Bernhard Langer would make a very compelling Netflix series. For the last hour, he has been speaking from his home in Florida, rattling through the key points in his life which saw him find God and pushed him to the brink of death and early retirement. He is engaging company and a very polished storyteller.
Growing up in post-war Germany, he didn’t have it easy. Besides helping his dad lay bricks to build the family home, he suffered two serious illnesses before the age of five. Doctors even told his mother to prepare for the worst. He was eight by the time he was introduced to golf as a caddie at Golfclub Augsburg, which is where he got hooked on playing. For the first few years, he had to make do with a 2-wood, 3-iron, 7-iron and a putter with a bent-shaft, which he shared with the other caddies.
Despite never having a handicap, he turned pro at 15 and accepted a job offer as an assistant pro at Munich Country Club. It would prove to be a seminal moment.
A year later, he was invited to play an exhibition against Jack Nicklaus and two of the best amateurs in Germany. It didn’t go well. A shank on one hole was bad enough, but then he pull-hooked an iron shot which hit a lady member on the shoulder. After the round, Nicklaus was asked what he thought of
