6 amazing things from the new World Golf Hall of Fame (now at Pinehurst!)

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A bear. Girl Scout uniform. Lego tractor.

For Donna Caponi, Nancy Lopez and Sandy Lyle, respectively, these absurdities bring them back to their childhood. Included in each of their World Golf Hall of Fame keys are sites of their youth, meaningful and tangible connections in the years before they won major tournaments and signed autographs for adoring fans.

It’s not just the members of the World Golf Hall of Fame who are returning to their roots this spring; the center itself returns to its original home. In May, the Hall officially began a new chapter in Pinehurst, NC, just a few hundred yards from where it held its first induction ceremony in 1974 and has been building for nearly two decades. After the fourth century in St. Augustine, Fla., the Hall of Famer has returned home.

The focal point of the new experience is the Member’s Locker Room, a space dedicated to 165 Hall of Famers that displays important artifacts from their careers and personal lives. Visitors will be able to see everything from Tiger Woods’ Havemeyer Trophy and the clubs Mark O’Meara used to win the Masters to Annika Sorenstam’s Swedish passport and Colin Montgomerie’s cricket bat.

Here, six members of the World Golf Hall of Fame share the stories behind the items they selected for their lockers.

Curtis Strange’s US Open driver

My MacGregor driver from the late 1980s is little more than a grip, shaft and clubhead. It motivated me to do something that changed my life.

We were still transitioning from wood to iron clubheads at the time, and honestly no one had won a major with an iron driver yet. I wasn’t the longest hitter on Tour, but I was extremely accurate, which is always important at the US Open.

Going into 1988 at The Country Club, I was playing the best golf of my career but I was yet to win a major – something I was constantly reminded of. I was able to take that next step by beating Nick Faldo in a playoff, then I backed up the next year at Oak Hill.

It was the first time someone had won back-to-back US Opens since Ben Hogan in 1950-51 – and that driver was a big reason why. Those two wins defined my career and made me a Hall of Famer. – Curtis Strange

Gloves by Beth Daniel

In 1976, I earned the right to represent the United States in the Curtis Cup Match at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Our entire team went to London early and was scheduled to have tea at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II.

I was really scared. As we waited, a few of us practiced our curtsies and ate biscuits and cakes. The doors opened, and the queen entered. But nothing really happened for a few minutes because she was shy and reserved, and we were told not to talk to her unless she talked to us first.

Finally, Debbie Massey, one of the best players on our team, grabbed a few of us and said, “Let’s go talk to him.” Debbie asked her about the horses, and the queen just lit up. He told us that he had been riding that morning and explained his love for horses.

We were given white gloves to wear when shaking hands with the queen to prevent the spread of germs. I took them back with me, and I haven’t worn them since I was at Buckingham Palace. – Beth Daniel

Drawing by Tom Kite

Most people know this 60-degree wedge as the one I used to putt on the seventh hole of the 1992 US Open at Pebble Beach, but what they may not realize is that I used it 10 times that day.

That last round at Pebble Beach was very windy, nobody could hit any greens, including me, so it took a lot of ups and downs to keep your score even.

The seventh hole is one of the most famous in golf, even though it is one of the shortest. It’s 105 yards and downhill, so it’s hard to imagine hitting anything other than an easy wedge, but that day it was blowing 40 miles an hour from right to left. Only one player in the last 15 clubs has hit that green in regulation. So while I was disappointed to miss my tee shot to the left, it wasn’t a huge surprise.

Thankfully, I told a very good lie, and I was playing my pitch on air. The ball was carrying a little steam but it hit the flagstick twice and fell in for birdie 2. It’s one of those shots where you want to jump up and down and run around the green as it goes in, but it was just too much. golf left. I tried to control myself, and thankfully I was able to bring you home. – Tom Kite

Larry Nelson jacket

Both my father and father-in-law served in the military during World War II, so it was something I looked forward to doing. The United States was involved in Vietnam in the mid-1960s, and in 1965 I was drafted into the US Army, ten days after my 19th birthday.

This is the jacket I wore when I returned from the West Coast after my time in Vietnam. I was very proud of my military service – it played a big part in shaping who I am, so I thought I should have this jacket in my wardrobe.

I didn’t start playing golf until I was 21 years old. During my basic training, I met a fellow soldier, Ken Hummel, who played golf in college and told me how much he loved the game. I had never played before, but that always stuck in my mind. Once I finally picked up a club when I was at Kennesaw (Ga.) Junior College, I got better every day and loved it, too. – Larry Nelson

JoAnne Carter hat

One of the highlights of my career was captaining the USA Solheim Cup team in 1994.

A few weeks ago, at a tournament in Canada, Beverly, the hairdresser who went with us on the LPGA Tour, said, “I have the perfect hat for you.” He gave me this red, white and blue embroidered baseball cap that looks like the American flag. Fit for captain America, I think. I have a big head, so it wasn’t the best looking hat for me, but I’m happy with it.

I like to inject other players, so I went around the dressing room that week in front of Laura [Davies]Helen [Alfredsson] and other Europeans. They kept trying to steal it there and they tried again during the game at The Greenbrier, which made me want to wear it again and again.

The hat became our good luck charm – I even took it to the White House after we won. – JoAnne Carter

Ben Crenshaw shirt

The Country Club [in Brookline, Mass.] this is where my golf life began.

I played the 1968 US Junior Amateur there, and it fueled my interest in competitive golf, course design and the history of the game. When I was named captain of the USA Ryder Cup Team in 1999, I was very emotional – both for representing my country and where we were going to play.

We were trailing by four points on the last day, but there was a great sense of determination and hope that we could win. Looking back, the moment that stands out the most is Justin Leonard’s putt on No. 17, on the same green that Francis Ouimet made the key putt to win the 1913 US Open.

Even more than Justin, I hear about the shirts our team wore that Sunday. I oversaw the design and had it highlighted with past USA Ryder Cup Teams wins as a nod to the history that came before us. I’ll admit it didn’t make much of a fashion statement, but it worked that day. – Ben Crenshaw

Mike Trostel is the director of the World Golf Hall of Fame.