Minnesota Golfer - Directory 2023 - 35

The Two Lives of
George
Boutell
By Cal Simmons
It
was the summer of 1964. I was playing the Resorters
in Alexandria. There he was, George Boutell, the No.
1 amateur player in the country. He was funny and
friendly to this 16-year-old, who was enamored with
such a high profile golfer. It was the start of a lifelong friendship
ending at the celebration of George's life October 1, 2018.
At 12, George and his family moved from Minneapolis to
Phoenix in 1956 at the suggestion of doctors, as a result of his
older brother's illness. At the time it was believed the clearer air
of the desert would help him recover.
Living near the Phoenix Country Club, his game flourished.
At age 14, George became the youngest person to ever qualify
for the National Amateur. He was focused and meticulous. He
was smart, graduating at the top of his class of 650 at Phoenix
Central High School.
George made friends easily with everybody laughing with
him. Much of his humor was stupid but funny, though, strangely,
women didn't find it appealing. Throughout life he would fart
around others, laughing, much as a young teenager would do.
He loved bathroom humor. With no serious side to his public
personality, women were not attracted.
George immersed himself in golf and schoolwork.
Accomplishments in these areas are not achieved without
immense focus and commitment. He told his mother there was
no time for girls.
In 1964, he was named the No. 1 amateur player in the
country. He won the prestigious Trans Mississippi Amateur
Tournament in 1965. He was a two-time All-American as he
made his way through Arizona State University.
George was a contradiction. On the one hand, he was a
meticulous student and a focused golfer. However, his public life
was filled with silly, self-deprecating comments about his body
and a sloppiness in how he lived.
Laughing at himself, a common greeting from George was,
" How am I looking? " It was a reference to his pear-shaped
figure. His cackling laugh would elicit laughs from all. But it was
a defensive laugh. He was very self-conscious about his body. It
was all an act to protect his secret.
Everybody was his friend. In conversation he was a steady
stream of questions to those in his presence, never revealing
anything about himself. He was funny and interested in you.
George graduated from ASU in four years, with a degree in
accounting. Many summers he would come to Minneapolis to
see friends at Interlachen and take lessons from Les Bolstad, golf
coach at the University of Minnesota.
In 1968, he went out on the PGA Tour. It was in the days
before tour caddies. Interested in being around great golfers, I
called George and asked him if I could come out on tour and
caddie for him. It was January of 1969. I had a month-long break
from Colorado College at the new year. He agreed.
Nothing could have been more fun or thrilling: driving up and
down the west coast, caddying at the LA Open, The Bing Crosby
(now the AT&T), at Pebble Beach and the Phoenix Open. It never
struck me as unusual that we didn't talk about girls.
In 1973, I wanted to get out of Minnesota's winters.
I called George and arranged to rent a room from him. I
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