Bob Toski’s heart stopped five times almost two months ago.
Next week, he hopes to swing a golf club again.
The Hall of Fame professional golf teacher and Haydenville native spoke briefly about his recovery from a massive heart attack on June 9, and more about golf and his round with President Trump during a phone interview from his home in Boca Raton, Florida, Thursday.
Toski, who will turn 92 on Sept. 18, had emergency surgery at Boca Raton Regional Hospital following his heart attack. A week later he was walking around, and on Thursday he said he was close to full health.
“I’m doing great,” Toski said. “I’m way ahead of my therapy. I’m getting A-pluses for therapy and my doctor says you can go out and drive and go out and enjoy life again.
“I have not swung a golf club,” he added. “I’ll probably do it next week. My health is about 95 percent there.”
The conversation quickly turned to golf and Toski quickly boasted about picking the winner of the British Open — Francesco Molinari.
“He played better than anybody the last two months. Look at his record,” Toski said.
He raved about playing with Donald Trump a couple of months before he officially announced his presidential candidacy in 2015.
“I played golf with Trump before he got elected; and I told him to run for president; and I wrote a letter to him and I addressed it as Dear Mr. President before he got elected; and I said I may be presumptuous calling you Mr. President, but I think you’re going to win the election.”
Toski said Trump is tough on the golf course.
“He’s a mean son of a bitch. He hates to lose,” Toski said. “He holed a putt on the last hole to beat my team by one shot. He and his partner. You would have thought he won the national open. He danced around the green. He just said I beat a legend. I just beat a legend.”
The match was held during a tournament at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A member of the club invited Toski and the pair played against another club member and Trump.
“I chipped it in on the 16th hole to go 1-up,” Toski said. “(Trump) puts it in the water on 17, a par 3 at his club. His partner holes a 30-footer for 2. On the last hole, he makes a four and (Trump) holes a 30-footer for 3 and wins it. Beats us by one shot. Christ, I never heard the end of it. That’s why he is what he is.”
Toski spoke about what it takes to win a golf tournament, especially during the final round.
“I’ve got a lot of information about the psychology of learning how to win,” Toski said. “When I won the World Championship I finished eagle-par-par-birdie to win by a shot for 50 grand. That was a lot of money.”
Toski learned to play golf at Northampton Country Club and joined the PGA Tour in 1949 after leaving the Army. He won four tournaments in 1954, including the World Championship of Golf, to lead the Tour in earnings. It was a far cry from what the players earn today.
“Sam Snead won (82) tournaments. How much did he win all time? … He won $600,000 for all the tournaments he won. Today they win one tournament they make $1.4 million, $3 million. That’s why Sam said I had to play long enough to make enough money to retire.”
Toski retired from the PGA Tour in 1957, though. He turned to teaching and he has been one of the best since. He was inducted into the World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999 and the PGA Golf Professional Hall of Fame in 2013.
“No one wants to study history,” Toski continued. “I have had dinner with a lot of touring pros that play golf right now. They never ask me about what I did in my career. Oh Bob, tell me what it was like when you played in the ’50s and you were leading money winner. They don’t want to hear my story, they are too busy telling me how much money they are making and how quick they are going to retire.
“It’s a new world out there. It’s not my world. They have a different attitude. They don’t even know history. I ask them, know how many tournaments Sam Snead won? No. You know how much money he made? No, I don’t know. They should do their history and they will realize how fortunate they are.”