Jock-Sutherland
Jock Sutherland was back on the golf course, participating in the Press Box Classic at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville on Monday.

Sutherland, who was the color commentator on University of Louisville basketball radio broadcasts for 20 years, was known for his candid analysis, his ongoing humor and his vast array of stories from his days as a coach at Lafayette High School in Lexington and as an assistant to Joe Hall at the University of Kentucky.

At 85 years old, he still spends much of his playing golf. In fact, the back yard of his house on Fairway Drive backs up to the Lone Oak Golf Course in Nicholasville.

Last we saw of him that day, Jock was in pursuit of a UofL NCAA Championship hat. We’re pretty sure one found him and Jock will put it to good use in Lexington.

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Jerry Tipton, who has covered UK athletics for the Lexington Herald-Leader since the Great Depression, had a hole-in-one during the event, an occurrence certain to plague him for months in Central Kentucky.

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The golf scramble was a fun event,  providing a chance to match skills with such folks as Tom Jurich, Kenny Klein, Paul Rogers, Terry Meiners and numerous other members of the UofL staff and local media.

Having Dan McDonnell as a member of our team was a good experience as well.  The Louisville baseball coach, as one might expect, is a good golfer. He was quite the gentleman, a constant encourager, free with the compliments to his fellow players. Couldn’t overcome an obvious handicap with the observer, however,  our team finishing 12th out of 13 teams.

What I wasn’t going to tell team members, who included K. C. Scull, the manager of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, was that I hadn’t played golf in a couple of years for various reasons, mostly bad form. McDonnell graciously offered a few tips, making a positive difference to a golfer facing many challenges.

The golf clubs may be getting more frequent use, especially with the weather we’re enjoying this year.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.