Byron Nelson vs Gene Littler at Pine Valley | 1962 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- 52-time PGA TOUR winner Byron Nelson faced off against fellow Hall of Famer, Gene Littler, at Pine Valley in New Jersey, one of the top ranked courses in the world.
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I find this so much more entertaining than modern golf.
Me too
Swinging those old clubs was much more of an art. Modern technology has helped the average Joe golfer…but I think it’s made the game less interesting overall.
@@Ben77788 It's way more enjoyable to play with clubs of that era imo. You know when you've hit the woods right and most courses are still made to be played by them. Golf would be far better without the tech obsession imo because the 60's/ 70's era (and earlier but there's no great footage of that) were far better to watch and the old small head woods are better (more fun) to play and I say that as a guy in his 20's.
The modern putter tech has to be the biggest con ever though - it's still just a hunk of metal on a stick lol, you can either putt of you can't, tech won't help you with that.
The Golfers were much more individualistic in style both in attire and playing
With the average handicap remaining the same for almost a century, I hold out hope for a classic player to break through and style their way into the heart of golf lovers worldwide
Man, that 53 minutes just FLEW by...
This format is wonderfully entertaining... no attention grabbing on-screen graphics to distract your eye from the beauty of the course... the subdued background audio with no irritating music or patrons shouting drunken nonsense.
a real golfer's delight.
I really enjoy the paintings of the holes, too. Gives an artist a job…which is also nice haha
such a pity they dont make shows like this anymore.. no added fluff. just pure golf and great commentary
I concur, especially sans the drunken patrons.
And notice that the player's clothes/hat aren't covered with sponsorship icons. Very refreshing
Sarazen throwing out the "Yessirr" 24 years before Vern Lunquist.
this is glorious. I KNOW my grandpa was watching this in his den with a whiskey and some Marlboro reds back in '62.
And a bowl of pretzels
@@drumzmagoo dude exactly lol
This course is brutal. Incredible to see two professional golfers scrambling and hitting doubles and triple bogeys.
You all prolly dont give a damn but does any of you know of a way to log back into an instagram account..?
I was dumb lost my password. I love any tips you can offer me!
@@rudyjacoby8495 lol wut?
@Rudy Jacoby Instablaster ;)
Give today's players clubs and balls from the thrift store you would probably see the same thing.
My 7th grade Science teacher showed this wonderful film to the class to show the class the "physics" of golf and I was hooked. 140 yd 8 iron with steel shaft and no cavity unforgiving face. Persimmon woods that were half the size of today's woods and 275 yds was a big drive. Many people didn't know the "squire" Gene Sarazan invented the sand wedge with the large flange.Wonderful memories. 150 slope was close to PGA West in ranking the toughest.
I sure miss those old Shell Wonderful World of Golf series. Truly great professional players playing with persimmon drivers and fairway woods. Gene Sarazen is the signature of this great television program.
A real treat to see Byron Nelson work around a golf course.. Thanks for posting
And at age 50!
The speed of play is amazing...step up and hit it and walk up, line it up and putt, very refreshing.
Yeah, and the scores reflect that method…
@@captaincanada8872 there should be a shot clock on today’s golfers. The game is slow and tedious.
i don't mean to insult your intelligence, but this video is cut, not live. And there are only two golfers in the field. Not much of a fair comparison.
@@johnrobinson6112
Nevertheless, today's players do take quite a bit longer on each shot.
@@afritimm the greens were wayyyyyyyyy slower back then. Some of the putts these dudes hit 2 feet long would be 8 feet past on modern greens. Also, way less break on slower greens
I absolutely love Sarazen's shot by shot color commentating.
I've never enjoyed watching something more than that. Byron Nelson is an absolute legend ❤️
Also consider that he retired from regular tour play after the 1946 season.
@@jimiverson3085
At age 34!
Byron Nelson is a machine both literally and figeratively .. with todays balls and equipment he would never miss a green or fairway.
Best player ever in my humble opinion from what I have read.
@@nipplefishdigweed5839
Right there with Hogan. Isnt it amazing that they were caddies at the same time at the same course in Forth Worth? Like Truman Capote and Harper Lee knowing each other in a tiny Alabama town.
@@afritimmOr Hackman, Hoffman, and Duval being roomies in their coming up years.
Pure quality and nothing compares to Shell's Wonderful World of Golf
So lucky to be able to watch these two great golfers at the toughest masterpiece in the world.
Nelson was impressive here at 50 years old. Hard to believe he had already been retired 16 years. Three years after this match he still managed a top 15 finish at the Masters!
I remember watching these with my Dad. I'm not sure if I watched this one but I do remember the theme song of the wonderful world of golf off by heart. When I here it, it reminds me of Dad. Best father ever!!
I love how quickly they play, no more than 20 seconds to hit,today's pros have to have a consultation over every shot
because caddies back then were told to show up ,keep up, and shut up.
@@oldmcdonald3376 First thing I noticed, too. No consulting every detail of every shot. The player actually does all the work and then grips it and rips it.
Scottie earned $62,000 000 plus endorsements this year! Yea, back then most pro athletes baseball. basketball, football and golfers made only a little more than the working class 10-15,000 per year. Top pros made 30-50.000. Money changes everything. I miss the days when sports wasn't all about money.
This is great. Also, perfectly illustrates that golf is as much about limiting damage as it is about anything else.
When they describe each hole and the challenges become more menacing in appearance, I half expected them to finish with several hungry Grizzly Bears defend the green, at least once.
haha especially that par 3.
I feel like this man narrated my childhood....golf, Saturday morning cartoons, Christmas specials....who is this man?!??!
Gene Sarazan, One of the greatest golfers of all time and the inventor of the Sand Wedge - as far as I know he never commentated on anything other than golf, but he was reasonably old when this was made, others from a similar era with similar accents and ways of talking probably were the narrators on the 60's and 70's cartoons and christmas specials.
Be great to see the best of today’s pros take on this incredible course
It's an absolutely amazing course .
There is an apocryphal story that a scratch golfer played it for the first time.
He birdied the first 4 holes and went immediately to the bar.
His reason was that golf on earth would never be better than that.
The membership of Pine Valley must be the luckiest golfers in the world 🌎
Can't get over the size of those beautiful greens. And it's just death if you miss the fairway. Even though he had a rough day, you can learn a lot by watching Littler swing.
Yes I really like Littlers relaxed swing. They used to call him “Gene the Machine” . Gene normally very consistent.
Agreed. That is a swing to study!
Wow, this is really good. The video is great quality for its age, but it retains that vintage feel that gives it a real sense of nostalgia. Of course, for me it's a rather false nostalgia, this was 18 years before I was born :P But it's still enjoyable to watch.
Those bunkers were exactly how bunkers should be, natural and unraked, we're so spoilt today.
I caddied for Gene Littler either just before or after 1980 for a pro-am in Los Angeles at Mountain Gate CC ( We called it Mountain Goat because it was a caddy killer with the hills and L.A. smog). Anyway, he was a grouch, talked to himself, and blamed the caddie (me) for any bad shot. Thing was at the start of round he showed me how to present his bag for each shot and told me not make any suggestions or talk to him at all. Of course being a caddie many guests at Bel Aire, Lakeside, or L.A.C.C. had their quirks some had to let you know you were a "caddy". Bill Bixby was quirky but fun. I loved caddying in college because it paid very very good and you got to play the courses on Mondays.
Anyway, Gene is on the third hole and pulls a putt and actually walks up to me waiting for him to exit green and blames me for a misread. I was thinking hmmmm ok he is trying to be funny or something. The whole day was like that. I did not make a peep other than the yes sir, no sir, and thank you stuff yet any bad shot or putt he blamed me and it progressively got more angry and abusive. I gave up the bag the second day. Was so weird because when he heard I wasn't on the bag he had to come to caddy tent and select another caddy. I was there and he said , "well there is my caddy - lets go". I simply said no sir I will not carry the bag. He actually paid very well, but I figured he was crazy and if something set him off and I became the target I could lose my status at the other clubs. When I got back home I threw away some Gene Littler woods I had and went out and ordered some Tony Penna :)
Fascinating story. Tiger Woods doesnt get very good reviews from caddies either.
Yeah, that sucks, and I can believe it. For a guy who won 29 times (same number as Trevino), he's very forgotten. Of course he was kind of colorless, and I guess curmudgeonly as well. A LOT of pro athletes are narcs.
@@nicholasschroeder3678
Big difference with Trevino --- Littler won one major, Trevino won 6.
How could he blame you for a misread if you weren’t saying anything to him?
@@Ghostshadows306 Who knows the guy lost his mind? He did talk to himself quite a bit. Or, A game he played to act superior over "the caddy"? There were several like this in the upper echelons of high dollar country clubs back then. The caddy in these environments could become the problem of the day.
Aren't we lucky to get to watch this. George Rogers is a lovely presenter. Gene gives clear helpful no nonense commentary. The course looks lovely and Gene and Byron basically up and hit the ball (mostly beautifully)!
Great video. Loved watching the great Byron Nelson at work (well after his prime, but still amazing).
Wish they would create a throwback tour, where players used the old clubs and dressed accordingly. We'd love it..
Look better than dressing like walking bill boards for sports brands
I loved playing the old balata balls, muscle back irons, and persimmon woods in the 60s. I had a roundness gauge I carried in my bag since a few thinned iron shots would leave you with a ball that was out of round. Amazing how well Byron and Gene could play given their age, the equipment, and the difficulty of the course, which didn't look particularly well groomed given the extremely high standard of the turf conditions for the top courses today.
Littler was 32, in his prime. Nelson was of course long retired, and 50 y.o.
Yup, I remember my old brass ring to check "out of round". Mine usually cut bad before getting to this condition. 😅
Thanks for posting, impressive clarity. Fun to see Byron playing great at such a cathedral.
Love watching these matches, and seeing the picture quality continue to be better and better on these old matches makes them even better.
Thanks for posting PGA this is content we want to see
this is incredibly entertaining, love this older content
Both have classic swings... but wow... it was a treat to watch Nelson stripe a few.
I know how Littler felt on some of these shots: "can I go home now?"
Amazing video. What a production for the era. Great golf shots and the beautiful Pine Valley. I wish the actual pros play there. Watching Tiger, DJ, Rahm, Rory, Koepka, Phil, Ernie. That would be really interesting, strategies and modern balls/ clubs against Pine Valley. Cheers
I still wish they had done one more of these with young Tiger against old Nicklaus.
You wont see pros play this course in a tournament.
SHELL should bring these kinds of matches back to the people....come on SHELL it's 2021....bring back the Wonderful World of Golf!
Amazing save by Littler on the very difficult par 4 #1 hole!
Man these are super entertaining
When golf was golf. Superb stuff.
How beautiful are these swings?!?
I used to watch these every Sunday as a teenager
Loved it.
Truly,
Richard
One of my favorite courses and Shell matches 👍
Security was tight for this exhibition-----no cocktails beyond the fringe.
Back when America was great
For the longest time Pine Valley was rated the toughest course in the entire world. It shows how great these two players were to shoot what they did. Nelson in particular was brilliant in this round. Today's butcher shop pros are mostly hacks by comparison. Polished as the Hope diamond.
It's very difficult to disagree with you.
I would argue that it’s still the toughest course in the world
Awesome course that will test your ability to play and score, great play for both of these men nearly 60 years ago
Some members bet Arnold Palmer he wouldn’t break 80 the first time he played there.
Love to see the current crop of PGA pros trying to play this course.
Enjoyed the match and the post- match iron shots. That cattle rancher from Texas could sure play the game of golf!
That course is really beautiful.
Yes it is. In Vail Colorado their golf courses are a lot nicer
Pine Valley is voted the greatest golf course in the world year after year by the golfing press.
This and Cypress Point are my two fantasy plays. As likely as Raquel and Sophia...😏
Yes, but unplayable for 99% of golfers.
This is baller. Byron had a nice swing! Taller man
Byron is somehow underrated. His golfing accomplishments were great, but his largest contribution was the development of the modern golf swing. Not many professionals hitting to a stiff left leg. I can only think of Curtis Strange as a great player doing that.
Problem is, he had a very short career. By choice.
Retired at 34. Jones retired at 28.
@@afritimmBoth had accomplished pretty much everything in the game. It was much more a game to them then a death struggle like it seems today for astronomical sums. They had lives an pursuits beyond and above golf. They had nothing more to prove and got tired of the grind. They were more "men" than the characters of today. Sorry, but I believe it. I mean do Tiger and Phil seem like men to you, or just perpetual teenagers.
@@nicholasschroeder3678
I agree, altho Jones and Nelson were different characters. Jones was an amateur and never played full-time golf. It was a part-time pursuit, between getting 3 college degrees and beginning his law practice. Byron was a pro just like his contemporaries Hogan and Snead, and they all made their (modest) living from golf, but as soon as Byron had just enough money to retire and buy a little ranch, he did so. Can't imagine Hogan doing that. He was too driven, not for money but for accomplishment.
best video of all time
I would love to see today's pros using those clubs on that course might be a nice awakening
It would be great, but we'll never see a major on this course. It's too tight to pack in the big crowds.
@@dk2853 Covid gives us the perfect opportunity for a pro event there. No crowds necessary! Just some cameras, grounds crew, and officials.
Don't stop there. Ask them to play with hickory like Bobby Jones, on courses that were barely maintained.
@@afritimmin one of Bobby's major wins there was a par five 605 yards long, nobody had eagled it with a putt, Bobby hit driver-spoon to five feet and canned the putt for his eagle. Hickory shafts and a ball that was well a lot shorter.
Just wonderful to watch.
This is just awesome to watch. One of my favorite things is watching these players hitting long and mid irons into the greens here, and on holes that are only around 400 yards. In todays game, it's mostly drivers and short irons or wedges. They've eliminated the importance of a whole area of the game. I'd love to watch today's players have to hit 4 or 5 irons into many of the greens.
One of Hogan's famous shots was in his "comeback" Open at Merion in 1950. Came to 18th needing a par to tie (after playing 36 holes that day on his damaged legs). Had a 2-iron for the 2nd shot and nailed it. There is beautiful photo at the finish of his swing. Perfectly poised.
Won the 3-way playoff the next day (18 hole playoffs in those days).
Littler a "swinger" and Nelson a "Puncher" Two very different ways to play this game. Both highly effective.
Wonderfull footage. Yes, Gene, playing with both hands paid great dividends for Mr. Littler.
hitting a driver on par 3, unimaginable today
I had the good fortune to play with the great Bobby Locke quite a few times when he visited in-laws at our town in Florida. Likely the greatest putter in history, with a very eccentric loopy swing and a huge hook on every shot. He was in his early 50s, and was never a long hitter. I remember a par-3 with wind in our face, he hit a driver with a huge high hook that landed 10 feet away. Stunning.
Winner of 3 British Opens and a major success for the only 2 years he played in the US in the late 40s.
Beat Sam Snead in 12 out of 16 exhibition matches.
Been a dream of mine to play pine valley. I live in the pine barrens, so it’s not too far away. Back when this was built it was all pine barrens, but now there a solid 30 min drive between where the pine barrens start today and where pine valley is located. I got married at pine hill country club just a few mins away. Nice play, now owned by trump, but nothing even close to this course. I’m not sure you can build a playable course any tougher than this one and I love that all these years later, it’s still regarded as the #1 ranked course
Right from the first hole on I enjoyed this. Particularly since the 427 yard 1st hole was a driver, 4-iron for Littler who hit a nice 255 yard drive. Modern golf would be a driver, LW… I enjoy watching this “classic” kind of golf.
But their irons were much weaker than today's clubs. Look at the loft on this 6 iron. Looks like my 9 iron. 35:03
@@stumarston6812 i just added 2 to whatever iron they said was being played to get a modern equivalent
Lofts were at least two and a half club diff plus better shafts and ball, today's driver is a huge advantage but jack won the long drive contest at the 1964 PGA with a 345 yard blast on level ground very little roll with a persimmon head steel shaft driver. He would've won the similar contest in 2017 and 2019 at the PGA long drive with his 345 yard driver.
@@ag358When switched from persimmon--and I could crank a 300+ yard drive--in my early 30s to a titanium oversized head with a graphite shaft it added 50 yards. I could suddenly drive short par fours, and all the longer ones became driver wedge. It was exhilarating, but also felt like cheating. I never really got over the feeling that it was cheating and that some of the fun and a lot of the challenge was taken out of the game. By my mid 30s, I quit altogether. Miss it sometimes, but more like a former high school basketball star misses hoops. It--like this show--is mostly good memories. The game, both professionally and for amateurs just lot it. All carts, no one carries, the tricked up equipment, and outrageous cost. No more fun.
Sweet swingin' Gene Littler. One of the best swings ever!
I wish this was in 4K!
I've always noticed how the putting strokes were very "stabby" and the greens very slow compared to modern day watching these old golf videos. There wasn't much letting the putts die near the hole. A lot of putting was much more direct at the hole and right through the breaks.
I looked at the scoreboard for that course once and had nightmares for a week.
They need to bring these back
Golf as it should be played!
17:30 "Just pick it up, that group behind us is catching up."
The camera quality is incredible for being 60 years ago
It may have been on film which doesn't degrade as much. Many things actually were this kind of quality - it's just that over time the tape or whatever hasn't been kept in good condition so it looks much worse now than it did at the time. This is better resolution than the shell matches from the 90's that are on here for that reason.
This is just majestic magical stuff.
5:00 Gene was like "And that was the last time I ever tried to be honest."
Times were so much better 😢
One of my favorites. Also 22 year old Nicklaus playing 53 year old Sam Snead . No other sport do you get to see such a large and gap and champions competing. Snead lost by 1
And have a legend commentating :) Gene Sarazen :P thanks for the sand wedge :P
@@danielhansen3982 I had the privilege of playing with Mr. Sarazen once
@@johnkurtz7705 Daang man :P must have been sweet
@@danielhansen3982 great time. I was way past nervous. Scraped pars on first 2, then hit a drive that hit a cart path on 3, bounced a mile, made eagle on par 5. He hadn't said a word to me, next tee he asked me if I liked the bunker placement on the dogleg, felt pretty good. He was a pleasure, he was 81 ? , shot a pretty easy 75. On the longer par 4s he just hit it a little further with no discernible difference in his swing.
@@johnkurtz7705 Hehe i can imagine :P nice to have such a treasured memory :)
The quality of this video is outstanding. How did they get such a clean tape from 1962?
Those Driver shots sound so good.
I love that they edit in clearly reproduced ball shots to make it more “exciting.”
If you watched this footage and said Littler was a major winner you'd laugh. He looks like a 10 handicapper out there.
Byron and Tom Lehman have an almost identical action around impact. Love to see the old timers swing it... Poor Littler... guy is slicing it...
Needing to drive the ball straight played right into Nelson's game. Hogan gets the reputation, but Nelson was really his equal at striking the ball.
They were caddies together at the same club. Amazing.
Pine Valley looks incredible. Would love to see a U.S. Open played there.
Exactly what I was thinking, although it will never happen. Course is too tough for today's players.
You'll never see pros teeing up in a tournament at this course. I wish theyd bring back real rough and actual difficult bunkers.
@@RT-Ford
It is impossible because there is no space for galleries.
Always heard 3 post-1930 golf swings (Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan) defined era until the perfect golf ball gives us Phil, Tiger, Brooks. Bad decision of Littler 16:40 unforgettable.
No technology... just skill.
A quadruple bogey on that par 3 for Littler gives me hope
Afterwards Gene became the Golfing machine. That was his nick name.Gene Gene the golfing machine. H.O F.
After seeing him on the 4th hole, I see how much Littler and I have in common
Even though my handicap is 18, I think I still convince myself to go for it over the penalty every time ... lol
Good God, I don't I could break 90 here and I play pretty well. What a beast!!!
So refreshing not here some viewer in the background yell "in the hole" or some random nonsense remark. These two guys have a combined 118 PGA tour wins and 7 majors.
Yea, but 6 of those majors are Nelson's.
@@afritimm and Nelson was long retired and ranching cattle in Texas when he played in this match. Check out his autobiography "How I Played the Game". It gives great insight into how much different things were back then. These guys started playing with hickories and had to transition to steel shafts.
Shot 62 at PV. In 1972. 66 on the back. Snappy 128.
I commend you for keeping count.
Holy hell that course.
Thanks PGA want more
This is better picture quality than a Shell game from 1997 at Olympic between Nicklaus and Miller. Work that one out.
Cause this is shot on film..not video.
Byron Nelson’s practice putts scaring me haha. He gets so close to the ball.
Putter waggle
Golf was more difficult back then imo. Equipment was inferior and courses weren’t nearly as manicured as today. Amazing what these guys could do
These guys actually had to hit long irons into greens and even use a driver on a par 3. The pros never should have been allowed to use metal clubs. Now with a ball that goes farther, pros just hit short irons into greens. Metal clubs should be for amateurs.
There's really something to that. They still use wooden bats in MLB
Correct. You should ASPIRE to the professional ranks by learning to master the skills of your predecessors, and play the game at it's most challenging levels.
That is something I have always commended MLB's stance on. It should be the same with golf.
the lofts on clubs changed. our 6 irons are like theyre 4 irons.
Mr. Littler was playing my game on that long par-3.
Class acts all around.
Wonderful! I miss the days when golfers were sportsmen first and not “athletes”
19:30 Quadruple bogey by Littler
The excessive TH-cam ads ruin this video
Nelson was a great player and even better man...a tender hearted follower of the Lord.
Buddy had a tough time on the 5th. I feel ya brother… I feel ya