75TH ANNIVERSARY
allowed him to choose his subjects. The first My Shot was with Sam Snead, four months be- fore his death at age 89. Gone was any sadness at what Snead fell short of accom- plishing, replaced by a peace reflected in his explanation of how in his later years he could put deer and other wild crea- tures he encountered in the woods at ease. “All I do is look at them softly and move in a slow, kind way,” said golf’s Nature Boy. Yocom’s sessions with oth- er greats often created a bond, leading to treasured esoter- ica: beautifully handwritten notes from Mickey Wright, a Wilson 8802 putter from Lee Trevino and a finely textured aluminium Swiss Army knife that Jackie Burke had non- chalantly put in his palm as a keepsake. Conversely, Yocom gifted Mickelson mercury dimes from his coin collec- tion, which Phil used as ball markers while winning the 2006 Masters. From Moe Nor- man, who could hit one iden-
with a great memory. What- ever I would read would stay with me,” he says. “Stories, made up or factual, would really affect me, and they al- ways have.” Yocom’s fortunes changed after high school when he got a job as a greenkeeper at Rose Park Golf Course, a gritty muny near his house. He had first gone there only to find lost balls to sell to the pro shop, but the new job en- abled him to try golf for free. It wasn’t long before the former Little League short- stop was breaking 80. His frequent playing partner was the son of the pro, Robbie Potter, who was preparing to enter Weber State. He want- ed Guy to join him and urged Yocom’s father, Bob, a truck driver and part-time boxing judge, to cover the $162-per- quarter tuition. “Robbie said, ‘Please, Mr Yocom, you have to let Guy go to Weber with me. He’s way smarter than the rest of us,’” Yocom recalls. “I think because my dad liked that Robbie was a clean-cut kid, he said yes. I became the first person in my immediate family to at- tend college, and my world opened.”
HIS SHOT From humble beginnings, Yocom rose to interview golf’s greats.
pared,” he says, “but gradually I realised how my background gave me some advantages.” Yocom’s eye for the unusual and ease with people soon had him regaling co-workers with
tical straight shot after another better than any golfer who ever lived, Yocom has several worn photos of Norman swinging that the shy and possibly au- tistic Canadian had carried in his wallet. “I guess Moe was my favourite My Shot,” Yocom says. “He was so guarded but had so much inside. It was a delicate process to get him to feel comfortable enough to trust me. I did little things like sit close to him and let our arms touch. I’d speak calmly, making eye con- tact, which was hard for Moe. When he opened up, that was thrilling. “You know, people want to be under- stood, especially if they’ve been outliers and felt misunderstood and they want to better understand themselves. That was a big part of the willingness to do the My Shots, and my role was to help that happen. The more time goes by, the more grateful I am that I got that chance.” So are we.
stories from his road assignments. Also included were verbatim reenactments of George C Scott’s five-minute open- ing address to the troops in “Patton” or rollicking paragraphs from PG Wode- house’s short story “Chester Forgets Himself.” At major championships, Yo- com would humour writing heroes like Dan Jenkins, Tom Callahan and George Plimpton with his favourite passages from their work. Yocom also impressed with his work, especially with an in-depth oral histo- ry on the 20th anniversary of the 1975 Masters. When he suggested adapting the approach of Esquire magazine’s “What I’ve Learned” column to golf, the editors were confident Yocom would come back with something special and
Yocom majored in journalism, joined the school paper, and eventually be- came the sports editor with a tuition waiver. Upon graduation he was hired full-time at the Ogden Standard-Exam- iner, where golf became his favourite beat. When he called about a job at Golf Digest, he was told there were no open- ings but to keep trying. “I became a very squeaky wheel and finally one day they said yes.” His first day at the offices in Norwalk, Connecticut, was June 8, 1984. “A week later I was at the US Open at Winged Foot with a media credential. Golf had become my yellow brick road.” Not that he didn’t suffer some cul- ture shock. “I was around all these East Coast English majors and felt so unpre-
PHOTOGRAPH BY DOM FURORE
22 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
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