The world of golf mourned the passing of a golf legend this past month when Seve Ballesteros lost his battle with brain cancer. Seve was a genius with a golf club and inspiration to everyone who saw him create shots that didn’t seem possible. He will be terribly missed by golfers and fans around the world.

As an assistant golf teacher at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Orlando, Florida, back in the late 90’s, I met and got to know the legendary golfer.  He spent time at the Academy working on his game and fitness.  Seve had always been plagued with back trouble throughout his career and he wanted to work on his swing technique to continue his high level of play.

I spent many hours watching him practice and followed him at golf tournaments.  One afternoon a few of my fellow teachers and I were watching a PGA tour event on television at the Academy when Seve came in and joined us.  The cable went out, so we all piled in a car, including Seve, and made the short drive to my one bedroom apartment to finish watching the tournament.  It was a surreal moment for me to have one of the greatest golfers, not to mention my golf hero, watching a golf tournament in my apartment.  During the commercials, Seve would lie on the floor and stretch out his back.  He also took a few swings with a medicine ball I had lying around.  He accidentally let go of it and it crashed into a bookshelf tumbling the books to the ground. He quickly jumped, picked up all the books and fixed the shelf, endearing himself to me for forever after that.

Seve had a great sense of humor and knew who he was.  He would laugh and tell us stories about how he couldn’t keep his driver in the fairway in tournaments, but was able to get up and down from any bush or tree.  I was with him one time when we pulled in the parking lot of the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida.  Former champions were assigned their own parking spaces.  When Seve saw that his sign was barely visible because it was hidden by some palmetto bushes, he yelled out and laughed, “Look! They even put my name in the bushes!”

I am very sad as I write this, but I will always have those happy memories of spending time with a great Champion.  We will miss you Seve.

Karen Palacios-Jansen