Jack & Seve Exhibition Match
There has never been a greater occasion in our Club’s history than the magical summer day in July 1983 when the two greatest golfers in the world came to Ladybank to play an exhibition challenge match before a crowd estimated to be around 5000. Our golfing predecessors would never have believed it possible!
17 November 1983, AGM Minutes:
The golfing highlight of the season had been the staging of the Jack Nicklaus V Seve Ballesteros exhibition match held in glorious July sunshine. It had been a day to be long remembered in the history of Ladybank Golf Club.
The bald entry in the Minutes does not do justice to this magical occasion in the Club’s history which had stemmed back to spring when Martin Gray, our Professional, took a phone call from John Philp, his counterpart at St Andrews, asking if Ladybank could host the event, an answer being required within the hour.
The Exhibition to mark Frank Sheridan’s opening of the Old Course Golf and Country Club was originally intended to be a re-match of Jack Nicklaus and Doug Sanders over the Old but the R & A could only guarantee nine holes on that day. In the event Doug Sanders was prebooked on the date and Seve stepped in to fill the breach.
On receipt of the call Martin spoke with Captain Alistair Laing and Secretary John Robertson, finding fortunately that there were no visiting parties booked for that day because of the Boys’ Open which could happily be re-scheduled to earlier in the day and so the engagement was taken on.
The match took place on Wednesday 13 July, a baking hot day of crystal blue sky, perfection in Scottish weather, and with the prolific broom still in full golden flower, Ladybank was looking at its most attractive. An estimated crowd of 5000 people arrived to watch the two stars play over Ladybank and the atmosphere was absolutely electric from the moment the helicopter carrying them was first spotted in the sky until it touched down at the far end of the practice ground, when a mighty cheer went up.
Seve and Jack emerged like gladiators entering the arena, on to the first fairway through a ceremonial arch of clubs held aloft by some boy members and made their way to the first tee to an ear-shattering tumult of applause and cheering unprecedented in the history of Annsmuir. They were introduced to the reception party before they changed shoes in Martin Gray’s shop and emerged to the tee to hit off.
Jack and Seve with some of our welcoming party of Ladybank boys—how many can you identify? A number of them qualify today for the Sincanter Knockout for the over-50s!
Seve playing a prudent iron from the first tee.
Jack bunkered at the third before the back of the green was raised in height. Photographs by Alastair Milne.
A pensive Seve watches a tee-shot of Jack’s. Above photograph by Alastair Milne.
The flavour of the day is perfectly captured in this aerial shot of the ninth green taken from the helicopter returning to pick up Jack and Seve. In the event however, an incoming haar, the first hint of which can be detected at the top of the photograph, eventually grounded the helicopter for the night and Jack and Seve returned to the Old Course Golf and Country Club by car.
Around this green stand a thousand people and up at the tenth and eleventh greens would be waiting a further thousand people at each, plus fairways lined on both sides. Spectators found that the only way to get a decent view was to jump ahead and wait for some close-up views of the stars.
The congestion was barely controllable but Jack and Seve took it all with great patience and good humour though it did nothing for the quality of their play—yardages were impossible and the players could not see how the ball landed and reacted.
Photograph contributed by Martin Gray.
In the village of Ladybank itself not one parking space was to be found anywhere. The original plan had been to limit the crowd to a ticketed number of 2500 but on the day it proved impossible to prevent additional spectators from flooding in by unofficial routes though in the event the numbers all added to the magic of the day.
Fans gaze in awe as Jack’s iron soars away.
Left, Jack drains his putt on the ninth green, watched to the left of his knees by a pensive lying-down Stuart Syme, and to Stuart’s left, red-haired Brian Moffat from St Andrews. Both boys, inspired by what they were watching, grew up to pursue a career as professional golfers.
Seve bunkered greenside at fourteen.
Both players firing away from the thirteenth tee.
In the event Seve shot a 69 while Jack finished with 75 following a tangle with a rhododendron bush at the back of the fourteenth, caused by a mistake in clubbing.
Both players went on to sign autographs with great patience before conducting the Prizegiving for the Boys’ Open which had taken place earlier in the day. The demeanour of the world’s two best players was exemplary and it is obvious from the photographs that they truly enjoyed inspiring tomorrow’s generation of golfers.