Thanksgiving Week: Looking Back at the First Skins Game, Controversy

The Skins Game was once must-see TV during Thanksgiving Week. Here’s a look back at the very first Skins Game from 1983, featuring four legends.

Thanksgiving week used to be a lot of fun for sports fans. There were the traditional Thanksgiving Day NFL football games and college football. In college basketball, there was the Maui Classic. And for golf fans, there was the Skins Game, an interesting invention in the history of golf.

For those who don’t remember here’s the basic concept of the Skins Game. It was a competition between four golfers where, if one player scored lower than the other three on a hole, he won that hole, or skin, and the prize money that went with it.

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It was definitely a made-for-television event that first happened in 1983. The first Skins Game was a collection of some of the all-time best players in the game.

Just how good was the first foursome? It was made up of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Tom Watson. Wow. That group combined to win 42 major championship titles.

The event aired on NBC with the legendary Vin Scully handling the play-by-play as the four legends hit the course. That made it five legends in attendance that day.

There was big money on the line at the Skins Game.

It may not sound like it now, but for these players, it was a lot of money. And remember, this was 37 years ago.

For example, Palmer made a putt to win the 12th hole that was worth $100,000 with the carryover from the previous holes that were tied. That dollar figure was more than double any purse that Palmer won at any point during his career.

Player made a birdie putt on the 17th hole to claim the skin and $170,000. In his career, Player only had one season in which he earned that much money.

In the end of the first Skins Game, Player was the big winner with that $170,000 prize money. He edged out Palmer to win the title.

But the first Skins Game was not without controversy. On the 16th hole, television cameras picked up Watson basically accusing Player of cheating. Watson saw Player patting down a root behind his ball, which would be improving his lie.

Watson could be heard saying “I’m accusing you Gary, you can’t do that.” Player responded by saying that he was “within the rules.”

That exchange actually led to a feud between the two greats that lasted for a number of years. They eventually made their peace but that was another memorable moment in the first Skins Game.