During his working days, Carl Faddis showed John Elway and Doug Moe a thing or two.
Faddis didn’t know anything about playing quarterback. His expertise wasn’t playing or coaching basketball. Faddis taught golf, and during his years as the pro at Valley Country Club, Elway and Moe were among his pupils.
“Our family called Doug Moe ‘Sweet Swinger’ because of his golf swing,” Faddis said last week as he looked back some 30 plus years. “Doug was a pretty good golfer, and he still is today.”
Moe has his version of his golf nickname that became part of his calling card in the Nuggets office.
“It fit facetiously,” Moe said. “(Nuggets president) Carl Scheer used to call me ‘Sweet Swinger’ when I’d come in the office. I’d just laugh. Carl (Faddis) helped me all the time, not that it made me a better golfer. I’m still your basic stiff. I played in his foursome a lot. He made it fun.”
Faddis remembered needing to teach Elway the finer points of the game.
“John could really hit the ball, but he didn’t know how to play golf,” Faddis said. “He didn’t realize his strength, and at times his golf game suffered. We had to teach him to back off a little. He’s a very good golfer now.”
At the same time, Patty Berg, a founding member and leading player on the LPGA, would stop by to discuss golf with Faddis and maybe pick up some pointers.
“Patty helped my career move along,” Faddis said.
Faddis credited his life experiences to golf. He met four U.S. presidents on the golf course — Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Faddis met Eisenhower at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver and Ford in Vail.
“Golf’s a tremendous game,” Faddis said. “It’s the best game in the world.”
Faddis could also play. He remembered scores as low as 60 and 61. He is the only golfer he knows of who at one time or another made every hole at Valley in two shots, including the par-5s.
When Faddis arrived 50 years ago fresh out of military service, he remembered that East Arapahoe Road was a dirt road.
“There wasn’t anything around the golf course,” Faddis said. “When I got back in 1974, there had been a big shift. It was unbelievable from what I remembered before.”
Valley was his first stop in 1960 as an underling in the pro shop. Five years later, he went to a course in Sidney, Neb., and stayed for 10 years. Faddis came back to Valley in 1974 as the head pro and stayed until he retired in 2001.
At first, he played a lot of golf. But after a couple of years, he learned the hardships of aging.
“Your mind says you still can play, but your body tells you something different,” Faddis said. “Your game leaves you, and you can’t hit the ball as far or as straight.”
Faddis played his last game of golf in August at a little course in Flagler. It was a special day. His brothers Bill and Jim were in the tournament field. His sons Ryan and Shane played in his foursome.
“That day is extra special for me now,” Faddis said.
Since his final game, Faddis has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“It’s in my pancreas, liver, lungs and all of the above,” Faddis said. “It was a jolt and a little hard to take. I’m going on with the feeling that golf made it a better life for me.”
Faddis bio
Born: July 15, 1938, in Standardville, Utah
High school: Denver North
College: None, joined U.S. Army
Family: Wife Joan, sons Ryan and Shane
Hobbies: Hunting and fishing
Memorable experiences: Meeting four U.S. presidents on golf courses
