Toss the cigarette and tee off

The Country Club in 1913.

Adapted from Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

The men’s U.S. Open golf tournament will be held June 16-June 19 at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass. -- the first golf club in America to be called a “country club’’ (and for a long time known for its bigotry against some ethnic and religious groups and the dominance of Boston Brahmins).

The club was founded in 1882 but the golf course was not built until 1893.

I well remember being taken there by my father for the U.S. Open on June 20-23,1963, won by Julius Boros, who beat  Jacky Cupit and Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff. (No, we were not members!) The drama was delightful but it sure was hot. Watching Palmer, who was funny and charming, was great fun. (I had dinner with him and a couple of other folks at the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971.) I remember Palmer teeing off after throwing his cigarette on the ground. A more relaxed time.

Although golf courses can be environmental disasters – most are laden with chemical fertilizers and pesticides --  they can be very beautiful, which for me was more of a lure than the sport of chasing a tiny and very hard ball around 18 holes. I sometimes wish I had taken some more lessons from my father, with whom I played a few times. But I was off at school and then working in cities most of the time, and it’s a very expensive sport.

My father was a fine player, and won some tournaments, the last on the Massachusetts North Shore shortly before he dropped dead of a heart attack. After his memorial service, one of his friends said with a sigh: “He had a sweet swing.’’