Starter’s Shack—Norm Jarvis’ love for golf and the people who play it
If you’re ever going to get Norm Jarvis a gift, make sure it’s a Timex.
Last week Norm, Jim Rutledge and myself were shooting the breeze on Lookout Point’s putting green shortly before the last couple groups were slated to tee off for the final round of the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada, when Norm abrubtly asks, “What time is it, boy?” to which I respond, “Oh, just about 11.”
Norm smiles, looks at Jim and I and says, “Guess I better hit a few balls.”
He literally tees off in 12 minutes, is in the second-to-last pairing of the tournament, and hasn’t thought about striking a single warm-up shot until this very moment. Classic Norm Jarvis.
Four minutes later Norm and I meet up again on the first tee.
“Well Norm, did you get a few swipes in?” I jokingly question.
“Oh yeah, just a few to stay loose,” he tells me before I ask him about nerves, tension and hitting the first tee shot of the day.
“I feel pretty amped up this morning, so I’ve got to be conscious about my first drive this morning. Might have been the coffee or something I ate, but as long as you’re aware of it, you’re fine. I’ve got to stay extra smooth with this one and remember to breathe,” he admits.
Norm’s first drive of the day is awesome. He smoothly hammers it off Lookout’s first (skydeck) tee and finds the fairway. He found a lot of fairways and chickens on the last day—four of them—en route to a final round one-under-par 71.
His three-day score of one under was good enough for solo fourth (he won his second straight Super Senior’s title the say before), just six shots back of the wild playoff between Rutledge and Spittle. (Rutledge won the playoff and his second straight PGA Seniors’ Championship with a kick-in birdie on the fourth playoff hole.)
Pretty good week for the 61-year-old from Surrey, B.C., I’d say. Actually, you get the impression that every week is a good week in Norm Jarvis’ world.
The fact he’s even playing golf (let alone competitive golf) is amazing considering he’s not that far removed from a legitimate cancer battle of a few years ago.
You spend a few moments with Norm on a golf course and you know right away he loves everything about this special game. But, I get the sense the thing he loves most about the game is the people who play it.
Before the start of the second round at Lookout, Bob Panasik gave Norm a quick putting lesson that seemed to work wonders for both his stroke and his confidence. For the next two days all Norm could do was talk about how grateful he was of Panny taking the time to help him out.
That same day he received the lesson from Panasik, Norm was on the putting green late into the evening (and hours after completing his second round) helping out one of Lookout’s pro-shop guys with his putting woes. Like I said, he loves golf and the people who play it.
If you ever get the time to spend time with Norm Jarvis on the golf course, don’t pass it up. Enjoy it, because he surely does.
***
The Starter’s Shack is a (semi) regular blog written by the PGA of Canada’s Manager of Communications, Chris Fry. You can reach Chris by email at chris@pgaofcanada.com or Tweet him at @TheRealCFry
Last week Norm, Jim Rutledge and myself were shooting the breeze on Lookout Point’s putting green shortly before the last couple groups were slated to tee off for the final round of the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada, when Norm abrubtly asks, “What time is it, boy?” to which I respond, “Oh, just about 11.”
Norm smiles, looks at Jim and I and says, “Guess I better hit a few balls.”
He literally tees off in 12 minutes, is in the second-to-last pairing of the tournament, and hasn’t thought about striking a single warm-up shot until this very moment. Classic Norm Jarvis.
Four minutes later Norm and I meet up again on the first tee.
“Well Norm, did you get a few swipes in?” I jokingly question.
“Oh yeah, just a few to stay loose,” he tells me before I ask him about nerves, tension and hitting the first tee shot of the day.
“I feel pretty amped up this morning, so I’ve got to be conscious about my first drive this morning. Might have been the coffee or something I ate, but as long as you’re aware of it, you’re fine. I’ve got to stay extra smooth with this one and remember to breathe,” he admits.
Norm’s first drive of the day is awesome. He smoothly hammers it off Lookout’s first (skydeck) tee and finds the fairway. He found a lot of fairways and chickens on the last day—four of them—en route to a final round one-under-par 71.
His three-day score of one under was good enough for solo fourth (he won his second straight Super Senior’s title the say before), just six shots back of the wild playoff between Rutledge and Spittle. (Rutledge won the playoff and his second straight PGA Seniors’ Championship with a kick-in birdie on the fourth playoff hole.)
Pretty good week for the 61-year-old from Surrey, B.C., I’d say. Actually, you get the impression that every week is a good week in Norm Jarvis’ world.
The fact he’s even playing golf (let alone competitive golf) is amazing considering he’s not that far removed from a legitimate cancer battle of a few years ago.
You spend a few moments with Norm on a golf course and you know right away he loves everything about this special game. But, I get the sense the thing he loves most about the game is the people who play it.
Before the start of the second round at Lookout, Bob Panasik gave Norm a quick putting lesson that seemed to work wonders for both his stroke and his confidence. For the next two days all Norm could do was talk about how grateful he was of Panny taking the time to help him out.
That same day he received the lesson from Panasik, Norm was on the putting green late into the evening (and hours after completing his second round) helping out one of Lookout’s pro-shop guys with his putting woes. Like I said, he loves golf and the people who play it.
If you ever get the time to spend time with Norm Jarvis on the golf course, don’t pass it up. Enjoy it, because he surely does.
***
The Starter’s Shack is a (semi) regular blog written by the PGA of Canada’s Manager of Communications, Chris Fry. You can reach Chris by email at chris@pgaofcanada.com or Tweet him at @TheRealCFry