Memories are made of this. And a bit of that. And a dollop of the other. For many golfers, memories of the late, great Seve Ballesteros are etched in the mind to such an unforgettable extent, they may as well have been seared on with a sizzling branding iron.
The sight of the Spaniard, resplendent in that navy, Slazenger v-neck, trundling in a putt on the 18th green of the Old Course in the 1984 Open and punching the air with such triumphant vigour even that very air was left nursing a bruise, is one of golf’s most iconic, enduring images.
In Seve’s circles, that Claret Jug-winning putt became known as ‘El Momento’. It was too for those gazing on in rapture.
“There seemed to be a unified joy among thousands of people,” said the Prestwick author, Kenny Reid, who was just a young ‘un of 14 on the other side of the ropes. “I still have vivid memories and emotions from it. When you are 14 and see a moment like that, it tends to leave a sizeable mark.”
Forty years on, Reid is putting those memories and emotions down in a book due for release in the build-up to this year’s Open at Royal Troon.
Seve could often take the breath away with his captivating golfing exploits. The title of Reid’s book might too. ‘Seve Ballesteros’s Touch of Class: The 1984 Open Championship and the Meaning of Europe’s Greatest Golfer’. You can breathe out now.
“It’s a bit of a mouthful but that’s modern books for you,” chuckled Reid, the brother of the well-kent Ayrshire PGA professional, Alan.
What Europe’s greatest golfer means to Reid is obvious and the book is a very personal journey centred around Ballesteros, the power of his magnetism and his development as a player, culminating in that seminal moment of ’84.
It was during the third round of the championship, that Ballesteros conjured a shot of such magnificence – one of many – it prompted his playing partner, Lee Trevino, to famously coo, ‘touch of class, baby, touch of class,’ as it soared majestically through the air. It was all that.
“We are always looking for the ‘thing’ these special people like Seve have,” suggested Reid. “But it’s not really a thing. It’s their entire being. They exude an extraordinary level of confidence and daring. But there are human flaws too. And those flaws are on show.
"Tiger Woods is probably the best player that ever lived and he has an aura but, to me, it’s the same kind of aura you would get with the head of Goldman Sachs or somebody.
"It’s impressive but it doesn’t get to the core of what greatness is for me. Seve was the complete package. I still feel like he isn’t dead. There’s a James Dean-esque quality about him.
“This is not a book about Seve doing A, B and C or meeting X and Y. It’s my personal view of the things I saw, how he showed the art of the possible for the mighty and the bold, and what he meant to a generation of golf fans.
“It can be very easy to use Seve cliches; the course was his canvas, the clubs were his brushes and all that. I often think that cheapens the product. I just wanted to try to give an alternative view of the Seve universe.”
The view, meanwhile, that Reid had in 1984 was ideal. “My cousin and I decided that the best place to be was in the stand which gave you a panoramic view of the entire final hole,” recalled Reid.
“We sat there for hours but it all boiled down to our hero doing what he did on the last. You couldn’t make it up. But Seve managed to make it up.”
A number of years later, Reid almost had another ‘you couldn’t make it up’ moment. “I was on the putting green just before a round at San Roque in Spain and a greenkeeper said to me, ‘Ballesteros is on the first tee’,” said Reid. “I was thinking it would be one of the brothers but it was Seve.
"I thought I’d be playing in the group directly behind him. Imagine that? But there was one match in between. We did get waved through on the ninth by that group but, unfortunately, Seve was only playing nine holes. I was so near, yet so far.”
Seve Ballesteros's Touch of Class by Kenny Reid is published in hardback by Pitch, priced £25.00, and will be released on 1 July 2024.
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