GOLF’s 60th anniversary: A look back at the events that made the 1990s

From the inaugural April 1959 issue to the latest one that’s been delivered to your home, we’ve covered every moment, invention and trend in golf — a smart, independent voice for the game we love. We’ve made a bunch of aces (and a few double-bogeys) over the past 700-plus issues. Here, we celebrate some of the most memorable of them.

Let’s enjoy a trip back in time to GOLF in the 1990s…

-The Cold War ends
-O.J. Simpson goes on trial
-Princess Diana passes
-The Euro debuts
-The Shark dominates on and off the course

ICYMI: GOLF in the 1960s
GOLF in the 1970s
GOLF in the 1980s

Player of the decade: Greg Norman

“I’ve always believed that things happen for a reason,” he says. “The shots people made to beat me during that one period, the ups and downs I’ve had, and definitely my slump. That was a test, and you know what? I passed the damn test. That, more than anything, makes me feel good about myself.” —“Peace of Mind” (July 1994)

1991 Ryder Cup: The War by the Shore

War Is Hell… and Weepy (“Waves of Emotion,” Dec. 1991) “Lanny Wadkins cried when he won. Mark Calcavecchia cried when he lost. Fred Couples cried when it was over. Hale Irwin couldn’t breathe.”

Oops!

“Right now, Tiger is a one-dimensional player who swings full on practically every shot. … Another thing that will prevent Tiger from winning a major is pressure. There’s a big difference between winning at Las Vegas and winning at Augusta. … He has to pay his dues.” —David Leadbetter, “How Will He Do?” (Feb. 1997)

X marks the wisdom

“Widen the Gap” By Jim McClean (Dec. 1992) “It is called differential — the gap between the amount of shoulder turn and hip turn at the top of the backswing. Most amateurs think a lot about turning the shoulders but ignore the hips and allow them to rotate too far. The key to the creation of power relies on the hips providing resistance to the upper body. … To make a powerful turn — not just a big turn — the upper body must rotate much more than the hips.”

Spot the Big Bertha (July 1991)

“Bigger is better. That’s the rallying cry of club manufacturers.”

Tearjerker of the ’90s

“Gently, Ben” by John Feinstein (June 1995): “Every once in a great while, golf gets it exactly right. Call it fate — as Ben Crenshaw did — call it blind luck, or call it magic. Any of the above will fit the 1995 Masters, one of those dramas that comes along perhaps once every 20 years … to remind us why millions of words are written every year about the wonders of Augusta National.”

Golfing with the stars

A who’s who of A-listers made appearances in our pages throughout the decade, from Michael Jordan (Jan. 1992) to Jack Nicholson (May 1991) to Bill Clinton (Feb. 1993).

Kick-ins (1970-1979)

INTRIGUING HEADLINE (AND BYLINE) OF THE DECADE “Buck Nekkid at Amen Corner” By The Rev. Bert H. Hatch (Apr. 1994)

TALK THE TALK, TW! “ ‘I want to be the best golfer ever,’ Woods says in point-blank fashion. ‘I don’t know whether I’ll achieve it or not, but it’s a helluva goal. I think I’d be more worried if I set the bar too low a goal and achieved it too easily.’ ” (“Ahead of His Time,” Feb. 1992)

THIS IS A TEST “Beginning here and now, we’ve gone beyond mere listings of woods and irons to a new age in equipment coverage. We call it ClubTest.” (“ClubTest ’92,” Mar. 1992)

FEHERTY ARRIVES “In describing Crooked Stick Golf Club, he said, ‘It’s so long that figuring distance on some holes, you have to reckon in the curvature of the Earth.’ ” (“Irish Cream,” Apr. 1992)

DAMN GOOD ADVICE “Don’t listen to any advice.” —Tom Kite to newly minted pro Phil Mickelson (“Take Note, Phil…” July 1992)

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