Inside Comments: Steve Turcotte

Chi Chi Rodriguez: There will never be anyone like Chi Chi on or off the golf course

When you think of golf in Puerto Rico, there is only one thing that comes to mind. Where is Chi Chi Rodriguez hanging out and how can I meet him.

Of course, Puerto Rico is known for its vast beaches, warm temperatures, terrific golf resorts but it is also the home of one Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, who put Puerto Rico on the golfing map with his play on the course and his schtick off the course.

On a recent trip to the Caribbean island, which roughly measures the size of Connecticut, our group was on Chi Chi watch from the beginning. In the airport, there was a Chi Chi sign promoting golf. In a golf magazine, there was Chi Chi again promoting the Puerto Rico Open which was going on the same week our group was in town.

But where was Chi Chi?

Amazingly, turns out Chi Chi was waiting for our group when we made our first golfing stop at Dorado Beach Resort, a lavish three-course setup which runs along the ocean. As we stepped out of the van carrying our group, a short guy in a white hat and a sharp golf outfit walked toward the door. He stuck his hand out and said “I’m Chi Chi, it’s great to have you guys here.”

When you meet the 76-year-old Chi Chi, one of the first things you realize is that this man is a golfing icon in Puerto Rico and across the world of golf for that matter. Don’t believe it, just take a look at what the Puerto Rico Open did for him.

They asked him to play a ceremonial nine holes before all of the other players in the final round so he could play in front of his hometown fans.
“Puerto Rico is very fortunate to have a guy like Chi Chi to call their own,” said Puerto Rico Open Tournament Director Sidney Wolf. “This is a great way for the fans to see him in person and up close and give him a great reception.”

Chi Chi does it all for golf in Puerto Rico. He is the spokesman of the island nation’s golf television commercials. He is an ambassador for the Dorado Beach Resort and he seems to find time for anyone who crosses his path.

Chi Chi doesn’t seem to forget a face or name. In fact when we were chatting him up at the Dorado Beach Resort and found out that I was from the Pacific Northwest, he asked how Tacoma-native and former PGA Tour player Ken Still was. “I loved playing golf with Ken,” said Chi Chi. “He was always one of my favorites to play a round with.”

When you look at his background, it’s amazing to think that Chi Chi was an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour and then a 22-time winner on the Champions Tour. He stands just 5-foot-7 and tips the scales at 150 pounds. Yet, he won 30 times on pro tours – all this despite being born into a poor family in Puerto Rico, where his father earned as little as $18 a week as a laborer and cattle handler.

Yet Chi Chi managed to get turned onto golf early becoming a caddy. To practice at an early age, Chi Chi would take a branch from a guava tree, turn it into a golf club and then a metal can and use it as a golf ball. By the time he was 12 years old he shot 67.

Chi Chi Rodriguez is Puerto Rico golf. He is like the pied piper. As he walked around the grounds of the Puerto Rico Open, kids and adults followed him, wanting autographs or just to talk golf. And he had time for everyone who wanted his signature or who wanted to talk golf.

There is indeed no one like him. There never will be again.

Steve Turcotte is editor of Inside Golf Newspaper. He can be reached at sdturcotte@comcast.net