An Interview with Jay Sigel, First Tee Chairman Emeritus

An Interview with Jay Sigel By Brian Isztwan

  Brian: How did you get into the game of golf? Jay: Well, that’s a great question.  I had caddied at Bala Golf Club, and on this particular day I was caddying for my dad and carrying three golf bags on my right shoulder.  I guess I was about ten and a half, thereabouts, I was a pretty big ten and a half. I was kind of amused at the game, but I had played a lot of other sports.  In any event, my dad said to me, “Would you like to try this game?” I said, “Yes, it’d be a lot easier than carrying three bags!” So he let me try it, although I did continue caddying.  I found it a difficult game for the first year or two, and then things got better.   Brian: So would you say your dad was the one who got you interested in the game? Jay: I would say so yes.  You know, as I continued to play a bit more and get a little bit better, he would remind me that it is a game of a lifetime.  That the baseball, football, and basketball that I was doing wouldn’t continue forever. And not only was golf a game of a lifetime, you meet a lot of nice people.  I didn’t really understand what that meant at the time, but I certainly do today.   Brian: What advice do you have for young kids just getting into the game of golf? Jay: Well, I think it’s a curious game: it looks easy, it’s not easy.  I think if you observe the people that are in the game, there’s a certain conduct they have that’s evident.  There are a lot of smiley happy faces and there is a lot of interaction between the golfers as they play, which doesn’t happen in games like tennis.  You really get to know someone in a round of golf, be it 9 holes or 18 holes.   Brian: What are some of the life skills and values you were able to gain from playing the game? Jay: Oh boy…lots.  I would say honesty and sportsmanship were very evident when I was a kid.  As a kid, I had an opportunity to cheat with an extra club in my bag in a big-time tournament, and I vacillated with that for a hole or a two.  I put the towel over the bag, tried to hide the club, I knew nobody would see it. But that just didn’t work. I’m so happy that I bit the bullet and confessed.  I got a 36 shot penalty, but that was O.K. I mean, I felt so bad during that wrestling of whether to tell the truth or not. Man, that hit home and what a great story that was for me to learn from.  We have to live with ourselves and our actions, and you’ve got to proud of yourself.   Brian: Moving on to your golfing career, were there any big differences between playing as an amateur and playing as a professional? Jay: Amateur golf is played for recognition, trophies, and trying to succeed at a game that’s a lot of fun.  Professional golf is the same thing! Except the scoring is not necessarily with trophies, it’s with money.  If one can stop the money from becoming so overriding or important then I think one can succeed. It’s all about the process, not the results.  So they changed the scoring but the game’s no different because the hole is still the same size! The whole thing is very similar to amateur golf, it’s just the way it’s scored and the way the individual looks at it.   Brian: To what do you attribute your long-tenured success? Jay: I’ve always been a competitor, whatever the game is.  That served me well. Also, I was very focused on dealing with other parts of my life and balancing my family time, practice time, and business time so that I could maintain my business and stay healthy during my golfing career.   Brian: How did you get involved with The First Tee? Jay: In 1963, I had serious hand injury when I was at Wake Forest.  My left hand went through a window pane in a door, and the glass broke and severed the ulnar nerve in my wrist.  It was a mess and I’m still handicapped to a certain degree. So that became a blessing in disguise. It took me a year to come back and it was a painful process, but when I started coming back, my golf was getting better.  I still couldn’t forget because people said, “This is a blessing in disguise.” I said, “Sure it is,” although I didn’t really believe it. But I started to win local, regional, and national tournaments. Well, I finally won my first major, the British Amateur in 1979.  I never believed I could come from this hand injury, to which some folks said I may never play golf again, to winning a major amateur event. That just blew my mind. At that point, I thought my career might be over and might not win again. I’ve got to give back, I’ve got to say thanks for all the enjoyment and success I’ve had and do something to help people.  With that in mind, I got involved with the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf Association, which was at that time very similar to The First Tee, and got involved with The First Tee from there.   About the Interviewer: Brian Isztwan is a senior at the William Penn Charter School.  He is doing his Senior Comprehensive Project with The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia.  He will be attending Harvard University in the fall, where he will play men’s golf.