promptly hit his putt 5 feet by and thank goodness I managed to hole it to salvage the win. “I still watched the afternoon matches
from outside the ropes but relished the US victory and the fact I was able to represent a winning US team in international matches for the second time.” Does Nathaniel have any other specific
memories of Hoylake? “I remember the out of bounds on the 1st for sure. You had some serious jitters on that one.” In 2017, at Los Angeles Country Club,
USA chalked up an impressive 19-7 victory, but Nathaniel places no stock in it, not least because in 2015, at Royal Lytham, GB&I ran out winners 16½ to 9½. “Links
golf is a different kind of
challenge. The USA boys now are ‘hit it high’. Their athleticism and the equipment means they can launch the ball high even into the wind, whereas you have to remember that back in the old days we played differently. We were used to playing off the right foot to keep the ball low when we had to. So all of us, whether the best college players or career amateurs, some of whom had played in Open championships, were kind of well enough prepared for links golf.
“In American golf you don’t get many
unhelpful hops and bounces. Links golf is all about position and imagination. To prepare, right now I’m thinking I may take the team to a links course like Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast. When we’re in the UK we might play Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham, get them used to the time difference and the type of golf they’ll be playing. I have to get counsel from the USGA but that would be my idea. “The Walker Cup means so much to
the kids aiming to be golf pros. If their futures go as planned they could last 20 years or more. If you’re lucky enough to play in the Walker Cup it will be a memory you’ll have your whole life - an incredible
carved out memory. I
retired from competitive golf aged 26 and went into the equipment business. I was comfortable with that, but for these young kids, for some of them it’s an enormous rite of passage.” Nowadays Nathaniel
It’s one of America’s
most exclusive Clubs and reminded me, in the Crosby context, of Bob Hope’s joke about Cypress Point in California: “One
I remember the out of bounds on the 1st for
sure...some serious jitters on that one...
Above: Nathaniel right behind Playing Captain Jay Sigel during the 1983 Walker Cup opening ceremony
year they had a big membership drive at Cypress. They drove out 40 members.” In 2021 Seminole will open its doors to
the public for the first time as the venue for the next Walker Cup on US soil and, although there
are other contenders,
it seems likely that Nathaniel Crosby’s appointment will be for the standard two match term, meaning he will Captain on another course with which he has an important bond. For now he’s focussing only on Hoylake. “When I was asked to captain the side I
plays much of
his golf at Seminole Golf Club at Juno Beach, Florida.
was honoured and surprised. It was truly a thrill. I thought maybe they’d go for a younger guy. It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to be part of the Walker Cup story again, come back to Royal Liverpool and trigger some old, happy memories. I hope I serve the USGA, the team and my country well.” n
ROYAL LIVERPOOL GOLF CLUB 2018–2019 MAGAZINE 17
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