Billy Casper

Segment from Billy Casper's instructional video "Golf Like A Pro".

[@srboyer]

I met Billy at the 2001 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. He was standing by himself as everyone else was circled around Jim Nance! I thanked him for his service - he was in the Navy. His face lit up! When I told him I was Navy too, he told me a few of the highlights of his Navy years. The best one was when he was put in charge of renovating the Naval Station Seal Beach base golf course. As a junior enlisted, the Navy Construction Battalion (SeaBees) had to report to him for renovation directions. That’s the same course that years later Earl Woods took Tiger too in the early years. Billy was just great to talk with - one on one for 15 minutes! How fortunate was that?!

[@LtHarryCallahan]

I absolutely love these old instructional videos - thank you so much for posting. When I took up golf at age 11, in addition to Nicklaus, Palmer and Player, Billy Casper was a player whose career I followed with some interest. I still remember the photograph of Casper, Weiskopf and Knudsen sitting together on a bench all looking very disconsolate having just lost the 1969 Masters by a stroke to the late George Archer. When asked by an insensitive reporter how he felt, Casper replied " golf can be a very humbling game and I experienced a great deal of humility on the front nine today". He likened his own game on the day to that of a 14 handicapper. Deservedly, he won the tournament the next year after an 18 hole playoff against his old buddy, Gene Littler. Much saddened to learn of the death of this great golfer and I'm sure even more importantly to him, great family man.

[@davehansen9124]

51 tour wins, 2 US opens and one Masters. Great player.

[@johnkurtz7705]

Way underrated. Superb putter. I loved when he went on diets, like the buffalo meat

[@65g4]

@@johnkurtz7705 the greatest player a lot of people have never heard of

[@johnkurtz7705]

@@65g4 1 of his U.S. open wins is the stuff of legends. He was 7 shots back, with 9 holes to play. Tied it, won playoff the next day. Beat some guy named Arnie.

[@65g4]

@@johnkurtz7705 oh yeah i wish i had seen him in his prime. I heard later in life he always used to give Tiger a big bear hug when they saw each other

[@johnkurtz7705]

@@65g4 Billy was a great putter. Tough to beat. He'd go on, sometimes unusual diets. One time he only ate buffalo.

[@jameshoran8]

Saw Billy play the last round at Whitemarsh in 1970 where he won. Pure perfection.

[@ubb4me]

Most under rated player ever.

[@cjs83172]

That has to do with when he played, because he was a contemporary of the "Big Three" (Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus), but was just as good as any of them, mainly because of his putting. Casper won 51 times, including two U.S. Opens (1959 at Winged Foot and '66 at the Olympic Club) and the 1970 Masters. His performance in the 1966 U.S. Open often gets overlooked by Arnold Palmer's collapse, but including the 18-hole playoff, he had four rounds in the 60s in that U.S. Open, and he beat long-time friend Gene Littler in the last 18-hole playoff at the Masters, which was in 1970, setting the record for the lowest score in an 18-hole playoff at Augusta, which will stand forever, unless they reinstitute the 18-hole playoff there. That win in the 1970 Masters had to especially gratifying for Casper, if for no other reason, because of his front-nine collapse in the final round of the 1969 Masters (he shot a 40 on the front nine), which he had dominated up to that point. Even then, he rallied and had a chance to force a playoff with George Archer. But his contemporaries knew how good he was, and if he had the exact same career a generation later (the post "Big Three" era and before Tiger came along), he would be lauded as one of the game's greats, which he should be. Frankly, I always thought that era of the "Big Three" of Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus was really the "Big Four", Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, AND Billy Casper. Casper's 51 PGA Tour wins still ranks him seventh all-time, trailing only Sam Snead, Tiger, Jack, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, and Byron Nelson. I hope one day that Casper gets the respect that he richly deserves from the media as the truly great player he was.

[@gggrrr00]

Casper was a fascinating player.. Played a draw, and was a really great putter - maybe the best putter of the 60's. Him or Bob Charles. Casper was definitely under-rated. He should have talked more - his reserved personality didn't work for him with the fans, like it did with some other quiet guys.

[@cjs83172]

Playing in that era didn't help him when it came to realizing how great a player he was, either. But the plain truth is that he was as good as anyone there was when he played, with the likely exception of Jack Nicklaus. His second U.S. Open title in 1966 came at the expense of Arnold Palmer, and when he won the Masters in 1970 (in the last 18-hole playoff in Masters history), Gary Player was one of the players he had to beat, as player missed the Casper-Littler playoff by one shot. I think Casper may be remembered more as a truly legendary champion had he not collapsed on the front nine of the final round of the 1969 Masters, an event he had dominated for three rounds, and even with that front nine collapse, he had a chance to get in a playoff with George Archer. If not for that front nine collapse, he would have won back-to-back Masters (he would have been only the second to do it at that time) and have four major titles, instead of three. He also had a chance to win the British Open in the late 60s, and if not for Nicklaus, he might also have a couple of PGA Championships to his name. And Casper was a great all-around player, exemplified by the fact that he won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average a then-record five times, not to mention 50+ wins on the PGA Tour during the period when Palmer, who won 62 times, and Nicklaus, who won 73 times, as well as Gary Player and his 100+ worldwide wins, were in their primes. He was right there with them, and was one of those that they always had to beat to win their championships, and they knew it. Those who know the history of the sport, as well as those that were around it in the 60s and early 70s knew it was not the "Big Three", Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus, but rather it was the "Big Four", Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, AND Billy Casper.

[@MikeL-vu7jo]

I love watching The Great Masters of the game from Back In The day , Thanks !

[@cwugrad396]

I take my hat off to anybody that can hit those old school clubs the way he did ... the sound at contact is amazing

[@garthdownton8645]

Yes! Moe Norman was the same !! At age 70 he was still driving the ball 280 .

[@garthdownton8645]

My theory in golf has always been if you have natural rhythm and timing golf is so much easier . Never had either personally !! Billy was a robust man that moved like a ballerina . Talk to a young golfer today and mention B.C. and they don't even know who he was ... Same as Moe Norman . The power of media and what marketing manipulates !!

[@ConstantineAndreas]

Love hearing an older golfer yell at his ball with the enthusiasm and passion of a kid. “Come on, baby! To the left! Left!!” 😄

[@johnlarocco3348]

Great all time pro. Quite the teacher as well in this video.

[@widndn]

I got to know Billy here in San Diego area in the early 2000's. He was a wonderfully nice man.

[@peejay3]

What an awesome swing! Turn, leg action, a swinging clubhead, plane, center, ......

[@bigdogpete43]

Scotty Scheffler swings just like him, dragging that back foot thru.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

I watched him at a practice round at a the senior tournament. He plopped down a few balls on a green and started hitting lags from all over the place. Really fast, one after another, from all kinds of angles. He layed then ALL dead. Never seen anything like it.

[@cgasucks]

Billy Casper was a bad ass back then...

[@chrisbrimhall6323]

Most under appreciated PGA Winner ever

[@jassonsw]

Thanks for adding this.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

He had 11 children, 6 of them adopted. Under his gruff demeanor, he must have had a pretty good heart. Can you imagine ANY tour player today doing anything remotely like that? Especially one near the top?

[@pb12661]

no way. they are all way too self absorbed.

[@bh5606]

Beautiful swing.

[@kenlines6866]

Pretty amazing pause at the top followed by left hip and club moving at the same speed.

[@MrLeftyno1]

R.I.P , great footwork in his swing a common theme with good or in Billy's case great players.

[@DTHUNDERDK]

Thanks for this upload...

[@remmy100]

R.I.P.

[@khoffman2725]

Great player, great swing, great family man.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

He wasn't too popular because he was overweight, colorless, and sarcastic--not a great combination. But he could play, and he was a wizard on and around the greens. Think he still owns the greatest American record in the Ryder cup. I always thought of him as kind of like a great pool player: he knew all the angles, had uncanny hand/eye coordination, and nerves of steel. Not the guy you'd want to bet or play against.

[@golfmaniac007]

What a great swing! Underrated swing.

[@Herlongian]

The only flaw is he doesn’t completely finish the hip rotation and transfer all the way to the left side on the finish. That’s why he didn’t hit as far as he could have.

[@pb12661]

he had that slide move just like Norman did in his prime.

[@user-bz4bn3ud2y]

ベンホーガンさん｢あのﾊﾟｯﾃｨﾝｸﾞがなけりゃあ、やつは今頃10番ホールの横でホットドックを売ってるぜ｣と焼きもちを焼かれる位　名手でした。勿論ショットもドローボールを使いこなす選手でしたね。ﾆｸﾗｽ　ﾊﾟｰﾏｰ、ﾌﾟﾚｰﾔｰのBIG3を向こうにまわして、Big1と呼ぶファンもいましたね。

[@johnkurtz7705]

Truly great player

[@MrPollywalnuts]

What a player! Moved kinda like a Muhammad Ali on the course...smooth and suave.

[@TavgaHawrame]

awesome shot

[@antap]

Superb golf swing

[@Patrick-xo4fq]

What a golf swing..

[@Patrick-xo4fq]

A thing of beauty 🔥 that right foot drag is masterful..

[@antap]

What a pure swing

[@lesleywillis6177]

The days when the ball was bigger than the driver head!😂

[@paulveneziano4082]

Going off 📴" memory " , won 12000 💲 💵💰 Dollars 🤑💰 at 59 us Open - gave caddy 300 dollars , I believe - lol - " johnny Abel " was the caddy and famous " pool " player ! Brother was my neighbor growing up in new Rochelle NY and just a great terrific unbelievable guy that I hope is doing well !

[@MichaelJohnField]

Thanks for the video. It's a shame there isn't better footage of Billy Casper hitting shots as he had a superb strike on the ball with all the clubs. Billy is often remembered for his excellent putting but his strike through the ball - especially with the irons - was actually pretty close to what Hogan was doing in 1948 in Hogan's 'Power golf'. Check out, if you can, two books that show Casper's strike in more detail: 'Golf Power in motion' by McGurn & Williams (1967) and 'Golf Shotmaking with Billy Casper' (1966) - both have good high-speed sequences of Casper's swing.

[@AntoineMiller]

Great swing

[@eye21984]

Any chance you could post more of this video as it does not seem to be being produced any longer? Short iron and wedge play especially would be nice to see? Thanks!

[@slatt331967]

Wow this guy don't mess around.

[@17865329]

Right leg sure slides a lot on the follow through. Of course he did win 51 times including 3 majors, so....carry on.

[@drewster85]

That Fred Astaire move ;)

[@funnystuff9954]

Caddy looks like Danny from caddyshack 😅

[@stevemcgee99]

DUDE. That long iron at the end...

[@scottlocastro2794]

drag that right foot...beautiful!

[@08jag81]

Come on baby to the left ! left !!

[@rymo66812]

I still can't beat him

[@Herlongian]

Don’t try to sweep the ball with a fairway wood. Hit down on the ball hitting it first, take a divot, then upswing just like with an iron.

[@martinorosco1899]

It didnt get any better than that ! R.I.P billy

[@davidcataldo1222]

Like the right foot slide.... tells you that you must have your weight on your left foot / side

[@bicklesby1]

just watch and learn "sage"

[@batswbennett]

Ok, Billy, where's your swing analysis?

[@blairsterling6141]

Great,great player. 51 tour wins !! Plays the ball basically in the same position...about off the left heel...just narrows stance slightly as the shot is shorter. Not much variation. Consistent.

[@thetruthfornow6045]

This guy had to beat Arnie Jack Gary Trevino and a bunch of other greats. This was the golden era of golf. The equipment with no utility woods no utility wedges a shorter golf ball had to make due with what they had like two irons two woods off the deck. True there are more quality golfers nowadays. With launch monitors utility clubs and better golf balls it is far easier to master the game.

[@markhuru]

Never seen a player slide his back foot like that , most post up on their toes

[@markdavis9148]

Greg Norman did that too

[@swingtrade2]

Nobody, not even Roberto Duran, won more titles at more weights then Billy C!

[@famapublica]

lol Billy Casper won 51 PGA Tournaments, the Masters and the US Open twice and 'The Golf Sage' is gonna tell us how Billy is doing it wrong. Oh, God these youtube comments make me laugh.

[@FredCDobbs-er4qd]

Great golfer but bad instructional video. He about put me to sleep. Not one original thought. "Ball up by left foot" , gee Billy, would if I widen my stance. Does the ball still go where my left foot is? Best to turn the sound off and just watch what he does.

[@onemoremisfit]

I thought same, and this is typical of instruction videos I've bought ... "We're going come down and sweep the ball off the turf and get a nice little draw" ... Sure we will, Billy. Useless to the beginner but good for the advanced player to watch and admire, even better without the narration.

[@mobydoug]

Makes a good turn for a man with that big of a gut. No wonder he had diabetes with that much fat around his middle.... Maybe the least charismatic of the really big stars. When he beat Arnie in a playoff for the 1966 US Open, millions of hearts sank.