Legends of Golf: Remembering Charles Coody

“I’d like to be remembered as a nice guy and a fairly decent player.”
−Charles Coody

Those are pretty humble words for a guy who won the Masters. Charles Coody got his Green Jacket in 1971, beating runners-up Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller by two shots. Coody had three PGA Tour wins and five victories on the Champions Tour.

I didn’t recognize Charles Coody this afternoon in the locker room at the Legends of Golf. He was asking Jack Fleck questions from across the way. Jack was distracted, so I provided the answers.

Coody looked familiar. Who is he? I checked the nameplate on the locker as he stepped away. Of course, Charles Coody.

We continued some small talk, then I said, “Let’s see, Masters champion, 1971?”

“That’s what they tell me,” Coody replied.

“Were you here last year?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I played in a different division.” (Now Coody will play in the age 70-plus Demaret Division.) “It’s a good thing,” he added. “This course is too long, and I keep getting shorter.”

“Don’t we all?” I said. “Have a good week out there.”

He smiled and slapped me on the shoulder as he walked away.

In his final Masters round in 2006, 68-year-old Charles Coody shot a 74, proving he was still a “fairly decent player.”

−The Armchair Golfer