Chip Shots:
Reflections on Jim Thorpe's Career

Photo courtesy of Carlton Wade

On his swing
"Do you want a beautiful-looking swing, or do you want to go out there and win golf tournaments?"

"I learned golf by caddying. I have an unorthodox golf swing. But the name of the game isn't to swing—the name of the game is to score. I learned to score with that swing."

"You wouldn't teach this type of golf swing, but it works for me."
"Johnny Miller once said my swing had more moves than kung fu. But the day he said that, I proceeded to shoot 64 at the U.S. Open."

The "helicopter" finish: Thorpe suspects it's partly due to wrist surgery he had several years ago. Finishing the swing properly caused pain in his wrist. Finishing the way he does now, by "cupping" it, relieves the pain—and creates that "helicopter" look.

On a few fellow golfers
Veejay Singh
"He has a wonderful work habit. If I had met him earlier in my career, I could have gotten more out of my career. He goes out there and beats balls and beats balls and beats balls, until he gets it right. And it shows, too."

"He's a funny, hard-working guy who minds his business. I say that because when I finished playing golf [in the past], if there was a casino or a race track within 20 or 30 miles, I was gone. That was my way of relaxing. Through Veejay, I found a way to relax and concentrate through practicing, and dedicating my energy toward the game of golf."

"I give him a lot of credit for my success on the Champions Tour because I do believe in working hard now. The harder you work the luckier you get."

Lee Trevino
"Lee has helped me many times."

On the Friday of the weekend Thorpe won the Kinkos/FedEx Tournament, Lee Trevino called to give him some putting tips. "Lee noticed that my shoulders were uneven. I leveled my shoulders out and kept my putting stroke, nice and smooth. I went on to win the tournament."

Hale Irwin
Thorpe sometimes watches other players hitting balls at the driving range, Hale Irwin in particular—although Irwin doesn't realize how closely he's being watched.

"Hale has a beautiful swing. He does everything well—he has no weakness. But I think the strongest thing about Hale Irwin is his mind. He has the determination to win and he knows how to win."

Tom Watson and Tom Kite
"They're marquee players who know how to win."

"Even though I don't mention it to them, I watch them a lot more than they think. I just watch them to pick up little things and to see how the winners do it."

Friendly game
Thorpe plays a lot of golf with Dana Quigley, Allen Doyle and Ed Dougherty almost every Tuesday they're on tour, $5 for 18 holes. "It's pretty much for bragging rights. We've played about 20 times. Quigley and Doyle are up 18-2. But we have a great time."

Local courses
"I play Heathrow Country Club and Alaqua Country Club more than any other [courses] in Florida. Timacuan is another nice golf course I play perhaps half a dozen times a year, like Alaqua Lakes about half a dozen times a year."

"By living so close to Heathrow, I just drive my cart out and start beating balls. I just start playing right there. I prefer to play right here where I know a lot of the guys. You can always just get up a little game."

On cigars
"I love cigars."

"In San Juan we're doing a charity tournament for the hurricane victims, sponsored by Cigar Aficionado and Monte Cristo cigars, the first week in December. [At the tournament] I think they give you every cigar in the book."

"I've been to the Casa de Campo, and I've been to all of the cigar factories . . . I think that's the great thing about golf. It can take you so many places. You can do so many things and you meet so many great people."

Final thought
"I went to visit my oldest brother Everett two weeks before he died a few years ago. He told me to live each day like it's your last, because one day it will be. That's why I say, ‘Just try to live your life to the fullest. Help a few people along the way. Then all is good.'"

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