Hollis Stacy - Part 3 (The 1983 Peter Jackson Classic and 1984 Women's U.S. Open)

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

You won the uh 1982 Whirlpool Championship at Deer Creek uh in a playoff with Joanne Carner again, also winning with the birdie on the first hole. Uh you then went and uh I don't know, did you win some green stamps uh at the SH Golf Classic? Were they still giving up SH green stamps?

Hollis Stacy 0:33

That was at Pasadena Country Club, and there was this player who was like, she was so good. And I said, What is her name? She's so good. Well, it was Patty Shann. Yeah. And so she was just really tough, and I I won that play. My grandfather's sister followed me. My Aunt Monty, and I had never met her, but she had red hair, and my dad had on fire red hair, so that's where it came from. Skips uh and uh but um I won there and it was truly exciting.

Mike Gonzalez 1:13

Uh then uh uh we talked about the Nabisco then, because that would have been after that, probably at Rancho Mirage. That that was a a tough loss, and then you came back and won the West Virginia LPJ Classic again in a playoff with Cassie Kathy Postal Waite. Um that was with a par on the first extra hole, and so you went back to back there, as you did a few places.

Hollis Stacy 1:33

Yeah, Kathy Post, we used to call her Kathy Postal Putter because she could putt. She was just she would always win that uh putting award every year, you know. So she was a great putter and good friend. So yeah. So that was that was the playoff where no, the first playoff I beat Alice Ritzman with the threes, I think. And so I used the threes to combat all the bad luck to bring me good luck.

Bruce Devlin 2:08

So more SNH green stamps, right? More SNH green stamps in '83 with a six-shot win over Didi Lasker and Patty Sheehan.

Hollis Stacy 2:22

Oh, goodness. Goodness. I you guys have everything in front of you. I um six-stroke lead. That was, I think that was early in the year, and I was practicing, and everybody had laid their clubs up. So I was uh playing and putting a lot uh in the offseason. So that was at Pasadena again. So yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 2:47

You still have Wilson uh Wilson equipment in the bag at this point?

Hollis Stacy 2:50

I don't, but I do have the bag and the clubs. There, I have them.

Mike Gonzalez 2:55

But back then, I mean, were you playing Wilson pretty much your whole career or or not?

Hollis Stacy 2:58

Um I think I jumped to Cobra when I won at Salem Country Club from my in my open there. Yeah, in 84. Yeah. Yeah, in 84. But I jumped uh from Wilson to Cobra, I think.

Mike Gonzalez 3:14

Yeah, and I think we've talked a lot about Patty Berg. She was probably Miss Wilson given thousands of exhibitions all over for them.

Hollis Stacy 3:21

You know, I went to the Patty Burgh school and I dreaded it. You know, it's like, you know, my grandmother's Christmas tree, you know. Boot camp. Boot camp. It was like boot camp, you know, and I was, you know, young and I'd be chewing gum and she would say, Hollis, what's in your mouth? So I'd have to take it out. And but but she was the best. She taught you how to do a golf clinic. And to the point where you would almost kind of like dance over to the ball and point. And I mean, she was just, she was just um, you know, Renee Powell, myself, Kathy Height, uh, and all of us. We we we still talk about those times uh going to the Patti Berg schools and learning how to do a golf clinic. So, because that's what Wilson Wilson expected us to do is to give clinics, you know, with supporting the goodwill of golf.

Mike Gonzalez 4:24

Yeah. And you were entertainers. It was a bit of show business.

Hollis Stacy 4:27

Yeah, it was it was show business.

Mike Gonzalez 4:29

Sure.

Hollis Stacy 4:29

She showed us how to do it, and I am so thankful that I got to know Patty Berg. She is uh is and always will be, you know, real special in our lives. Yeah, we love Patty Berg.

Bruce Devlin 4:42

Your next win was another uh back-to-back. You win, uh not back to back, but second win at uh the C CPC uh international at Moss Creek again. So back home to win again. Oh, goodness.

Mike Gonzalez 4:56

Over Beth Daniel.

Hollis Stacy 4:59

Beth. So I won twice at Moss Creek.

Bruce Devlin 5:04

Yeah, yeah, you sure did.

Hollis Stacy 5:08

You know, Bill Walt, I mean, um, someone told me I won twice, and I'm like, are you sure? So, you know, I have the trophy right here. I should look. So you should look, yeah. Let me go look at. I'm gonna get it right now. Hang on one second.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Let me go look. This would be good on video, all right? Yeah, be great. Little trophy check. Ah, there it is.

Mike Gonzalez 5:36

Well, I sure hope you don't prove us wrong. So look at 1983. Does it have your name in 1983?

Hollis Stacy 5:42

They don't they don't have the years on there.

Mike Gonzalez 5:44

Oh, gotcha, okay. Ah 80 and 83.

Bruce Devlin 5:48

So you got to believe us, though, Hollis, I think.

Hollis Stacy 5:52

80 and 83. Okay, I believe you.

Bruce Devlin 5:54

Better be there. And 83. After winning at Moss Creek in 83, you weren't finished because you then picked up your third major championship at the Peter Jackson Classic, now called uh DeMorrier.

Hollis Stacy 6:08

I played at Beacons Field.

unknown 6:11

Yeah.

Hollis Stacy 6:12

And it's probably the most relaxed I had ever been at a golf tournament. And my caddy, uh Bruce Lambdon, was um, you know, for some reason, I don't know, but I just played golf and I didn't worry about extraneous things, and um not until the last hole, of course. And so I was worried about something to the right that had a red stake. And so um I was head to head with Joanne Carner, and I hit the ball probably a foot from the water hazard. Because I, you know, I was just relaxed the whole week and I played great golf, but on the last hole, you know how that is. You know, don't hit it over there. Don't go over it. So you hit it over there. Over there. Yeah, so I hit it there, and um I finished the hole with a par and Joanne parred. So um once again, Joanne Carner, head-to-head uh competition. Uh Beaconsfield was a great host, and um, I have friends of mine that are members there that uh live in uh Bradenton as well. So they keep reminding me.

Mike Gonzalez 7:35

Yeah, well let's let's talk about.

Hollis Stacy 7:37

What year was that? That was 80 three.

Mike Gonzalez 7:41

And then uh you followed that up in the following year with your final fourth major, 1984 U.S. Women's Open at Salem Country Club, which you mentioned. That was one over Rosie Jones, and I have to tell you about two months ago I'm flying back to Savannah, and I sort of recognized the lady sitting across the aisle from me. Rosie Jones.

Hollis Stacy 7:59

Yeah, Rosie Jones, Rosie. Yeah, yeah. That was um that was a tournament that I went in and I had not been playing well, and it I had never I ran into Jerry Tardy in the parking lot, and I think he was embarrassed, and because I hadn't been playing well, and he he felt like he, you know, Jerry Tardy with USA Today. He had his little notebook in his back pocket and he brought it out and he he asked me a few questions because that was my only interview of the week. And so I ended up um playing well, and I um was playing with a cobra metalwood. So that was in July of 84, and so I was hitting the ball far and straight and thinking, I am so good, and not knowing that uh the metalwood was taking the spin off the ball, and you know, you know, this was the new era, and so Tom Crow was telling me, you know, this is good, this is good, and and so I'm hitting it. I think Tom is in Europe at the time because he's going over for the British, I think. And so um uh Gary Bizance is, you know, he's so excited because I'm playing well. So I'm in, you know, not in the lead, but kind of one back, and then the final day I um make a double on the second hole. So I go, Amy is leading. She's got a five-stroke lead. So then I go seven out, and so well, I have nothing to lose now. So then I I played, I shot end up shooting, I think 67 or 68 after that double. And um um Amy doubled the last hole, and that was her worst loss ever, I'm sure. And I won, and um but um I holed a seven-iron from the trees on 13 to make an eagle. That helped. So that helped. Anyway, so I ended up beating Amy by one and Rosie by one. Rosie bogeyed, Amy doubled, and I shot 67-68 last day to win.

Mike Gonzalez 10:34

Yeah, you played the last 14 holes five under, and uh, I guess they called 18 back then at that golf course Hogan's alley as well, huh? And uh must have been a tough finish.

Hollis Stacy 10:45

Well, you know, it's funny because I lost a tournament at Moss Creek because I decided to play it safe with a fairway wood off the last hole. So immediately I it put that defensive mode, so I hung onto my forewood and I hit it left into the water, and I lost the event in the playoff. So to I I don't know. Then I learned from that, so trouble was left on 18, Sapar 4. They had switched the nines, and so there was it was a swell, and the rough was about like this. And so I didn't want to hit it left and hit a fairway wood, so I hit driver as hard as I could, and I hit it in the right primary rough, and uh was able to clear the hazard in front of the green and roll up under the cup so I could two-put for my par. And Amy had played it safe and pulled her fairway wood into the rough, and Rosie uh I think she hit the fairway, hit it over the green, which is a no-no, and she made bogey, and Amy made double, so that was the difference.

Mike Gonzalez 12:05

So this was your third women's U.S. Open. Uh only Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright won more at four. Tell us about the connection with the babe Diedrikson Saharias here.

Hollis Stacy 12:19

Uh so babe won, and I felt I was having some stomach issues the week prior. And so I thought, you know, she died of colon cancer. So right after um that I had a colonoscopy, or I I had a GI after that because I felt that, you know, I was superstitious. I thought that because are we gonna use this? No, I can't. Is that is that the connection? I did. I went to the hospital and had that. I did.

Mike Gonzalez 13:06

Oh, I think, you know, I think we can talk later. I think we should probably leave it in because people are gonna love it. But I was I was actually going for something else.

Hollis Stacy 13:14

Oh, what was that?

Mike Gonzalez 13:15

Oh, because Babe Diedrichsen won her third U.S. Open.

Hollis Stacy 13:20

Oh, I didn't know that. That's so funny.

Mike Gonzalez 13:22

The venue.

Hollis Stacy 13:23

Oh, I didn't know that. We can't do we have to use that over.

Mike Gonzalez 13:27

No, no, we don't, but but she won it at Salem Country Club, her third as well, and it was in the year you were born.

Hollis Stacy 13:35

That's the connection. Okay.

Bruce Devlin 13:38

That's the connection.

Hollis Stacy 13:39

And you know, the babe won. She won with a bag on her side. Did you know that? I did not know that.

Bruce Devlin 13:47

No, I didn't know. I didn't know. She did.

Hollis Stacy 13:50

She had colon cancer, and she had she won. Can you believe that?

Bruce Devlin 13:54

That's amazing.

Mike Gonzalez 13:55

I think now we've got to include the colonoscopy.

Bruce Devlin 13:58

Yeah.

Hollis Stacy 13:59

Yeah, you have to. I'm like, do we have to? Is that the connection? Oh, I did. I did. I stayed with, I I had an appointment made, my friends made it, and they said, You're clear. Well, yeah. Okay.

Mike Gonzalez 14:13

Now I can win the U.S. Open.

Hollis Stacy 14:15

I know. I was so nervous. I said, oh God, oh God, the babe. She died of colon cancer.

Mike Gonzalez 14:22

So too young, but wow, what an athlete.

Hollis Stacy 14:26

Whoa. She was, I mean, can you imagine? She was fast.

Mike Gonzalez 14:32

She could do anything.

Hollis Stacy 14:33

She was fast. I know.

Bruce Devlin 14:35

Yeah.

Hollis Stacy 14:35

She did the hurdles.

Bruce Devlin 14:38

Sorry about that. I forgot to unplug it.

Hollis Stacy 14:42

That reminds me of uh, I have a funny story. So, oh, who's the little who was the first current South Korean that that started everything? That won the Sari Pak? Sari Pak? Yeah, yeah. So Sari Pak, we had a very interesting locker room. You know, I had Sari Pak, Annika Sornstem, Muffin Spencer Devlin, Jan Stevenson, you know. So so one time Sari Pak was in the locker room. And you know she was a she did hurdles. So she's fit.

Mike Gonzalez 15:17

Look like a hurdler, yeah.

Hollis Stacy 15:18

Yeah, she did hurdles, so she's fit. So she's in there and she's stretching like I've never seen a golfer stretch. And then I looked at her and I said with a straight face, I said, What sport are you playing today? She's she's a great, great athlete, great, great, great player, sweet, sweet gal.

Mike Gonzalez 15:43

So yeah, my wife and I went up and watched that Monday 18 whole playoff uh where she won the U.S. Open up in Kohler, Wisconsin.

Hollis Stacy 15:51

That was, are you remember? That was when Envy Park was watching as a little girl, and that would have been like three or four in the morning when she won. And they say, they said like like the whole country was watching it on TV. They said like, you know, they're a country of a hundred million, 70 million people were watching it at four in the morning, and the whole country just went, woo! Isn't that great? It's a great story, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 16:26

1988. Uh yeah. So let's talk about some of your um uh some of your other wins then. We we're back to 1985 now, where you win the Mazda Classic, again, the second time winning that tournament, uh, Deer Creek Country Club over Ayako Okamoto uh with a closing 67. You remember much about that one?

Hollis Stacy 16:47

Uh I don't. I don't. But um Ayako is, you know, I miss Ayako. She doesn't show up anymore. She does uh JLPGA, JLPGA TV coverage over in Japan. She doesn't come over. But um I just, you know, she's so funny, she would be like um uh, you know, barely getting it off the first T and oh you're so worried, you know, how she's gonna play the rest of the day. And then then she would shoot like six birdies in a row because she had this, she was a fantastic athlete. She was a softball player in Japan before, so she had um very strong legs, so she kind of had that uh delayed release like uh Julius Boris, and so um she could really you know fire it right at the flag and far and but she was always um uh you know very um relaxed and you know she would horrible drives off the first T, like you feel so sorry, and then you look at her scorecard and it's a 67. It's a 67, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 18:08

So you you had a little auto accident in 1988. How did that affect things?

Hollis Stacy 18:13

Um the auto accident was a whiplash, and I got it during the US Open at Five Farms, and um it just uh it it was minor but major for the next few months, and um I just it was weird because I kept hitting the ball left, and um, you know, it was just something I had to deal with, you know, a nasty little whiplash. So that kind of set me back a little bit, but um nothing nothing major.

Mike Gonzalez 18:46

You still had one more win in you though, didn't you?

Hollis Stacy 18:49

I won that at the Crest Star.

Mike Gonzalez 18:51

That's right, 1980.

Hollis Stacy 18:52

At the Crest Star, yes. I won that at the Crest Star. And I hadn't won in a long time. And it I had my first set of shafts that I had synced by Ed Montgomery in the desert. I didn't know that you know clubs were supposed to be matched, you know. And so um Ed Montgomery had synced them, and uh, I remember my friends were around in the back of the green waiting for me, and uh, it was very cool. I hadn't won in a while, and that was my last victory, and it meant a lot to me. Uh Nancy Wren was the tournament director, and little did I know that she had a degree in psychology because she came up to me one time, and I hadn't played in the Crest Star for a few years, and she came up to me one time and she said to me, I know you have a busy schedule, and I know that you have lots of things to do, but we certainly would love to have you. I know you have a busy schedule, and if you can't play, it's okay. Well, of course, that's what you want to hear. You don't want a sponsor coming up to you and pressuring you because you know that's the worst thing they can do. And I said, I said to myself, I'm gonna play in her tournament. So it wasn't two years later I didn't realize she had a degree in psychology. Nancy Wren. Yep.

Mike Gonzalez 20:34

Yeah. So take us through the last few years because you I think you competed up until the year 2000, right?

Hollis Stacy 20:42

I think so. It's a blur. But um uh it just well, you know, my friends had left the tour and it was just hard, you know, you know, hard to play. So and I didn't realize my shoulder was getting very bad, you know, from golf and other things. So my swing had um uh quit functioning the way I thought. And so um I just decided to retire. So it was the right thing to do. I had 26 great years, 26 um years of making friends and going to great places and and having fun. So um I uh I loved it. So uh I couldn't think of anything else better to do. You know, it's still in my blood. I look for ways to helping women's golf, helping junior golf, and uh, you know, involve with Payne Stewart kids golf and uh helping kids that are underprivileged, helping them uh improve their life through you know, life skills in in the game of golf. So it's a good thing, you know.

Mike Gonzalez 21:53

That's that's true.

Bruce Devlin 21:54

That's terrific.

Mike Gonzalez 21:55

I know you you can reflect back now on those twenty six years as a professional. on the tour anyway, and think back to how things changed from nineteen seventy-four to two thousand, just simple things. How you got around, you know, from tour stop to tour stop, how you traveled, how you uh the equipment that was available, the the course conditioning that was available, how the balls changed. I mean, a whole lot of stuff happened and the money. I mean the money changed a little bit too.

Hollis Stacy 22:26

Oh yeah. A lot has changed. Um the equipment has changed. Um I think what I see the biggest change on the men's tour and the women's tour, especially the women's tour, is uh the fact that they have teams they have you know they have the sports psychologist they have the cook they have the trainer they have this they have uh their uh they have probably about five or six people and to me I think they're giving away their power they're giving away their um uh uh who they are as a person whereas when you and I played Bruce you know we were driving along and we were by ourselves and you know we we relied on ourselves yeah we relied on ourselves how to get the ball in the hole no matter what and so and that's where I see the big difference is in the players of today that have their big team versus the ones that are by themselves um you know I I think they're taking away from who they are are taking away their confidence in my opinion. It's interesting you say that too because uh I'm sure it's just uh you've mentioned it many times today about all your friends the the gals that you played against who who you wanted to beat their brains out but you know they you were all we were all friends you know the guys that I played against we we become lifetime friends and that's what you've said uh quite often today about all your buddies yeah well I mean I would hope that um there's some strong friendships but I know when I was growing up I had great friends out there that I could count on and you know we would drive we would drive and we would have the shortwave radios remember you had your handle we drive from point yes E V you drive from point A to B and there'd be about 10 cars following and uh you go from point A to point B. So so I think that's um that's the big difference I see. Yeah the uh yes there's equipment change and um there is swing change uh but I see that's a big change too the the reliance not the self-reliance but the reliance on other things and people so um that's where I see a big difference. So Hollis you were inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in nineteen ninety one oh you guys are have it all yeah yeah I did that was a special special special special yeah because um many great people were in there Bobby Jones you know and uh uh who else was in there um well I I think I was a little later because I was a woman and they just started you know putting women in uh in the halls of fame Larry Nelson get inducted maybe oh yeah way before me yeah yeah yeah yeah maybe maybe Tommy Aaron Tommy Aaron yes Larry Mys Larry Mys who can drive Larry Mys we've had all those great all those fellow all those fellas on the show right but uh but uh but you you got the big one though the big one in 2012 didn't you I got the big one it was funny because um I'd been trying to get a hold of Mike Juan for something else and um you know he kept we kept missing each other but finally I'm getting messages you know you know Mike Juan needs to call you and so I and for our listeners Mike Juan at the time was the commissioner of the LPGA tour he is currently at least as of this year 2022 uh he heads up the USGA so I was getting messages to call the LPJ immediately so I I had no idea I had no idea and um then I started thinking then I kept missing messages and then I kept thinking maybe I'm in trouble what did I do so so I said okay I must have done something wrong so I remember I was playing in Sheila Johnson's uh golf course at Innisbrook I was playing in a legends event and I'm driving from my house here on Anna Maria over the Skyway and the cell coverage was bad so you know I kept waiting for the phone call and so I stopped once and then no call so well maybe maybe he'll call I so I hurried up because it changed from the middle of the bridge I don't know if you've been over the Skyway but that was the one that was collapsed. So it's pretty frightening so I ran over that bridge and then I said well maybe I'll as soon as I got over it I got a phone call from Mike Juan said oh Mike how are you pretending like I'm relaxed so how are you and what's going on and at that moment Jack Peters got on with his radio voice and then he goes on behalf of the World Golf Hall of Fame in his you know radio voice you know you are in and I was I was just kind of like in shock because I wasn't expecting it and it was quite so and my mother who you know she goes to church every day she I kept calling my mom Tilly and of course she's not picking up and I keep calling I called 20 times 20 times and she was at church and I said where were you at that damn church so anyway so it was quite the moment and I called my little sister you know to tell her and she was so emotional she was called her husband and she couldn't even talk and then she you know John had John Leach had thought something really bad had happened. And anyway so that's what happened it was very cute. So big moment for my family.

Mike Gonzalez 29:35

You were nominated I think by Amy Alcott and presented uh presented by your sister Martha yeah yeah quite emotional so uh went in with uh Phil Mickelson Dan Jenkins the writer uh Peter Alice and uh both player and broadcaster in that Peter Alice yes and and Sandy Lyle yeah pretty good group right there oh yeah great guys all of them so and gave a wonderful speech by the way oh thank you of course should have been shorter but anyway I loved it as we wind down Bruce uh as as Bruce knows we we have a a a custom of asking some sp very specific questions of our guests as we kind of wind down their life story so uh uh Bruce you want to start yeah so Hollis if uh if you knew today I know if you knew when you were twenty what you know today what would you have done differently?

Hollis Stacy 30:36

Mm-hmm Well several things I would have finished school I would have finished school right I would have written all of my thank you notes to all of the sponsors immediately because I know how important it is okay very good and um oh I think that's it you know oh I would have oh maybe worked a little harder on uh my golf game maybe a little harder yeah fair enough we're gonna give you one career mulligan where do you take it oh that's a good one one career mulligan uh that would be my first tee shot at the dinosaur because I was so nervous with that two three stroke lead that I I barely got it to the fairway and so I wish I had swung at it as hard as I could have so it would have released all the tension. So that's my my mulligan that was the one I lost with Sally so and I know that's one you really wanted to win. Yeah that's true. Yeah so the la the last one is how would you like Holocey to be remembered oh that's a good one um I think I'd like to be remembered as uh just a caring person you know not necessarily you know a great golfer but someone that cared you know so you know um cared for my family cared for my friends cared for the LPGA and cared for um all of humanity that's that's how I would like to be remembered.

Bruce Devlin 32:32

Well you know something it's been a distinct pleasure to have Hollostacy with us today and we thank you for your time and all your great stories and your wonderful life and joy of being part of the game of golf.

Intro Music 32:47

Oh love you Bruce thank you Mike thank you for listening to another episode of For the Good of the Game McKay and please wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify if you like what you hear please subscribe spread the word and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game so long everybody stayed with