To suggest that Scott M. Johnson LOVES the “gentleman’s game” would be a HUGE understatement. So when the Jamestown resident, who was serving as the tournament’s rules official, allowed me to ride shotgun in his cart, I was more than grateful.

Not only did his five-hour chauffeur service allow me to easily get to all corners of the course to take photos of the Riggs Memorial Champions participants, but it also provided me an opportunity to ask Johnson about his new book, “Hey, Boomer: Golf, Really? The 60-Year Journey of a Baby Boomer Golf Nut.”

It was worth every minute.

“I promised myself I would write down three or four stories that I witnessed,” he said. “It became 200 stories.”

Following are just a few of the highlights Johnson gleaned during his eight-year research project:

— Jamestown Municipal Golf Course and, specifically, Dick Cole: The “Muni” layout on Jamestown’s east side, which opened May 17, 1957, was Johnson’s home-away-from-home growing up. Each summer, he had his buddies spent virtually every weekday at the course, which was eventually shuttered for the expansion of the Jamestown Community College campus

In addition to playing, Johnson and crew would follow the late-afternoon league golfers around in hopes of finding lost balls that they would return to the clubhouse to see if attendant Dick Cole would hit a few of them down the hill towards Municipal Stadium.

“He had awesome power with his beautiful, long swing,” Johnson writes. “Our jaws would drop when we followed the path of his drive heading for the distant first-base side of the stadium. I estimate the drives were 300 to 400 yards. Dick would later catch the ire of the stadium’s superintendent for damaging the blades of the lawn mowers. When the Jamestown Community

College building superintendent found golf balls on the roof of the new gymnasium, he was baffled as to how they got there.”

— Bobby Steele: A north county native, Steele was a golf phenom from an early age. His successes ultimately landed him a full scholarship at Stanford University. During his only year there, he was co-captain, low freshman and honorable-mention All-American.

Tragically, on June 7, 1973 — weeks after completing his freshman year — he was involved in a bicycle accident and he succumbed to his injuries a day later.

Since his passing, the Bobby Steele Award is presented annually to the low freshman on the Stanford team. A past winner is a guy you may have heard of — Tiger Woods.

— George “The Animal” Slupski: A renowned long-drive golf champion, the Harborcreek, Pennsylvania native is known locally for having driven all the par 4 holes at South Hills CC in Busti. Of course, that was only one of the entries on his golf resume that also includes reaching a par 5 in two by hitting the two shots while on bended knees; getting an invitation to be a playing partner of daredevil Evel Knievel; and once caddying for Michael Jordan.

— President Bill Clinton’s trip to Chautauqua Golf Club: During a break in his debate preparation at Chautauqua Institution in 1996, President Clinton played two rounds of golf, one on the Hill Course and the other on the Lake Course. Johnson provides great detail about those two days, and concludes the chapter this way: “So that’s my experience at Chautauqua Golf Club that week. It’s amazing how many unusual things and unique people I have seen on the golf course in over 60 years of playing, but this had to take the cake!”

— Johnson’s book also includes a section on golf records, stories about Lionel Callaway; Toby and Denny Lyons; Dan O’Neill; Bob Gunnell; Dirk Ayers; Cindy, Allen and Jamie Miller; and his seven-pound Pomeranian dog, appropriately named “Arnie Pommer.”

It’s all very informative and contains many laugh-out-loud moments.

Definitely a must for area golfers who love the game.

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The book is available at Moon Brook CC pro shop; South Hills CC; Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame; and Good Neighbor Book Store. Net proceeds from its purchase will support youth golf opportunities in the Jamestown area through First Tee of WNY programs that integrate golf with a life-skills curriculum. … The cover illustration was done by Gary Peters Sr., and the editing and design/layout was provided by Linda Cowan.