named my daughter after her who is now 24 years old. “Dad took me for lessons when I was about 7 with my life long friend and teacher Maurice Ver Brugge. He was an accomplished player and served as the golf pro at the Burlingame Country Club for 49 years. Eventually I made it to the course to play with my dad at the age of 8 or 9 and from there we played about 100 rounds a year together with my brother. “Dad was very reserved about offering
us instructional advice but would say things like, ‘I’m not a PGA pro but I’ve noticed that even though all of the best players swing very different they all stay low through their shots.’” Bing Crosby’s occupation and passion
for golf also meant that Nathaniel was able to get plenty of experience of British conditions while a youngster. “I’d been able to play in Britain because in the last three years of his life Dad would go over to play shows at places like the London Palladium and take us with him. We’d also get across to Ireland and Scotland and play the likes of Turnberry, Gleneagles and St Andrews, and I competed in the
Bing Crosby’s occupation and passion for golf also meant that Nathaniel was able to get plenty of experience of British conditions while a youngster
British Boys at Sunningdale aged 14.” When 1983 arrived Nathaniel was
riding that wave of success. In 82 he had also won the prestigious Porter Cup and helped the USA win that year’s Amateur Team Championship
in Switzerland.
Selection for the Walker Cup team was more or less inevitable. The talented lineup also included future
PGA Tour stars like Brad Faxon, Willie Wood and Rick Fehr, as well as Amateur veterans like Playing Captain Jay Sigel, about to win his second consecutive US Amateur, and perennial Walker Cup players, Jim Holtgrieve and Bob Lewis. As the ranking number 3 amateur at the time, Nathaniel had high hopes, but his first day turned out to be “pretty tough”. “I was matched against Philip Parkin,”
he recalls, “and he lit me up shooting 4 or 5 under par and thumping me 6 &
4. Jay Sigel benched me for the alternate shot matches, and then from the singles the following day. I was kind of knocked back. To be fair, though, Jay had every right to bench me as I wasn’t in my best form. “The next day I was paired with the recent Mid Amateur Champion,
Bill
Hoffer, against the mighty George Macgregor and future Ryder Cup star, Philip Walton. Seemingly it was
Sigel’s strategy to pitch his weakest team - me and Bill -
against their best. That
morning Bill and I really played our best golf, including a one iron that I hit to a foot on the long par three 11th. We came to the last hole one up and Bill popped his drive only 200 yards leaving me with a full five iron into the green which I hit to 7 feet. Bill was noticeably nervous but we only needed two putts to win. He
ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2018–2019 MAGAZINE 15 Jay
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