St. AUGUSTINE, Florida – Gary Player has said it best, “If you love golf, you have to go to St. Augustine and experience the World Golf Hall of Fame.”
And the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum has just unveiled its newest exhibition—Tales from the Collection—during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with President Jack Peter. The exhibition features singular items, some of which have never been on display in the museum, as it celebrates the global nature of the game of golf. This interactive exhibition recounts stories from the lives and careers of Hall of Fame Members and features an original Andy Warhol painting of Jack Nicklaus.
These artifacts tell the stories that shaped the World Golf Hall of Fame Members into the athletes they became. Throughout the exhibition, artifacts can be seen from Washington, D.C., where one of the most dramatic U.S. Opens of all time took place, to the shores of Vietnam, where the war shaped the career of one of the Hall of Fame golfers. Guests can enjoy seeing these exceptional artifacts as they hear Hall of Famers relate stories that few have ever heard.
“This new exhibition shares incredible stories about our Hall of Famers, with many of them told firsthand,” said Jack Peter, President of the World Golf Hall of Fame. “This idea started a long time ago as we’ve had a lot of unique items that haven’t seen the light of day. Now, we’ve put a spotlight on these artifacts which represent key moments in the lives and careers of our Hall of Fame Members.”
A highlight of the collection is an original Andy Warhol painting of Jack Nicklaus.
The painting was created by Warhol in 1978 when he was commissioned to work on a project named “The Athlete Series,” featuring 10 of the greatest athletes of that generation, including Chris Evert, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, Pelé, and Tom Seaver.
As guests view the Warhol painting, they can hear Jack Nicklaus recall the moment he sat down for that session with Warhol, who was famous for his pop-art but new to the sports world.
“There is some funny banter between the two where Warhol continually told Nicklaus to ‘Move your stick to the left’ and ‘Move your stick to the right’ as he was trying to get just the right pose,” said Brodie Waters, Vice President of Business Affairs at the World Golf Hall of Fame. “To the point where finally Nicklaus said, ‘This stick is my golf club,’ and joked, ‘Does this guy know what he’s doing?’ Of course, the final product here, and in the entire Athlete Series, shows Warhol’s incredible blend of sports and pop-art.”
Additional artifacts include Arnie’s famed cardigan sweater, portraits of Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, Annika Sorenstam memorabilia, a samurai sword, an Emmy award, a signed letter from President Ronald Reagan, and many more unusual items.
The World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum celebrates golf and preserves the legacies of those who have made it great. The Hall of Fame & Museum, located at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida, serves as a steward of the game through engaging, interactive storytelling and exhibitions featuring artifacts, works of art, audio, video and photography significant to the history of golf and its members.
The World Golf Village also includes two world-class golf courses—The Slammer and the Squire and The King and the Bear—a luxury Renaissance Hotel, and Bill Murray’s popular themed restaurant Murray Bros. Caddyshack.
Visit the website at WorldGolfHallOfFame.org
Leave a Reply