Brilliant Artist and Great Golfer, Bud Chapman

We can all name characters in our life. One of the greatest characters in my life was Loyal ‘Bud’ Chapman. Chappy was a commercial artist internationally known for his work on a series of fantasy golf holes. I played many rounds with him. My foursomes would prod him into spinning the stories of his life.

Born in 1923 Bud Chapman passed away July 9, 2020 at 97. He shot his age nearly 4000 times starting at age 67 when he shot 66. How he did that, I don’t know, but that’s what he claimed.

Keeping every scorecard, Chappy would make notes or ‘secrets’ as to what he felt when hitting a good shot, writing on the scorecard. After a practice session he would scratch out more secrets and stuff the piece of paper in his wallet, already bulging from secrets of past days.

“He had thousands of scorecards and hundreds of golf magazines in grocery bags at his home in Florida, all with secrets written on them,” his son David told me.

“I went to Florida to look for his Last Will and Testament,” David said. “I spent 12 hours going through the house. I finally found it in the bottom of a clothes hamper filled with golf magazines.” Chappy didn’t have a lot of order in his life, possibly his dyslexia being a contributing factor.

For the past 25 years he lived in Florida, coming back to Minnesota to play senior tournaments in the summer. The last time I saw him was in 2017 at the Minnesota State Senior Championship. He was entered at age 94. He won the Great Masters division at 90.

Bud was an accomplished player. He won the Minnesota State Senior twice, was the Minnesota Senior Player of the Year in 1983, qualified for the USGA Senior Open in 1983 and was the 1983 Senior Open winner.

“I played with him about 10 years ago at Seminole Lakes Golf Club in Florida,” said his friend Carson Herron. “We played from the middle tees. He shot 75 and beat all of us.”

Chappy was consumed by hitting it long. He always wanted to be the longest driver in the group. Over the years he played with a longer and longer driver, ending up at a 54 inch club. “When we would fly to a tournament dealing with the club was always a problem on the airplane,” said another friend George Hallin.

While he was a terrific player, it’s the stories about his life that live on. It seems he was invited to play in a tournament with many of the top professionals in the country at Tom-O-Shanter Golf Club in Chicago in the early ‘50s. “He told me the purse was $50,000, thus attracting all the great players of the day,” remembered George Hallin.

Driving to Chicago with his soon to be bride, he decided it would be a good time to teach her to drive. She was stopped by the police and taken to jail for driving without a license. Using much of his weekend money, he paid the fine to get her out and proceeded on to Chicago and the tournament.

In front of a large gallery he topped his opening drive but recovered to shoot 69 and lead the tournament. However, he had a problem. After paying his caddie for the first round, he had no money left to pay for the rest of the tournament. Not bothering to withdraw, he came out to watch play the second day. The promoter of the tournament was livid, but there was nothing to be done as he had missed his tee time.

His career as a commercial artist started in WWII when he drew a cartoon strip called “Willie Washout” for the Army newspaper. It was pattered after himself as “he had so many demerits he was sure he would wash out,” said his son David.

He was called in to meet with the base commander. Thinking he was going to be kicked out of the military Bud was ready for the bad news. Actually the General had heard about his golf game and wanted to play golf with him. Trained as a fighter pilot, he never flew a mission and was sitting in a plane on the tarmac when the war ended.

“He was always looking for a get rich quick scheme,” said David. In the early ‘70s he believed there was a lost Cortez gold mine with Spanish treasure in the mountains near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. For a couple of years he went to New Mexico for extended periods searching for the lost mine.

“He panned for gold,” said David. “He found archaeological ruins and copper, but not gold. He borrowed money to buy equipment. Unfortunately, the equipment was stolen leaving him with nothing but the bank loans.”

“He was always looking for new and fun activities,” said David. “For a while he raced snowmobiles. Even at age 94 he delayed coming to Minnesota because he heard there was a new ride at Disney World and wanted to try it out.”

In 1972 he came up with the idea to paint fantasy golf holes. Over the next 10 years he imagined and painted 18 fantasy holes. His paintings became recognized around the world. He became a celebrity.

“We were invited by Johnny Morris, owner of Bass Pro Shops and Cabella’s, to Big Cedar near Springfield, MO. It was a big celebration to announce Tiger Woods would be designing a golf course. We were flown into Springfield on Morris’s private jet,” said David. “We wondered what they wanted us to do while there; maybe have Bud do a painting? But there was nothing. When the weekend was over they thanked us for coming and flew us back home.”

Chappy had offers from all over the world to buy his collection. “A group from Kazakhstan was going to pay $20,000,000 and give them to the President of the country as a lavish gift,” said David. “It looked like it was going to happen when one of the group got arrested for murder and the deal fell apart.”

Then there was the Sheik from AbuDhabi who was going to buy the collection, but somehow ran out of money.

While he never sold the original paintings, for more than a decade prints could be found hanging in golf clubs and grill rooms around the country.

“He invited me into his studio in his home about 2010,” said George Hallin. “He had three paintings in different phases of completion. In one he had bowling alleys across the Rio Grande River. People were walking through the river while others were bowling from side to side.”

Bud thought bowlers would take to fantasy bowling alleys the way golfers liked his golf holes. “He made a painting of a bowling alley at the bottom of the sea and between two skyscrapers in Manhattan,” said David. The market didn’t take to the idea. “We still have the paintings and prints.” Bud’s mind just worked a little differently.

Loyal “Bud” Chapman was a kind soul who was never stressed. “He always looked for the good,” said David. At the end of the round you never knew if he had played his best or worst. He was always pleasant, friendly and a pleasure to play with.

His goal in life was to qualify for the US Open. He tried 47 times without success. He did come close several times. According to Chappy he finished triple bogey, quadruple bogey to miss by one. At least that’s how the story has evolved.

I will miss Chappy for the rest of A Life In Golf.