Golf – it may not be rocket science, but an 80-year-old rocket scientist will be playing in the world finals of the International Pairs in Wales during August.
June 15, 2004 (Press Release) --
Wally Nelson won the special launch world final qualifier on the General Course, at Eagle’s Ridge, Illinois, with partner Bobby Parish – yet the duo had met only the day before at the International Network of Golf conference.
“It was quite a chain of events,” smiled Bobby, the CEO of internet retailer Golfproducts.com.
“It was a last-minute decision to go to the conference. And I didn’t think I’d be playing in the golf as my partner developed a bad back.
“However, they said I could still play and paired me with 80-year-old, 18-handicapper Wally Nelson. And it turned out he was a heck of a player – he carried the team really.
“I wanted to play because I was very impressed with the format of the International Pairs. I see it as a sort of Ryder Cup for amateurs.”
He added: “My wife has had her family tree traced back to Wales and it’s thought my family may be traced back to Wales – but neither of us have ever visited.”
Orlando-based Wally has never visited the UK before – although he has seen a little of the continent.
“I visited Europe once – in World War II. I was with the 34th Infantry Division in Italy and was captured by the Germans. I was taken to Germany for the duration until I was liberated on April 29, 1945.
“It wasn’t a great encouragement to go back,” laughed Wally, without a trace of bitterness.
So his first visit to the UK will come in August when he tees off as one of the two US representatives in the inaugural International Pairs World Final at Marriott St Pierre.
Wally has been playing golf for 65 years and his handicap was once as low as five – though that was a few years ago.
But he puts his International Pairs success down to a pre-round lesson he received on a new golf trainer.
“It sorted out my swing plane and enabled me to land a few shots on the fairway,” he smiled modestly.
“I met Bobby at the conference and we got on well. And then they paired us together and the next thing we know we’re on our way to the UK. It’s fantastic.”
After the war, Wally studied at the University of Wisconsin before becoming a rocket scientist and working for various companies within the aerospace industry – including NASA.
“They didn’t call us rocket scientists in those days – though that’s what we were. We were called aeronautical engineers, but we spent all our time playing with rockets,” he explained.
After retiring to Titusville in 1992, he became embroiled in a legal wrangle with a driving range at nearby Royal Oak Golf Club after residents complained about the number of balls hitting their homes.
They won – and Wally wrote an acclaimed book on the subject: Home on the Range.
And it was penning that book which got Wally involved with the International Network of Golf.
So from judging the trajectory of rockets through dodging the trajectory of golf balls, becoming an author, joining ING and finding himself paired with a guy he’d only just met, 80-year-old retired rocket scientist Wally Nelson is coming to terms with the preparations for his first visit to the old country.
A convoluted route perhaps – but you won’t find Wally complaining.
“It was quite a chain of events,” smiled Bobby, the CEO of internet retailer Golfproducts.com.
“It was a last-minute decision to go to the conference. And I didn’t think I’d be playing in the golf as my partner developed a bad back.
“However, they said I could still play and paired me with 80-year-old, 18-handicapper Wally Nelson. And it turned out he was a heck of a player – he carried the team really.
“I wanted to play because I was very impressed with the format of the International Pairs. I see it as a sort of Ryder Cup for amateurs.”
He added: “My wife has had her family tree traced back to Wales and it’s thought my family may be traced back to Wales – but neither of us have ever visited.”
Orlando-based Wally has never visited the UK before – although he has seen a little of the continent.
“I visited Europe once – in World War II. I was with the 34th Infantry Division in Italy and was captured by the Germans. I was taken to Germany for the duration until I was liberated on April 29, 1945.
“It wasn’t a great encouragement to go back,” laughed Wally, without a trace of bitterness.
So his first visit to the UK will come in August when he tees off as one of the two US representatives in the inaugural International Pairs World Final at Marriott St Pierre.
Wally has been playing golf for 65 years and his handicap was once as low as five – though that was a few years ago.
But he puts his International Pairs success down to a pre-round lesson he received on a new golf trainer.
“It sorted out my swing plane and enabled me to land a few shots on the fairway,” he smiled modestly.
“I met Bobby at the conference and we got on well. And then they paired us together and the next thing we know we’re on our way to the UK. It’s fantastic.”
After the war, Wally studied at the University of Wisconsin before becoming a rocket scientist and working for various companies within the aerospace industry – including NASA.
“They didn’t call us rocket scientists in those days – though that’s what we were. We were called aeronautical engineers, but we spent all our time playing with rockets,” he explained.
After retiring to Titusville in 1992, he became embroiled in a legal wrangle with a driving range at nearby Royal Oak Golf Club after residents complained about the number of balls hitting their homes.
They won – and Wally wrote an acclaimed book on the subject: Home on the Range.
And it was penning that book which got Wally involved with the International Network of Golf.
So from judging the trajectory of rockets through dodging the trajectory of golf balls, becoming an author, joining ING and finding himself paired with a guy he’d only just met, 80-year-old retired rocket scientist Wally Nelson is coming to terms with the preparations for his first visit to the old country.
A convoluted route perhaps – but you won’t find Wally complaining.
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