National Golf Club is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend, and the occasion brings back a few memories.

I know some of you aren't going to believe this, but even 20 years ago, I was already burned out on some aspects of the sports world.

As sports editor of The Fayetteville Observer, I covered all sports, and come April, I was sick of basketball gyms and the sweet aroma of dirty socks and sweat-soaked jerseys.

One of the most vivid reactions I had to this March Madness came almost 30 years ago in 1981 when I was covering the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four in Philadelphia, and Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers slapped a 63-50 whipping on Dean Smith's Tar Heels.

That game was played just after a guy named Hinckley had tried to kill President Reagan, and it was a wild and crazy time. Knight also made news that week by stuffing an inebriated fan into a garbage can.

We had to write and file our articles as soon as the game ended, so I wrapped things up just before 1 a.m. and then did something really insane.

I took the media bus back to the hotel, threw my stuff in the car and drove home.

You see, the basketball game was played on Monday night and my regular foursome played golf on Tuesdays and Fridays. I wasn't about to miss a tee time. I had to drive straight to the golf course, but I made it.

After that round, the Tar Heels and I had something in common. We both got our butts kicked.

Luckily, Jack Nicklaus didn't plan his 1989 appearance at National Golf Club's Grand Opening on one of my golf days, so I was able to make it. I'm glad I did, because that was something special. I remember a lot more about Jack's round at National that day than I do about the Indiana-North Carolina basketball game.

It was common talk in those days that Nicklaus-designed courses were too tough for the average golfer. It was hinted that Jack built courses for his own game.

Maybe so, but Jack was doing the playing that day and proved to the horde of fans -- or should I say the gentle patrons -- that National could be played well.

There was a lot of excitement here in those days. Arnold Palmer was designing a course right next door on Midland Road, and the prospect of having Palmer and Nicklaus courses side by side was great stuff.

Nicklaus was excited, too. He said that he felt his resume wouldn't be complete without having designed a course in the Pinehurst area. And he wanted to make sure that it would be one that was deserving of its location.

Obviously, he succeeded.

I had met Jack several times before and knew what a gentleman he was. But even though I had seen him play parts of rounds in many tournaments -- including the Masters -- I had never followed him for an entire round.

I learned quickly that I didn't really play golf. I wasn't quite sure what I was playing, but it sure wasn't golf.

Jack Nicklaus has always been a purist and, on that day, just three years after thrilling the patrons at Augusta National by winning his sixth green jacket, his game was pure. He boomed his drives, stiffed his approach shots, and made putts that defied description. He began the round with three straight birdies, much to the delight of the fans.

When it was over, Jack was smiling. He knew he had created a course that would withstand the tests of time. But he also knew there would be those who found the course too tough for their suspect games.

"I'm happy with the way it turned out," he said. "There may be some who think some holes or some greens are too severe, but we've taken that consideration into our design. If golfers will play this course from the tees they should be playing from, they can play well and enjoy it."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you will see me playing way up there from those forward tees. I'm just listening to Jack.