the visiting dignitary to fulfil his ambition of playing a game with one of the game's true stars. The story, though, demonstrates how well respected Carr was.
As Peter Alliss, the celebrated Ryder Cup golfer and broadcaster, asserted Carr was the finest amateur golfer in these islands over more than 20 years, during which he won 40 championships and was involved with 11 successive Walker Cup teams, 10 of them as a player.
And, indeed, Carr was a genuine star of the game; and his record alone speaks for itself.
He won three British Amateur Championships (1953, 1958 and 1960), six Irish Amateur Close Championships, four Irish Amateur Open Championships, 12 West of Ireland Championships, 12 East of Ireland Championships and three South of Ireland Championships.
He played international golf for Ireland from 1947 to 1969, and his Walker Cup career included being captain on two occasions (in 1963 as playing-captain) and he was R & A captain in 1991/92.
Joe also appeared in three US Masters at Augusta National, becoming the first Irishman to play in the event in 1967. In that year he was paired with defending champion Jack Nicklaus for the opening two rounds. Nicklaus failed to make the cut while Joe went on to play the final 36 holes.
The following year he was paired with Arnold Palmer, who also failed to make the cut. And, again, Joe sailed into the final two days.
In his book, written with Dermot Gilleece, he recalls sitting down on the Friday evening of that second year with Clifford Roberts, the notoriously autocratic club chairman. "Well, now," Roberts said to the gathering, "we're thinking of inviting Carr back next year, but who in the name of God will play with him?"
They paired him with another legend, Sam Snead, the next year . . . and both players missed the cut!
His first British Amateur Championship win was achieved at Hoylake in 1953 where he beat the American Harvie Ward in the final and arrived home to be feted at his club, Sutton Golf Club, which involved a victory procession with cars, a pipe band and hundreds of well-wishers.
"It was easier to win the Amateur Championship than to face all this," he was to remark.
But his burning ambition remained to win the British Amateur Championship over the Old Course at St Andrews, where the history and mystery of the place appealed to him enormously. In 1958, he achieved his ambition. The win was the result of countless hours of hard work.
"With all the practice shots I hit by way of preparation for St Andrews, I almost wore through the blades of my eight and nine irons," he was to recall.
Indeed, Carr was to estimate that he had hit 47,000 tee-shots in preparation for that championship, and he had two drivers - standard, persimmon Lambert Topping models custom-made in London - because he would wear the face off one.
"Most of that work was done on the practice ground at Portmarnock . . . I would go over there on a Saturday morning and leave a bare patch of ground behind me of about 10 square yards."
Carr's ability was appreciated far and wide, but he was especially popular in the US, and, in 1961, he was awarded the Bobby Jones Award which was initiated by the USGA in 1955 for "distinguished sportsmanship in golf".
According to the USGA, the award "seeks to recognise a person who emulates Jones' spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude towards the game and its players."
Indeed, some years later, in 1967, when Carr took up an invitation to play in the Masters, Jones wrote a personal letter detailing his "great delight" that the Irishman would be participating.
That "delight" spoke volumes of how Carr, Ireland's greatest amateur golfer, was appreciated by his peers.
Article courtesy of Philip Reid (The Irish Times)
The list below highlights just some of JB Carr’s greatest achievements to add to his 10 Walker Cup and three US Masters appearances.
BRITISH AMATEUR
Winner (3) – 1953 (Hoylake), 1958 (St. Andrews), 1960 (Royal Portrush).
Runner-up: 1968. Semi-finalist: 1951, 1952, 1954.
IRISH AMATEUR OPEN
Winner (4) – 1946 (Royal Portrush), 1950 (Co. Sligo), 1954 (Royal Dublin), 1956 (Portmarnock).
Runner-up 1947, 1948, 1951, 1958.
IRISH AMATEUR CLOSE
Winner (6) – 1954 (Carlow), 1957 (Galway), 1963 (Killarney), 1964 (Royal Co. Down), 1965 (Co. Sligo), 1967 (Lahinch).
Runner-up – 1951, 1959.
WEST OF IRELAND (Co. Sligo)
Winner (12) – 1946, 1947,1948,1951,1953,1954,1956,1958,1960,1961,1962,1966
EAST OF IRELAND (Co. Louth)
Winner (12) – 1941,1943,1945,1946,1948,1956,1957,1958,1960,1961,1964,1969.
Runner-up: 1944, 1946
SOUTH OF IRELAND (Lahinch)
Winner (3) – 1948,1966, 1969. Runner-up: 1946
BRITISH OPEN
Leading Amateur – 1956 (Hoylake), 1958 (Royal Lytham). Best finish: 8th in 1960 (St. Andrews).
IRISH PROFESSIONAL OPEN
Leading Amateur – 1946 (Portmarnock), 1948 (Portmarnock), 1950 (Royal Dublin), 1953 (Belvoir Park)