New Zealand golf loses a great character
IN: News | by Bruce Young | 18 Nov 2002
The news of the death of the New Zealand golfer Terry Kendall comes as a shock to those of us that were exposed at one stage or another to Terry. His demise appears to have been in mysterious circumstances, which is to a large extent in keeping with the way he led his life.
Terry Kendall was one of the enigmas of golf. A man with a great golfing talent and a winner of the NZPGA Championship, at the age of twenty one, in an era when it was not commonplace to win such events at such a young age. He was considered by most of his peers to be an extraordinary talent with the potential to take his game to the highest level. The only problem with that however, was that Terry didn't see it that way and appeared not to possess the intense desire that was necessary to take that next step.
There are many stories about Terry Kendall. I often would think that he modelled himself on the great Canadian Moe Norman in both his actions and quips. There was the story that many relate where he would disappear from a tournament, sometimes before it had finished, only to reappear at some later date in another country. That was almost typical of Norman.
One of the great lines that he occasionally used was on the tee of a very tight par four, where those around him were taking irons and fairway woods to avoid trouble. Terry would hold the ball in his hand in front of his eyes and say "the ball fits give me the driver" suggesting if there was enough room for the ball 250 metres down the fairway then he would hit driver. It didn't always work out the way he planned but in that era he was one that could produce almost any shot he put his mind to. The problem was that he did not do that enough.
Despite the frustration of a somewhat unfulfilled talent, Terry brought to golf, even then, a refreshing approach to the game that others found difficult to take lightly. He was a character in an era where the game was changing to the point where characters were being taken out of the game.
I'm sure in twenty years time many of his friends and peers will still be relating Terry Kendall stories. He had that effect on those around him.
