Brian Manzella
Administrator
He was one of a kind...
Here are a few classic Walter Pryor quotes...
Walter: "Lil pro, you sure are hittin' it good."
Brian: "I'm going to play in the city championship. I think I can beat anybody except Tommy Moore."
Walter: "The first thing you do when you get there, is punch Toomy Moore right in the mouth."
...........................................................
Walter: "Lil pro, how are you hittin' it ?"
Brian: "Really good, I shot 72 today!"
Walter: "What are you gonna shoot when you play bad?"
..........................................................
Walter: "On the tee, from Audubon Park, Brrrennt Brrrrrryannnt White!"
"On the tee, from City Park....Cholly Gambiiiiinnnnooooo.................................da Gawdfather"
"On the tee, from City Park, Michael "ICE CREAM" Feeeeenaaayyyy"
...........................................................
Walter: "Michael Feeny........My favorite player"
Walter: "Brahn Mansella.......My favorite player"
...........................................................
Walter: "Aim left and HIT right!"
...........................................................
Walter: "You hit a fade a good a Lee Trevino, and you are trying to hit a draw?? Aim left and make sure the ball doesn't go there"
..........................................................
An inner-city dude who was known for knocking a couple bad dudes off, was as New Orleans as Dr. John. Walter Pryor was a golf pro, and a minister, and was—for all practical purposes—my first teacher.
He was one of about a dozen really good black golfers who hit balls and gambled at New Orleans' City Park, before Frank Mackel came along and ruined the place.
Jimmy Cole, George "Jelly" Reno, George Airline, & Walter. They could ALL play golf. Jimmy was shot and killed, Jelly is too big and broken down to swing, and now Walter's gone too.
Only George is left to pluck the pigeons (which he still does "up east.")
Walter played in a couple PGA Tour schools, and was a good player for years, but after he stopped beating balls, he was never the same.
He—and the other blacks—taught me more about golf than anyone else besides my Dad and Ben Doyle. They would play hard—"Every man for himself and Gawd for us all"—but fair. They would TELL YOU when you had arrived as a player or had done good. THE WHITE GOOD PLAYERS WOULD NEVER DO THE SAME. Maybe that's something to think about. I played in every football environment imaginable, but found 25 years of football bliss at 99% black, Norman playground. Mike Finney even won the Black "Masters" of New Orleans—The Autocrat—and played at Norman until his knees wouldn't let him. Me, Tom and Mike all played the "Black Tour" event in New Orleans—The Early Bird, several times.
Walter KNEW I could play, and dispite the fact that I have played with 1000's, only a handful ever thought I could do it.
The DIFFERENCE with Walter is he took the TIME to help me, taught me to practice like a pro, and taught me to believe I could.
He was the first pro to ever really help me, and I never looked back.
Without his help, I may have never made it this far.
Hey Walter!
Thanks man. Thanks a lot.
(Walter Pryor was in his mid 50's)
Here are a few classic Walter Pryor quotes...
Walter: "Lil pro, you sure are hittin' it good."
Brian: "I'm going to play in the city championship. I think I can beat anybody except Tommy Moore."
Walter: "The first thing you do when you get there, is punch Toomy Moore right in the mouth."
...........................................................
Walter: "Lil pro, how are you hittin' it ?"
Brian: "Really good, I shot 72 today!"
Walter: "What are you gonna shoot when you play bad?"
..........................................................
Walter: "On the tee, from Audubon Park, Brrrennt Brrrrrryannnt White!"
"On the tee, from City Park....Cholly Gambiiiiinnnnooooo.................................da Gawdfather"
"On the tee, from City Park, Michael "ICE CREAM" Feeeeenaaayyyy"
...........................................................
Walter: "Michael Feeny........My favorite player"
Walter: "Brahn Mansella.......My favorite player"
...........................................................
Walter: "Aim left and HIT right!"
...........................................................
Walter: "You hit a fade a good a Lee Trevino, and you are trying to hit a draw?? Aim left and make sure the ball doesn't go there"
..........................................................
An inner-city dude who was known for knocking a couple bad dudes off, was as New Orleans as Dr. John. Walter Pryor was a golf pro, and a minister, and was—for all practical purposes—my first teacher.
He was one of about a dozen really good black golfers who hit balls and gambled at New Orleans' City Park, before Frank Mackel came along and ruined the place.
Jimmy Cole, George "Jelly" Reno, George Airline, & Walter. They could ALL play golf. Jimmy was shot and killed, Jelly is too big and broken down to swing, and now Walter's gone too.
Only George is left to pluck the pigeons (which he still does "up east.")
Walter played in a couple PGA Tour schools, and was a good player for years, but after he stopped beating balls, he was never the same.
He—and the other blacks—taught me more about golf than anyone else besides my Dad and Ben Doyle. They would play hard—"Every man for himself and Gawd for us all"—but fair. They would TELL YOU when you had arrived as a player or had done good. THE WHITE GOOD PLAYERS WOULD NEVER DO THE SAME. Maybe that's something to think about. I played in every football environment imaginable, but found 25 years of football bliss at 99% black, Norman playground. Mike Finney even won the Black "Masters" of New Orleans—The Autocrat—and played at Norman until his knees wouldn't let him. Me, Tom and Mike all played the "Black Tour" event in New Orleans—The Early Bird, several times.
Walter KNEW I could play, and dispite the fact that I have played with 1000's, only a handful ever thought I could do it.
The DIFFERENCE with Walter is he took the TIME to help me, taught me to practice like a pro, and taught me to believe I could.
He was the first pro to ever really help me, and I never looked back.
Without his help, I may have never made it this far.
Hey Walter!
Thanks man. Thanks a lot.
(Walter Pryor was in his mid 50's)
