Jim Thorpe
GOLF VACATIONS|August - September 2016

A gambler with a swing straight outta’ rehab who built dimes and dollars into a distinguished career...

Gavin Newsham
Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe was one hell of a guy. You name it, he could do it. American football, baseball, basketball, he played the lot. He won Olympic gold medals in the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 games in Stockholm. He was voted the greatest athlete of the 20th century, held places in innumerable halls of fame and even had a town named after him in Pennsylvania. Imagine, then, growing up with the same name. Those, after all, are pretty cavernous footsteps to follow in.

As a sports fan, and with a surname like his, it was inevitable that one of Elbert Thorpe’s 12 kids would be saddled with the name Jim. Eventually, the honour went to his ninth child, a boy, born on February 1, 1949. “Even today,” says Jim, “guys ask me if he was my uncle or some relative.”

Growing up in a house alongside the eighth fairway at Roxboro Country Club, North Carolina, it was nigh on impossible for Jim Thorpe and his family to not like golf, especially as his dad was the superintendent at the course. All the boys played a bit. One brother, Bill, would be good enough to go through National Qualifying while another, Chuck, played briefly on the PGA Tour and, according to Jim, was the pick of the Thorpe clan. Trouble was, Chuck drank, smoked and chased the ladies with significantly more effort than he ever expended on the range and it would be his downfall. Arnold Palmer summed him up best when he said Chuck was a player with “a million-dollar golf swing and a 10-cent brain”.

If Chuck had a million-dollar swing, then what price Jim Thorpe’s? A nickel? A quarter? On first glance, Thorpe’s action resembles the kind of agricultural swing you witness every weekend down the local municipal. With more moving parts than Kramer vs Kramer and a finishing loop so huge that it wouldn’t look out of place at Black pool Pleasure Beach, it is part Jim Furyk, part Zorro.

Esta historia es de la edición August - September 2016 de GOLF VACATIONS.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición August - September 2016 de GOLF VACATIONS.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE GOLF VACATIONSVer todo
Miguel Angel Jimenez - The Everlasting Mechanic
GOLF VACATIONS

Miguel Angel Jimenez - The Everlasting Mechanic

If nothing else, Miguel Angel Jimenez has epitomised all that represents golf, both as a competitor and a lover of life. At 55, he takes his success from the main European Tour to now the PGA Champions Tour.

time-read
4 minutos  |
October - November 2019
Darren Clarke - The Jovial Champ
GOLF VACATIONS

Darren Clarke - The Jovial Champ

Reaching the age of ‘Champions’, the convivial Darren Clarke remains passionate about golf, and yes, Guinness stout.

time-read
4 minutos  |
October - November 2019
GOLF VACATIONS

Thailand's True Paradise - Chiang Mai

The northern city of Chiang Mai is Thailand's true paradise.

time-read
4 minutos  |
October - November 2019
GOLF VACATIONS

Czech Republic Is A Delightful Combination Of Pilsner, Golf And Spa

Pilsner, golf and spa makes a visit to the Czech Republic a delightful combination that can be experienced over and over again.

time-read
9 minutos  |
October - November 2019
Clinton Ang Shares Traditional Values, Future Growth And Golf
GOLF VACATIONS

Clinton Ang Shares Traditional Values, Future Growth And Golf

Clinton Ang, current head of an 81-year-old family business, shares traditional values, future growth and golf.

time-read
6 minutos  |
October - November 2019
The Ten Best Golfers In Hollywood
GOLF VACATIONS

The Ten Best Golfers In Hollywood

Hollywood glitz meets endless rolling fairways in the ultimate list of top celebrity golfers.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
October - November 2019
Pairing Perfection
GOLF VACATIONS

Pairing Perfection

Diageo recently unveiled two incredibly rare and exceptional whiskies: Brora 40-year-old and Talisker 41-year-old - both under the brand’s Rare & Exceptional range.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October - November 2019
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller
GOLF VACATIONS

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller

Introducing the eternal watch of the deep sea.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October - November 2019
Professor S. Jayakumar Teeing Up Strong
GOLF VACATIONS

Professor S. Jayakumar Teeing Up Strong

His role in nation building cannot be over-estimated, yet Professor S. Jayakumar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore has the benefit of golf to carry him through life in politics and now, simply a life well deserved.

time-read
4 minutos  |
October - November 2019
GOLF VACATIONS

Highland Fling

The recently opened Parahyangan Golf Course outside Bandung, West Java, sets a new standard for this popular region which is about three hours' drive from Jakarta.

time-read
4 minutos  |
October - November 2019