Golfers all across Southeast Texas, especially the seniors, felt a profound sense of loss when word spread that Jimmy Fetters passed away Saturday night at age 76.

Fetters, one of the all-time nice guys, made his mark as a gifted player, superb instructor and smiling ambassador for the game he loved so much. To say everybody who crossed paths with Jimmy really liked him might be a stretch, but not by much.

“Jimmy was such a great guy to be around,” said Dennis Walsh, who for many years was the best amateur player in the area. “He was always kind of inspirational. He did so much to move junior golf forward. As far as I’m concerned, he was good for people, good for the game and a good friend.”

“He was one of the all time good guys,” said Marty Fleckman, who left Port Arthur in the 1960s to become a star at the University of Houston and later made waves on the PGA Tour. “Jimmy was a tremendous influence on me as a young golfer. At the old Pleasure Island course, he taught me how to play knockdown shots in the heavy wind. What I learned from him was invaluable.”

“We are all going to miss Jimmy,” said Babe Zaharias pro Ed Campbell. “He had a special quality that drew people to him. He was so easy going and so well respected. Although he was an excellent player, what he really loved was teaching golf.

“Up until he retired, he was the instructor people wanted their kids to learn the game from.”

Fetters was talented enough as a schoolboy at Port Arthur’s Bishop Byrne High School in the late 1950s to earn a scholarship to Texas A&M. He later worked for several years as a club pro in Chicago, then returned home to be the head pro at Beaumont Country Club, DERA in West Orange, Port Groves and Port Arthur Country Club.

While the head pro at PACC, he pulled off the remarkable feat of making it through three stages of qualifying to land a spot in the 1978 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver. Though he didn’t make the cut, he always beamed when discussing being in a field with the likes of Jack Nicklaus,

Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and other greats of that era.

Another of Fetters’ high points as a player was making it through the then grueling PGA Tour Qualifying School in 1965. With Q School consisting of eight rounds at PGA National in Palm Beach, he opened with a 67 and finished the 144 holes with a total of 600 that was good enough to tie for 10th.

“Jimmy had an excellent understanding of the golf swing and how to teach it, dating back to when I was in high school,” said Fleckman. “I would have to think he did as much for golf in the Golden Triangle as anybody to come out of that area.

“I credit him for a lot, including encouraging me to toughen up competitively by playing the old Barbecue Circuit in East Texas.”

While Fetters is gone, he won’t soon be forgotten. The Fetters Tournament, named after his brother Allen, who was born with Down Syndrome, insures the name will live on. Sponsored by the Groves Knights of Columbus, the Fetters tournament is a fund raiser to support the Estelle and Allen Fetters Center for Challenged Adults in Groves.

“Judge John Borne encouraged us to do something to support the Fetters Center,” said tournament chairman Bill Avery. “Once we talked to Jimmy about a tournament, he was all in. He lined up lots of teams to play, participated as a player and when it was over personally thanked everybody who was involved.

“Jimmy was just one of the most gracious people I ever met on the golf course,” continued Avery. “He was a delight to be around and was always wanting to help people with their game. He was a true golf-swing guru. I don’t think anybody would question he was the best instructor in this area for young people.”

The 10th annual Fetters Tournament will be played in April at Babe Zaharias. You would have to think playing in it will be a priority for any golfer fortunate enough to have discussed swing thoughts with him.

Rest in peace, Jimmy.

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CHIP SHOTS

Weather and the Thanksgiving holiday limited the amount of results to report this past week. In the Super Saturday 2 ball game at Babe Zaharias, the team of Mike Lansford, Harry Green, Don MacNeil and Bobby Kimball scored a sweep, winning the front in minus-1 and the back in minus-2.

The Friday Game at Zaharias, also played in a 2-ball format, resulted in another sweep. The foursome of Adam Noel, Joe Gongora, Green and Charlie Perez ran away with the front in minus 7 and took the back with minus-2.

In the Tuesday 2-ball Twister at The Babe, the team of Noel, John Jessen, Bill Jones and Randy Trahan won the front in minus-3. Minus-1 was good enough to win the back for the foursome of Gary Hanan, Rick Pritchett, James Trahan and Harold Wilkinson.

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