galaxy's golf cards & memo
galaxy27
Posts: 9,838 ✭✭✭✭✭
this creation is taking place here because it's where 99% of my posts reside. you guys are my brothers from other mothers. besides, it's technically sports talk anyway.
golf is far and away my favorite sport; i started slapping balls around when i was 8. as a result of that affinity, i've been attending professional tournaments for many years. it wasn't until a decade ago that my love for them and my collecting proclivities began to coalesce. honestly, i'm moderately upset that i didn't start earlier, because i never met Arnold Palmer and thus never received fresh ink from him. and that unparalleled human being would sign until his fingers went numb. i have nightmares about those missed opportunities. but a glass half-full approach is being thankful for what i have in fact accumulated, and i genuinely am.
each year i hit up 3-4 tournaments and pester old-school or modern-day pros while there -- depending on the tournament. it is my crack. for many hobbyists it's about the value of what they own. i sincerely couldn't care less about that. some of the autographs i possess probably couldn't pay for two gallons of gas, while others i could turn into a nice chunk of change if i desired to. but they are equivalent in my eyes. i've never once sold a graph i obtained myself. and that's because the indelible memory that each one represents is invaluable. from cards to flags to masters badges to balls, i have john hancocks on a lot of items. tonight i felt compelled to show some pieces of cardboard. when i get a wild hair i'll revisit this thread and deviate.
i must say one other thing before the unveiling. golfers are the bee's knees. they are so accessible and so down-to-earth. and that's because a) they know who butters their bread, but more importantly, b) they truly are just like you and me. they just so happen to be able to do something that you and i cannot. i have so many unabridged anecdotes i could share, but for now i'll tie my fingers together and show something more interesting than my words.
below is a hodgepodge of cards that have been graciously signed. if you were to ask me about any of these men, my response would be the same: all stand-up, all gregarious, all incredibly nice. a few thoughts on some of them:
Gary Player -- he may live to be 127. possesses the vigor of a man half his age. signs like the champion he is, even at the tender age of 90.
Lee Trevino -- if someone ever creates an "athletes you'd love to have a beer with, past or present" thread, Merry Mex might be my #1 choice. dude is a comedian in golfer's clothing.
Jordan Spieth -- my favorite. not the player he once was, but still the guy he's always been. once saw him signing autographs with one hand...........while holding his newborn in the other.
Corey Pavin -- third card from the left, bottom row. my girlfriend handed him that card from the 1985 Miller Press set and he studied it for about 5 seconds. he looked up and said, "i got really ugly." 
Jack Nicklaus -- i've lassoed the Golden Bear about 15 times over the years. never gets old. when he's signing something for me it feels like i'm having an out-of-body experience.
enjoy, and have a great weekend.
Comments
Great write up and array of graphs. Ever get a ChiChi R,?
Simply magnificent. 👍
saw him play many moons ago, but never got his autograph. btw, whenever i read or hear his name, this immediately comes to mind
Galaxy- those are some nice autographed cards! A suggestion would be to buy a wall mounted card display case which can easily be found on eBay and show those babies off. I just bought one for a project I’m working on which is 50 cards and I’ve only got 30 so far.
Also kind of hard for me to make out some of those players, but do you have Tom Watson’s auto? Kansas city native so he’s a favorite of mine along with Jack.
Great collection keep it up! 🥳
Dude is that Annika top middle? If so we have something in common, I got her auto at the US open in Hutch. She battled it out with Juli Inkster and lost. Got her auto as I suddenly noticed she was walking straight toward me on her way to driving range. Thrust my program at her and she took it and signed it on a Kwik shop ad. She even supplied the pen I didn’t have one.
And that’s how an idiot gets an auto🥳
thank you for correcting that faux pas. i failed to mention the one female amid all the males. total sweetheart Annika is, and i'm sure you can attest to that. i remember your story. when it comes to someone like her, you get her however, whenever and wherever you can.
and ironically enough, i was going to get to Watson in my next post. let's just say he's an outlier. until i get around to feeling verbose again, here's a special TW card. and the reason it's special is because it came from an uncutter that our very own @JoeBanzai carved up for me a couple of years ago. Tom emerged nice and minty. thank you again, Joe!
That’s cool! Nice work JoeBanzai!
I'm not a golf guy but I love that write up, I used to be this passionate about Vintage football but just lost interest unfortunately
if you win the Masters, you're set for life as far as that majestic tournament is concerned. you can play in every edition until you come face-to-face with one stipulation: the moment you start to embarrass the club. so when you reach a point where the course overwhelms you, you're receive a polite letter in the mail. but that does not mean you are no longer a part of the festivities. past champs come back and play in the par-3 tournament on the Wednesday of Masters week, and a very exclusive gathering takes place the night before that -- the champions dinner. green jackets abound, the most delectable food imaginable and the best vino money can buy -- straight from the ANGC wine vault. oh to be a fly on the wall.
this man won the Masters back in 1971. Mr. Coody is from my hometown. he owned a course in Abilene for many years, but he sold it back in 2023. i sprayed balls around that track many times, and one time i showed up locked and loaded just in case he was there. every past champ is given a Masters badge for the week. they are very difficult to find, let alone obtain. a handful of years ago Mr. Coody sold off a large portion of his goodies via an online golf auction and these were included. i was bound and determined to win as many of them as i could. i find them inherently cool. i love not only the look, but also the fact that they are 1/1s. when i walked into his office and asked if he had time to slap his John Hancock on an item, he graciously obliged. in fact, he asked if i had more than one as he was signing. i had all 9 with me, but i told him i only had 3 more. i didn't want to be that guy. but believe you me, he would have willingly signed all of them. a very nice man he is. probably the best head of hair of any 88-year-old on the planet.
from the same auction i also picked up one of his gold PGA Tour money clips, which are given out to players each year. unfortunately, because i suck at gambling i have no money to put in it.
I was pretty nervous cutting some of these cards.
You're a cool dude!
Great looking memorabilia and story.
Nice! Very nice!
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
hey ya Galaxy...🛸🚀🛸🚀
I kept it Golf related...🏌️⛳🏌️⛳
On my 620...🔌🏈
A few minutes ago I fired up my tablet; and seen this, I thought it was Pretty Cool...
I then was like: I gotta share this with Galaxy...
🛸🚀🛸🚀...
this may be my favorite piece. Emerald Green Masters flags were sold for one year only -- at the 1994 tournament. i can't get enough of them. the color scheme -- at least to me -- is such a refreshing divergence from the classic yellow that's ubiquitous. this exemplar has the names of the three honorary starters who kick off the Masters on Thursday morning of the tournament -- Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson. it took me 6 years to get all 3. never in my wildest dreams did i think it would ever come to fruition, because Watson is exceedingly difficult when it comes to Masters items. rarely does he sign them. and if he does, you better pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming. well, i pinched myself until my skin was black and blue last May because Watson waltzed over and did the deed. and the only reason he did so was because a) some youngsters were calling his name, and b) my gf (at the time) was holding this flag in close proximity. kids? yes, if they're at the right place at the right time. an adult female? the odds decrease, but they're significantly better than.........a middle-aged male? not a snowball's chance. so there was definitely a strategy involved. even then, i couldn't believe what i was witnessing. he only signed 3-4 items and this was one of them. and because my hands were freed up, i was able to take a picture of Bigfoot riding the Lochness Monster. also included are shots of Jack's & Gary's contributions........from years earlier.
hey ya Galaxy...🚀🛸🌠
Pretty Cool...🏌️⛳🏌️⛳🏌️⛳
Is that you galaxy in the green jacket?😀
here are some interesting collectibles -- Masters gnomes. back in 2016, Augusta National started pumping these out for sale at the tournament. for some unknown reason, they didn't come out with one in 2017. but they picked back up in 2018 and produced a different gnome each year until 2025. they were available in the merch shop at (1) per person. and the reason they limited them to one per is because they sold out very quickly -- often times within an hour of the gates opening. the very first thing that the majority of patrons do when they set foot on those hallowed grounds is make a beeline to get one. and the reason i speak of them in past tense is because 2025 was the final year for the gnomes, by all accounts.
they have generated a full blown cult following over the course of time, and they have steadily appreciated in value as a result. gnomes from the earliest years are now worth a mint. the 2016 version exchanges hands for 5 figures. the 2018 gnome isn't far behind. my first year to attend the Masters was in 2014. unfortunately and quite obviously, they weren't around then. but by the time I went back in 2023 & 2024, I was fully aware of them and made it a point to get one each day i was there. in addition to the full-sized gnomes they also sold mini gnomes, and those were available at (2) per person.
if you're wondering what they cost at the tournament, i took a look at mine (final picture below) just now. the mini gnome was $29.50. the full-size gnomes were $49.50 in '23 and '24. so i'm guessing that the first gnome back in 2016 cost around $25 in the merch shop. fast forward to July of last year and one hammered for $10,194.55 in an auction (first pic below). that's an ROI of almost 40,000%, with an annualized ROI of almost 85%. that makes a share of Tesla blush.
timing is everything in life, and so are the decisions you make.
Cool collectible. If the beard was longer,not Langer 😀,they'd have a John Daly look to them.
really no better time to post this flag. the PGA Tour offers up a valuable privilege for players who are in the top 50 on the career money list: they have a one-time exemption to play on the tour in the year of their choice. 62-year-old Vijay Singh -- who plays on the Champions (old guys) tour and hasn't played the PGA Tour full-time for more than a decade -- decided to exercise his right by virtue of him being #8 on said list, with earnings of over 71 mil. that decision was met with mixed reactions. a lot of people were saying it was a joke to allow someone that old to "take a spot" from a younger player more deserving in every tournament he enters. a lot of people said he would embarrass himself, he had no business playing in a PGA Tour event, and that the tour needed to do away with that ridiculous exemption.
well, last weekend at the Sony Open in Hawaii -- the first tournament of the year -- Vijay tuned out the noise, made the cut, didn't shoot over par in a single round, and tied for 40th. can't even begin to explain how impressive that is. he beat the following players who are decades younger and have won majors: Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Brian Harman, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Gary Woodland. and he tied Adam Scott and JJ Spaun (who won the US Open LAST YEAR). the guy is about to turn 63 next month and was competing against guys who are less than half his age and probably hit the ball 30-40 yards farther than he does off of every tee box, yet there he was, shutting the naysayers up and taking full advantage of an exemption that he earned.
so many life lessons here. when you get older, you don't have to shrivel up and die. you will probably have to work a little harder, but you can keep doing your thing if you so choose. age is truly just a number. also, when met with resistance, you have the ability to tell people to stfu without even saying anything. you don't have to apologize for anything you have earned in this life. Vijay did just that last weekend. there probably isn't anyone in the history of the sport who has hit more balls than he has. he is known for being a demon on the range, and he reaped the benefits of his work ethic this past weekend.
Vijay and Phil Mickelson aren't exactly besties. they've locked horns a few times in the past. but when it comes to golf, Phil appreciates greatness -- in any form. and he was one of the first people to praise Vijay after his impressive showing this past weekend.
Vijay won the Masters back in 2000, and he graciously signed this flag for me a few years ago
Nice write up.
muchas gracias
i have dupes of his RC (1992 Pro Set)
if you'd like this one, pm me with your addy and it's yours
PM sent.
started adding to this flag back in 2017, when Shell was still the title sponsor
13 guys have won majors
Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson
Jordan Spieth
Jon Rahm
Jason Day
Adam Scott
Justin Rose
Jim Furyk
Padraig Harrington
Francesco Molinari
Martin Kaymer
Henrik Stenson
Fantastic. You aced it.
Really cool collection. Is that an Andrew Johnston signature with 'BEEF' inscribed?
thanks bud. good eye, and i'm impressed. for you to know who that is..........all i will say is that you've been holding out on us any time we discuss golf.
Beef was great. caught him at the SHO in '18, if memory serves. such an affable guy. girl i was dating at the time took a selfie with him, and he probably would have agreed to a beer had we asked him.
he's faded since covid, but i think injuries have played a role. in addition to my encounter with him, what comes to the forefront of my mind is when he was paired with Mickelson at the '18 US Open. who could possibly forget when Phil intentionally putt his ball while it was still moving on the green. Beef had the look of a kid who had just witnessed the coolest thing in his life.
we're a little over a month away from the Masters and i'm starting to feel it. first year i attended was 2014 and this is a flag i grabbed from the ANGC merch shop & have been adding champs to ever since. it's been collecting dust the past few years and i need to make some progress.
gracious signers thus far, with the year(s) they slipped on a green jacket:
Gary Player (61, 74, 78)
Jack Nicklaus (63, 65, 66, 72, 75, 86)
Charles Coody (71)
Fuzzy Zoeller (79)
Ben Crenshaw (84, 95)
Bernhard Langer (85, 93)
Larry Mize (87)
Sandy Lyle (88)
Ian Woosnam (91)
Fred Couples (92)
Jose Maria Olazabal (94, 99)
Vijay Singh (00)
Mike Weir (03)
Phil Mickelson (04, 06, 10)
Zach Johnson (07)
Jordan Spieth (15)
Danny Willett (16)
Patrick Reed (18)
Hideki Matsuyama (21)
Scottie Scheffler (22, 24)
i have indelible memories of some doing the deed
Jordan Spieth
Fred Couples
Phil Mickelson
Vijay Singh
Scottie Scheffler
Patrick Reed
Fuzzy Zoeller (RIP)
Hideki Matsuyama
Mike Weir
Zach Johnson
Danny Willett
How close did you ever come to getting Tiger's? Any close encounters?
i've seen him only twice -- at the practice rounds at the '23 & '24 Masters while he was on the course (having a hard time finding those photos)
he is like Watson when it comes to autographs...........not impossible, but virtually so
hey ya Galaxy...🔭🚀🪐
That's cool...🏌♂️⛳️🏌♂️⛳️
Suitable for framing.
👌👌👌...
after you guys find a Picture Framer...
I need a Table Guy for this...🔌🏈
and to answer your questions...I have No Idea on what Board I'd pick from...
Or go with some type of Side Hinge Door on the Table...And on a daily basis I could Switch and Change Boards...Um...That Would Be Too Cool...
👌😎🔌🏈...
That is a cool idea.
in terms of sports, it's my favorite week of the year. so no better time than the present to chew up a little bandwidth with some Masters badges. a few years ago i added them to the equation, and i wish it had been many years ago. i love these things, and i love getting them signed. hopefully there will be more in about a month. the Mickelson is currently at JSA, so it was unable to make the picture.
Crenshaw
Mize
Vijay
Cabrera
Faldo
Langer
Mickelson
Gary X 2
Jack X 2
Those look like a great collectible. Very nice. Good photos as well.
Has anyone ever rejected your request?
one of the things that makes golf different -- and in my opinion, great -- is how different it is compared to other sports. you can talk to these guys and practically get close enough to touch them at their workplace. and the overwhelming majority of them are accessible, amenable and genuinely kind. if a golfer decides to sign and reaches you, you almost always receive ink on whatever it is you're in possession of. there are times in which it doesn't happen, for various reasons, but the success rate is very high.
almost all of these pictures were of my girlfriend doing the deed. she was never rejected. i myself have been a couple of times, off the top of my head. see Mize signing the 87 badge above? the year before he said he was not signing those anymore, and he asked if we (i handed it to him, but my girlfriend was standing next to me) had something else for him. the very next year we tried again and he signed it, lol.
another time i was at the Charles Schwab in Ft. Worth and my girlfriend didn't go, so i was flying solo when it came to graphs. Justin Thomas rejected me on a golf card that already had a facsimile signature on it. "I've already signed it" is what he said to me, and gave it back. in his defense, he had just been pelted by some kids with some mind-numbing questions, such as, "Hey Justin, what's your favorite club!!"........and that kinda set the tone. You could tell he was over it.
probably my biggest get was Tom Watson on the emerald green Masters flag up above. he is notoriously difficult on anything Masters, yet my girlfriend worked her magic that day. had it been me standing there with that flag, over a 100% chance it would not have been touched.
by and large, pro golfers are wonderful. they get it.
next best thing to attending the Masters yourself is knowing someone who did
had an extraordinary friend ship this little dude directly from ANGC to me, and it arrived while i was watching the first round today. made for an above-average day.
most sought-after item in the merch shop by far. rumor has it this is the last year for gnomania. what a wild ride it has been.
a seller on ebay is asking 40 grand or b/o for the first 9. currently they're worth roughly half that much.
https://ebay.us/m/vKJpt8
Perfect place to post my progress. Score card is in my retirement thread.
After a month on the range first time on the course. You can hit range balls all day but nothing prepares you for chipping and putting on a new course. Extremely rusty and not used to the speed of the greens. Went out with the mindset not to get frustrated with bad shots and to just enjoy myself. 44-46 - 90. True 90 as it’s the only way I can gauge if I improve.
"I spent 50% of my money on alcohol, women, and gambling. The other half I wasted.
If one is so inclined to buy those first nine at that price I would think they would want to pick them up in person. Don't chance shipping loss or damage.