Seve Ballesteros

I have been thinking about writing a blog for some time now. I have done research, I’ve read about it, I’ve asked others, but I would not take the last step. I still have doubts for two fears: 1) it will not be interesting, and 2) I will not have enough time to keep up with it.

Although my blog will be medical, my first article is a humble tribute to one of the persons I have admired most: Severiano Ballesteros. With his passing we have lost an icon, a great man indeed, a pioneer. Spain owes Seve a lot more than what is obvious. Most of the progress in the tourism industry in Spain over the last 25 years has been around golf thanks to Seve. But that is not what interests me. I am interested in him as a champion, as a leader, and as a person.

Seve grew up in Pedreña, a small town near Santander in the north of Spain, where access to golf was not easy. He found the scarce opportunites. He worked as a caddy in the Royal Pedreña Golf Club, where access was very limited. He took advatange of whatever free time he had to practice golf shots with whatever golf club he could find. This made him practice all sorts of shots, including approach and bunker shots, with a 3 iron. As  result he became, in the word of Tiger Woods, the most creative golfer to ever play the game. His tenacity and discipline, together with his inteligence, made him into one of the best of all times.

Seve was never as popular in Spain as he was abroad, especially in Great Britain. In Spain he was considered distant. However, considering his upbringing and the fact that he was never appreciated in his own homeland, one understands. Buy he had a great heart.

Allow me to share a personal experience. My wife and I were once invited to Pedreña to play a round of golf. My wife never liked the game, but agreed to come. As she teed up on the first hole, somebody in an golf cart drove up to the tee and stopped a few feet from her. She looked up and saw Seve observing her.

“You’re not going to stay there, are you”, asked my wife in desbelief, as she stood over the ball.  I knew I was in trouble since she hated this game, especially having people watching her hack at the ball.

“Come on, give it a try, let’s see it”, said Seve.

My wife, who by the way has a beautiful swing, gave it a try. However, she hardly struck the ball with the tip of the driver in such a way that it took off in a diagonal, hit a rock that was lying right off the tee, bounced back and missed Seve’s head by a couple of feet. He turned toward all of us and said: “Wow, this I have never seen”.

He got off the cart, walked over to the tee, and gave my wife a golf lesson while we all looked in awe and with great envy. After a few instructions and some practice swings, she hit the ball much better than the first attempt. Seve applauded, hopped back on the cart and left with a smile. My wife never played golf after that, but she will never forget that day. Neither will I.

Seve, you will always be in our heart. Unfortunately, now you will recieve the honors you deserved in life, but better late than never. Today, the day of your funeral, Pedreña will be tha capital of the golf world. And I am sure that as your favorite soccer team, Barcelona, wins another trophy, you will raise your fist in the air as if it were another British Open or Masters.