World Golf Hall of Fame unveils new exhibition featuring stories of game’s greats

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The World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum unveiled its newest exhibition, “Tales from the Collection,” during a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Tuesday, June 26 with President Jack Peter and the Hall of Fame team.

The exhibition features unique items, some of which have never been on display in the museum, as it celebrates the global nature of the game of golf. These artifacts tell the stories that shaped the World Golf Hall of Fame Members into the athletes they became.

Throughout the exhibition, artifacts can be seen from Washington, D.C., where one of the most dramatic U.S. Opens of all time took place, to the shores of Vietnam, where the war shaped the career of one of the Hall of Fame golfers. Guests can enjoy seeing these unique artifacts as they hear firsthand stories from the Hall of Famers, which few have ever heard.

“This new exhibition shares incredible stories about our Hall of Famers, with many of them told firsthand from the Hall of Famers themselves,” said Jack Peter, president of the World Golf Hall of Fame. “This idea started a long time ago as we’ve had a lot of unique items that haven’t seen the light of day. Now, we’ve put a spotlight on these artifacts which represent key moments in the lives and careers of our Hall of Fame Members.”

A highlight of the collection is . The painting was created by Warhol in 1978 when he was commissioned to work on a project deemed “The Athlete Series,” featuring 10 of the greatest star-athletes of that time. The subjects included NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, famed professional boxer Muhammad Ali, and of course, golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

As guests view the Warhol painting, they can hear Nicklaus recall the moment he sat down for that session with Andy Warhol, who was famous for his pop-art but new to the sports world.

“There is some funny banter between the two where Warhol continually told Nicklaus to ‘Move your stick to the left’ and ‘Move your stick to the right’ as he was trying to get just the right pose,” said Brodie Waters, vice president of business affairs at the World Golf Hall of Fame. “To the point where finally Nicklaus said, ‘This stick is my golf club,’ and joked, ‘Does this guy know what he’s doing?’ Of course, the final product here and in the entire Athlete Series show his incredible blend of sports and pop-art.”

Additional artifacts include a samurai sword, an Emmy award, a signed letter from President Ronald Reagan and a pair of chopsticks. To see and learn more, visit the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum, open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org for more information.