You don’t say?
Well, in the case of people in the Colorado golf community, they do say.
And, as the end of the year nears, we’ll tell you what they said. In other words, it’s time for our look back at the most notable quotables of 2016 — from a Colorado golf perspective.
So here we go …
— Caddie Sydney Bates, interviewing for a full tuition and housing Charles “Chick” Evans caddie Scholarship to the University of Colorado:
“I always thought I’d be a drive-through person at Chick-fil-A, but I like this Chick better.”
— Former USGA president Thomas O’Toole, on Colorado Springs resident Judy Bell receiving the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award, during U.S. Open week:
“Judy is a towering presence in golf and her contributions to shaping the USGA can be seen to this day. … From her earliest days as an accomplished player through her tenure as USGA president, Judy has been a staunch advocate and diplomat for the game. Those mantles were always delivered with her unique kindness and infectious personality. Judy is a real treasure.”
— On-course TV reporter Dottie Pepper, speaking at the G4 Summit at The Broadmoor, where during the 2008 U.S. Senior Open she had one of the most harrowing moments of her career:
“How can I ever forget being chased by a bear?”
— Rhett Evans, CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and a former chairman of the “We Are Golf” campaign, speaking about golf initiatives in Colorado, including the new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado:
“The state of Colorado has the foresight to bring together multiple associations for the common good of golf. What’s going on here in the state of Colorado needs to be replicated in a lot of other states as we try to combat some of the headwinds that golf faces. I think what you’re doing here today is a step in the right direction.”
— Longtime PGA Tour player Hal Sutton, speaking at the Denver Golf Expo in February:
“I think the Tour right now is in position to be really exciting to watch with a lot of good players. The Tour is better off right now is my point. … But I’ll throw one caveat into that: What if all of a sudden Tiger Woods was back on his game (and healthy)? There’s a lot of people that really like Tiger Woods, and there’s a lot of people who don’t. But the truth of the matter is, he adds a flare into the game that I think we miss a little bit right now.”
— Former Colorado Springs resident — and onetime USGA president — Judy Bell, on the CWGA celebrating its 100th anniversary:
“The CWGA is one of the most respected women’s golf associations in the United States. Its reputation has grown over the years right along with its membership. In all my years with the USGA, I was always very proud of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.”
— Pat Hamill, founder of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, on the quadrupling of the first-place money for the CoBank Colorado Open:
“Getting first place to $100,000, it makes me want to go work on my golf game.”
— CGA executive director Ed Mate, speaking at the annual Caddie Summit in Colorado:
“To me, you’ve got to continue to put the effort in. Caddying is not the path of least resistance. It’s not like the things at a club that you don’t need to push, that you don’t need to promote; they’ll just be fine. You don’t need to promote golf carts. People are going to take them. And if you’re not careful, they’ll take them too much. So just to maintain (the amount of caddie activity there is in Colorado) is success because it’s not the path of least resistance.”
— Colorado PGA executive director Eddie Ainsworth, on the number of rounds of golf being played in the state:
“I wouldn’t look at (relatively) flat as a negative; I’d look at flat as a positive in a down economy. I’m not just trying to paint a rosy picture. I literally believe that. If we’re flat and we’re currently in the economy we’re in, that’s a good thing.”
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Gary Potter, on raising about $95,000 for the Hall of Fame and junior golf through the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame Classic 100, an event in which participants garner pledges and then play 100 holes:
“It’s a hell of a success. Our goal Jan. 31 was to get to $40,000 overall, so doubling that is a great success.”
— CGA executive director Ed Mate, on his experience as a rules official at the Masters:
“It was amazing — everything you’ve heard about the Masters. From the experience standpoint, it’s unlike anything, so unique. It’s like you’re in a time warp, with no cell phones (allowed for fans on the grounds) and the food costs ($2.50 for a Masters club sandwich, $2 for a soft drink and $1.50 for a Georgia Peach ice cream sandwich). It’s the spirit of Bobby Jones and Cliff Roberts: They don’t measure themselves against what everyone else is doing. They do stuff their own way. It’s not a coincidence they’re viewed the way they are.
“There was a great quote (uttered) at a rules meeting: ‘We strive for everything to be the best, and if it’s not, we’ll figure out how to make it the best.’ … They just make you feel good. And if everyone around you treats you courteously, you can’t help but reciprocate.”
— George Solich, a 1983 University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum, on the $6 million renovation and expansion the E.S. house underwent recently:
“Being in the house today, it was remarkable to see. We have such fond memories of being in that house. We used to have freshman projects to improve the house, and our freshman project was using barn wood as siding for ‘The Pit’ room (in the basement). To see that room today when we had a directors meeting there, it was really like an out of body experience.”
— CWGA Golfer of the Century Carol (Sorenson) Flenniken, recalling her heyday as a player in 1964:
“I’ll tell you what meant more to me than anything else: After I won the British (Ladies Amateur) that year, I was named Wisconsin Athlete of the Year. I beat out Bart Starr of the Green Bay Packers and whoever else was up that year. Little Carol Sorenson, I was the Wisconsin Athlete of the Year. I’ll tell you what: That stuck with me all these years.”
— Robert Polk, who won his third CGA Senior Four-Ball Championship with his third different partner, joked with 2016 teammate Bill Fowler that he soon may be switching him out too.
The exchange between the two players:
“He keeps trading down, getting somebody younger,” said Fowler, who just turned 53.
“I’m not stupid,” the 60-year-old Polk said with a hearty laugh. “You better watch yourself.”
“I turned 53 yesterday,” Fowler noted. “He’s looking for somebody 50.”
— Craig Stadler‘s friend — and fellow Colorado resident — Mark Wiebe was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame five years ago, but the Walrus couldn’t help friendly needling his buddy during the reception prior to Stadler himself being enshrined into the Hall. After all, Wiebe didn’t attend his induction as he was in the midst of winning a PGA Tour Champions tournament that weekend:
“Every time I’ve seen him the last few months I’ve given him a hard time,” noted Stadler. “I say, ‘At least I’m showing up for (my induction).’ He said, ‘I was winning a golf tournament.’ I say, ‘That’s no excuse.'”
— World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin (pictured), who grew up in Colorado, following a kids clinic in the Centennial State:
“There’s so much to be learned out there in the world and I’ve learned an awful lot through golf. Some of the people I’ve been around have been just outstanding people. If I can take just a germ of that and give it to these kids, and it seeds itself and it grows, they’re far better off. And what’s not to love about being out there with these kids? If you don’t love that, there’s something wrong with you.”
— Irwin, on significantly cutting back his competitive schedule in his early 70s:
“If you had asked me two or three years ago, ‘Would I ever miss a major?’ I’d say, ‘Never.’ Well, I am. The leaves always turn in the fall, don’t they? Well, my leaf is starting to turn.”
— David Oraee, on advacing through U.S. Open Local Qualifying after a nine-month layoff from tournament golf while he graduated from CU and prepared to take the Medical College Admission Test:
“It’s crazy to think it’s been (nine) months. I like tournament golf a lot. This is why I play golf. It’s good to get back into it. But I’ve never played this bad and won something.”
— Jeff English, on draining a 35-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole that gave him the title in a back-and-forth CGA Super-Senior Match Play final against Steve Scheffel:
“I was just absolutely floored” at making the long winning putt. “I just got plain-ass lucky frankly.”
— CGA executive director Ed Mate, on the death of Colorado Sports Hall of Famer Will Nicholson Jr.:
“I’m pleased we were able to recognize him as our Man of the Century last fall (in 2015). That pretty much says it all. There’s no individual who’s done more for the game and for the CGA in the last 100 years than Will Nicholson. He’s on the Mount Rushmore of golf in Colorado for sure.”
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, on Jennifer Kupcho, the CWGA Player of the Year the last three years:
“I started playing in the CWGA stuff probably when I was 10 or 12 — so about 40 years ago. I’ve never seen anyone like (Kupcho). She’s in a different league altogether. She has great temperament, a world-class swing, she’s really powerful and she’s just a good kid, too. I think she’s going to do very well.”
— Braden Bentley, on claiming the boys title at the first major ever conducted by the new Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado:
“It’s cool to be the first of a new era. It’s cool to think I’m the first one of so many junior golfers that are going (to win these Junior Golf Alliance majors). It’s also good to be part of the tradition of the (CGA Junior) Stroke Play that’s been going on forever. Players like (current PGA Tour professional Mark Hubbard, the 2007 Junior Stroke Play champion) and so many others that are playing good golf at a high level that have won this tournament before. It’s cool that it means it puts me in good company.”
— CGA amateur open-division captain Nick Nosewicz, after the open, senior and women amateurs swept the Colorado PGA professionals in the Colorado Cup Matches for the first time:
“Obviously as amateurs we want to beat the pros, and the pros obviously want to beat us, so there is a good rivalry between the two of us. It’s pretty special. Anytime you can get your name on the trophy that’s state-related and be part of a team, it’s fun.”
— Ron Vlosich qualified for his fifth U.S. Senior Open, but wasn’t particularly confident going into the qualifying round:
“In the (Colorado PGA) Section pro-am stuff, I was shooting like 75 all the time. I told my buddy, ‘I think 75 is par now.'”
— Just like a fellow southpaw who held the 36-hole lead at the British Open (Phil Mickelson) at the same time, AJ Ott of Fort Collins rode rounds of 63-69 to the top of the leaderboard at the Colorado Junior PGA Championship. Said Ott:
“Lefties are making a comeback, I’ll tell you what.”
— Wil Collins, who shot a 62 in the first round of the CoBank Colorado Open, early in the year had all but given up being a full-time tournament player:
“I was out. I was substitute teaching, teaching some juniors, got a job at the golf course, was doing some caddying. I needed to take a look at the other side of life. … I needed a change of perspective, and I was trying to get it by looking at the real world. It scared the daylights out of me. I’m trying not to take this (playing tournament golf) for granted. It’s pretty special.”
— Part-time Denver resident Kevin Stadler on the left hand injury that kept him off the PGA Tour for most of the past two seasons:

”It literally felt like I had a firecracker going off in my palm every time I’d practice. It was a nightmare.”
— Gunner Wiebe, who sustained a very, very deep cut on the underside of his upper right arm after walking through a sliding glass door that he thought was open, and it shattered:
“To think, if it’s a little bit deeper cut, it hits my artery and I’m not here … You’re in Mexico, (the person treating him) did the best he could. (But) I felt a little bit like I was a pet at a vet.”
— Neil Johnson, who, after barely qualifying for his first CoBank Colorado Open earlier in the week, won the tournament and the $100,000 first prize:
“Maybe literally I was the last guy in (the field). The elephant in the room is the big $100,000 check, which is awesome. But for me I always just loved playing golf. … To beat a field like this … You’ve got every type of player — you’ve got PGA Tour winners, PGA Tour members, Web.com members, Canadian and Latinamerican Tour players and mini-tour all-stars. To come out on top is definitely the defining win so far of my career.”
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Janet Moore, on playing in the CWGA Stroke Play at Denver Country Club 25 years after winning that same tournament at the club (Janet is married to fellow Hall of Famer Kent Moore):
In ’91, “Kent’s mom brought (Janet and Kent’s son) Steven out because my parents were watching and she was babysitting. I have pictures holding Steven when he was probably four months old. And now Steven is here at my house with my granddaughter. That shows you how time passes. Here I am playing 25 years later and there’s another baby in the mix, and it’s a grandchild. That’s a huge blessing and a lot of fun.”
— Wes Martin on qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur for the first time since 2009:
“It’s a huge deal. I can confidently say there hasn’t been a day gone by over the last seven years that (returning to the U.S. Mid-Am) hasn’t been my goal. They give a little badge (to participants, and the one from 2009) is right where I keep my wallet and keys and I see it several times a day. I’m definitely looking for redemption.”
— Ashleigh Wilson of Highlands Ranch, who skipped her first day of fourth grade at SkyView Academy to play in the JGAC 10 & Under Junior Series Championship, which she ended up winning for the second time:
“I’m glad I skipped the first day of school to come here. My mom wasn’t too sure (about missing school to play in the tournament), but my dad and me were like, ‘If I’m in it, I’m playing.’ I wasn’t going to miss it. I’m glad I didn’t.”
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kent Moore, whose win in the CGA Super-Senior Stroke Play gave him titles in seven different individual championships — an unprecedented feat in CGA competition — over the course of five decades:
“I’ve always tried to be persistent. There’s a lot better players in every tournament, but I was just persistent, and I really enjoy golf. And I somehow learned how to get it into the clubhouse reasonably well.”
— Moore, after noting Club at Rolling Hills members Kevin Ott and Bill Fowler set the pace throughout much of the CGA Senior Amatuer, which just happened to be played at Rolling Hills:
“It’s like a club championship.”
— Arnold Palmer, who passed away this year, on his victory at the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills:
“It was my only (U.S.) Open win; it was the highlight of my career.”
— Louise Lyle, who helped Patty Jewett Golf Course in Colorado Springs win the CWGA Club Team Championship:
“It’s nice (to prevail) because the Denver clubs seem to win everything. It’s nice to be like the little club that could.”
— Steve Irwin, after teaming with Barry Erwin to win the CGA Four-Ball title, giving Irwin six CGA championships:
“It feels fantastic to get back in the winners’ circle. Maybe I should start doing the four-ball circuit after winning The Broadmoor Invitation and now this. I guess that’s what happens when you get a little older — you need the support of your partners.”
— Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Christie Austin, on being one of the first women to receive an invitation to join the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in Scotland, a longtime men’s-only club:
“I get this email about the third week of November (in 2015), and I don’t know who this is, I don’t know what they’re talking about. I click on the attachment, which was the formal letter inviting me to be a member. I sat there and read it, thinking, ‘Who sent this as a joke? Who’s trying to fool me?”
— Dustin Jensen, the CGA’s managing director of operations, reflecting on the first year of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, a collaboration of the CGA and Colorado PGA, with the help of contributing partner CWGA:
“I’d call it without a doubt one of the most successful things we’ve ever done. The entire thing just exploded in a great way. It was a complete success.”
— Janene Guzowski, on being one of the first two female members (along the Tracy Zabel) of the CGA Board of Governors:
“It’s the first time in 101 years that they’ve ever had any women on the (CGA) board. There’s two of us, which is kind of an honor.”
— M.J. Mastalir, on being voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame:
“It’s a nice honor — and humbling. I’ve been really fortunate. I’ve worn a lot of different hats in golf, I’ve met a lot of nice people and gone to a lot of nice places.”
— Windy He, who works as a rules official for both the CGA and CWGA, on how she got interested in the Rules of Golf while living in her native China:
“That was a very interesting story. In 2003 my son Li Chen was trying to qualify in China for the Junior World Golf Championships in San Diego. He was 6 years old, and he hit the wrong ball. Somebody told me, ‘There is a two-stroke penalty.’ I said, “What!? There is a penalty in golf? Seriously?’ The guy said, ‘Yes, that’s the rules.’ I said, ‘How many rules are there in golf?’ And the guy said, ‘Lots of rules.’ I had to figure it out. So I bought some rules books and began to read the rules.”
— Broncos general manager John Elway, the honorary chairman for the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, on what he likes about golf:
“As an athlete, golf is the one game you can play forever. It’s a game that is different every single day. It’s a game that you can never ever get your arms around all the time. It’s a tremendous challenge, but most importantly it gives us ex-athletes a chance to compete again. I love the challenge of it.”
— CWGA executive director Laura Robinson, on the prospect of hosting the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup at Hiwan Golf Club, where she’s a member:
“The more we talk to people who have hosted, the more energy and enthusiasm we get. We’re throwing a party for 72 of the best high school golfers west of the Mississippi, and we’re competing with others who have gone before us. We have to make it unique for Colorado, and we want it to be memorable.”
— Denver-area resident David Duval, who teamed with stepson Nick Karavites to win the nationally televised PNC Father/Son Challenge, on his first big victory in 15 years:
“It’s wonderful. It’s wonderful to have the feelings, the nerves of really paying attention to what you’re doing, executing the golf shots and picking your lines. … This is as good as anything. It truly is. I know it’s not winning The Players or something like that, but this is what the progression of life is. To be able to come out in a professional event and win and have the whole family here, I’ll never forget it.”
