Golf isn’t exactly known for signature celebrations. Sure, we had Tiger Woods’s club twirl. And, now Bryson DeChambeau’s fist pumps. But they are rare. And, Chi Chi Rodriguez was rarer still. In the 1970s, the Puerto Rican – the first ever from that Nation to join the PGA Tour – was famous for his signature celebrations. 

You can technically find different versions of Woods’s club twirl, or DeChambeau’s fist pumps. But Rodriguez’s sword celebration? It’s a long shot. It almost seemed like a ritual when Rodriguez did them. 

Oftentimes, the eight-time PGA Tour winner would take off his straw hat and cover the hole after making a birdie putt. Reason? What if the birdie flies like a bird? Or, the times when he drained a long birdie putt. You would perhaps expect a fist pump or a roar. Chi Chi Rodriguez had his own way of celebrating: sword dance.

He used to wield his putter like a sword, often lunging, feinting, and even flicking the putter like a fencing sword. Often that used to be his final move before sheathing the putter-turned-blade into his scabbard, imaginary, of course. At times, he would also break into Salsa steps often encouraging his playing mates to join him.

Fans, of course, loved him and everything he did. His enduring popularity didn’t wane even when joined the PGA Tour champions. Rodriguez continued to appear in different charity events and was always a storyteller with flamboyance. One key reason why he was inducted into the PGA Hall of Fame was he always gave back more than what he got. 

Why was Chi Chi Rodriguez inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Chi Chi Rodriguez’s eight PGA Tour victories and only four top-tens might seem like ‘unworthy’ of the World Golf Hall of Fame. But the Puerto Rican was celebrated more for his contribution towards the game rather than the exploits. Rodriguez once said he loved kids because he never got to live like a kid. Quite true when you consider the Puerto Rican was compelled into labor at the age of seven. 

He later took cup caddying as a profession, harboring dreams of making it to the PGA Tour. “They told me I was a hound dreaming about pork chops,” Chi Chi Rodriguez once told Sports Illustrated. The first piece of equipment in his ‘golf bag’ was a tin can and guava tree stick. He later involved himself in multiple philanthropic activities, opening academics for children in Tampa, Clearwater, and other places. 

 “A vibrant, colorful personality both on and off the golf course, he will be missed dearly by the PGA Tour and those whose lives he touched in his mission to give back,” Jay Monahan said in a statement after his death. In the late stage of his life,  Chi Chi Rodriguez moved to his native country. He appeared in various talk shows as well. Rodriguez was truly a colorful personality who walked the talk.