Interesting experiences following PRO players live

[TimK1]

I remember this to this day. Probably at least ten years ago I followed Morgan Pressel the whole round in Rochester. She hit it in the rough all day and did nothing but b**** at her caddie, almost non stop for 18 holes. I was close enough to catch an earfull and the restraint this man showed not punching her lights out was amazing.

Still to this day, when I see her on TV, I remember that persona and you know just by looking at her, shes a whack job. LOL

[msd71]

I saw her later that day in the clubhouse, having a drink and laughing with Curtis Strange.

[MidwestGolfBum]

To that point, part of what a caddie is there for is to take the blame so the player can attempt to shake it off. I've seen plenty of guys get upset at the caddie for one thing or another and if you asked the person the bag about it after the round, they likely wouldn't remember it.

Some of the best memories of following around professionals is just watching how they go about each shot, the things they are talking about and thinking through. It's not as simple as the majority of people make it with the "I have X distance and I hit Y club that far so that's what I'm going to hit". Following around a pro is something that golfers of all levels could learn from, so long as they are willing to listen and observe what is going on for each and every shot.

[TimK1]

LOL

[TimK1]

I understand but this was way over the top. She basically treated this guy like a P.O.S. all day because she sucks!

[TimK1]

Speaking of caddies, I like what Lanny Watkins said a few weeks back about caddies. He was watching a player and caddie have a ten minute discussion or so it seemed on a shot. He says, I can't imagine what these two are discussing. I said twenty words to my caddie all day. He gave me the yardage and wind direction and once I pulled a club he got out of the way.

I decided what shot shape and club I was going to hit. He was there to carry the bag and give me yardage nothing more. Now the players basically need there hand held on every shot. LOL

[BMC]

I followed Fred Couples for 18 holes in the 90s. I was covering the event for a broadcast. It was 95 degrees and 98% humidity. PLayers were literally dripping at the bottom of their cotton khaki pants.

You could tell he didn't care if he made the cut. Wasn't even lining up putts. But, he did walk next to the ropes and had a 9-hole discussion about baseball with two guys. He seemed pretty cool.

[smashdn]

I don't even remember the guy's name but we were following KP around Valhalla at the Senior PGA or something like that. As we were walking up the path along a fairway a ball comes bouncing up the path and a guy just grabs the bouncing and puts it in his pocket. He legitimately did not know that you couldn't do that. Dude came up and took his drop after he talked it over with us as to what happened. He was more than a few places out of contention so it happened very quickly and without a rules official getting involved if I recall correctly.

 

Tom Watson won. #18 is a pretty neat green complex to finish a tournament on. Kind of stadium like bowl. It was loud when he won it.

[bowilbury8]

Followed Bryson Dechambeau for a few holes at the SafeWay Open a few years ago. A fan approached him in the rough and started talking to him about his shot, old BADs really lit into this guy. His caddie was pretty casual about it. I'm sure that fan would have never gotten close to a Tiger or Phil, or any other player had it been a larger tournament.

 

[gripandrip]

What stands out to me is the shots they make when they are in a tight spot. After Ernie Els zinged a drive over my head at a practice round in the 2016 Master's, he walks up, apologizes for hitting into the crowd and proceeds to hit a 6 iron cut shot (from pine straw) through a 10x10ft hole in the tree canopy to the edge of the green. Nice to watch.

 

Found the picture. Little opening just right of the big trees above his club.

[hardpan1]

A few years back, went to the Byron Nelson (Dallas) on a Thursday with a bud...we walked all morning and decided to sit for awhile, found a single set of bleachers by a tee box....Kucher's group came up, were having to wait...he grabs a hot dog and comes and sits by me (we were the only ones there) and struck up a conversation...I was impressed!

[Dr. Block]

To the OP, What a great idea for a thread. Thank you, I look forward to following it closely.

As for the experiences, I've had more then a few...and I hope to gather them from my cob-webbed brain in time. The first that stands out is watching Mickelson at the BMW one of the last years it was at Dubsdread. He knocked it over the back of the 15th green (a par five in two shots) and into the woods. He calmly walked up and asked the marshall and nearby fans if they'd seen where it went, walked in, identified it, called for a gab wedge from Bones, grabbed the club, then preceded to take about 10 seconds to hit it back on the green right handed. Then followed that with a two putt for his par. I was standing right next to him, could see the ball, and figured he was dead double bogey'd to rights.

[golfer07840]

Lanny Wadkins said something about Fred Couples a few weeks ago: "I like how Fred plays. Doesn't pull out a book. Tiger doesn't need a book either.. no need for a slide ruler.. just get the number and hit the shot."

[golfandfishing]

Early 2000s, Phoenix Open on Friday. Scott McCarron was waiting on the 18th tee and walked over to two ladies, told them his room number as said “see you both in an hour.”

[milesgiles]

I'm getting flashbacks to the 'big timed by a nobody' thread..

 

wonder how many libels we'll see, that's three on the first page already.

[TimK1]

Yep,

I'm a big fan of Lanny. You know he's got to be a D in real life. LOL

I actually have a Lanny story. !8th hole at TPC Sawgrass, Lanny drives it in the water off the tee. Basically yells Fuck and his caddie throws him another ball. He does not line up at all and hits it three miles into the right trees, throws his club at the caddie and walks off. I was laughing about that for a few years.

He is my favorite golf commentator.

[farmer]

Back in the day, there were no ropes up during practice rounds. You could walk with players as though you belonged there. Some were very pleasant, some not so much, some totally oblivious, about as you would expect from any random group. Walked with Sam Snead, he complained all the time, said not a word to anyone but Creamy. Interesting just to see. Followed Tom Jenkins and John Schroeder at the old Byron Nelson, they put on a show, and Tom Jenkins gave a lesson to two young kids following along. Followed Gary Player, he was most pleasant and put on a clinic. Very entertaining and not at all what his reputation would suggest. Followed Lanny for a while, he spent all the time between shots talking about clubs, some model of Titleist he was playing that week. That was interesting, although I didn't understand all he was saying. Saw him later in the parking lot with Ken Venturi, apparently still discussing the clubs. KV would take an iron, waggle it, put it in address position, pick it up, they would discuss .... something, and then repeat.

[JimmyC59]

Back in the eighties, a friend and I were following Tom Watson during a practice round at the Westchester Classic. After he teed off we were walking towards his ball and I didn't realize he was right next to me and I just about walked into him. I was mortified and apologized and he said, "If I was as big as you, I'd walk anywhere I want." Thought that was pretty cool.

Also followed Couples another time. Talk about casual. Just threw the ball down on on the tee and gave it a whack. Very friendly, talked about the NBA playoffs the whole round.

[Z1ggy16]

Just a generic thing that sounds silly but I was blown away at how high almost all pro's hit the ball, especially driver. Also really cool to follow some of the better players who get unlucky enough to draw a a really early morning round during the week day. I got to follow Cam Champ for a bunch of holes and walk inches away from him, watch him hit shots basically all by myself.

[Hawkeye77]

Morgan Pressel, yep such a "whack job". Morgan Pressel & Friends raise $1 million to fight cancer

[SwooshLT]

I didn't know Inkster was that tall!

[Ferguson]

 

I used to live in Rochester and played the pro-am three times at Locust Hill. I never played with her, but met her one year and she could not have been nicer.

 

 

Re: you know just by looking at her, shes a whack job. LOL

Judging people is never a good idea. I wonder what you think of Pat Morita?

[Steele47]

I think you guys are taking his whack job comment a lil too seriously.

[Ferguson]

 

Taking things too seriously? Never happens here.

 

 

[JimmyC59]

Pat Morita?

Whacks on!

[Ferguson]

 

You just ruined my follow up post. I hope you're proud of yourself.

Well done.

[Tac]

Six or seven years ago, when Jimmy Walker was often at the top of the leaderboard but hadn’t won the broadcasts were often profiling him in tv and showing his astronomy pics. I worked for an astronomy magazine and suggested to the editor that perhaps he’d be a good interview (selfishly of course, being a fan of golf and astronomy).

I communicated with Jimmy via email but for whatever reason the interview never happened.

A year or so later I was relating the story to someone and it was suggested that maybe that wasn’t him.

On a lark I googled the address and a few hits came up confirming it was him.

The most interesting Google hit led me to a webpage that was run by the PGA that was supposed to be password protected. For some reason, obviously someone screwed up.

This page showed the entire field for the previous week’s tournament (iirc, this would have been the 2015 Sony Open field or maybe the tournament of champions the week prior) and I had their phone numbers, where they were staying, whether they needed shuttles, day care, their caddy’s info and #s. All sorts of things that the public shouldn’t have access to.

I was looking at the screen kind of laughing wondering what to do.

So I emailed Jimmy and thought if I didn’t get a response quickly I’d just call the PGA Head office.

But within about an hour I received an email back from him (he was quite grateful) advising he had contacted someone and the page was quickly password protected.

That summer I introduced myself to him on the pro-am day of a tournament and we talked quite a bit. He’d come over to the ropes and walk along.

The next year I followed him on a tournament day and of course I wasn’t going to say a word during an actual tournament day — my plan was to just blend into the crowd. Yet he noticed me as he walked off the first green and acknowledged me (which I thought was pretty cool).

Last year on a tournament’s pro-am day I was walking along the ropes of the first hole and from the middle of the fairway he saw me and came over to say hello. We talked quite a bit during the round and I got a good look at his Lamb putter.

He’s a nice guy.

[Greg_B]

I had my first in-person PGA Tour experience at the Greater Hartford Open in 1992. It was a good day, a second round Friday IIRC. A few things stand out. I had just walked through the gates from the parking lot and found myself on the 10th hole so I decided to follow players on the back 9. I remember being impressed that Tom Kite was in the field, as he had just won the US Open at Pebble a few weeks before. The 10th hole is a downhill par 4 lined by trees and the fairway was half in shade, and parts of the rough in particular were not in good shape, muddy and wet with splotchy grass along with bare mud. Nolan Henke (remember him?) hit his drive into the right rough and had an awful-looking lie, and also had to navigate around some trees. After looking at it for a minute, he hit the most gorgeous shot, high and cutting it around the trees to the middle of the green just as easy as if he was in the fairway. I knew that I was watching a different class of players then.

 

A little bit later I had moved on and found myself standing at the rope line of the 12th tee box, watching the guys hit their drives. Mark O'Meara tees up on the right tee marker as close as he could get to where I was standing and hits a beautiful tee shot. I mutter under my breath "oooh, nice ball" watching it fly down the fairway like I would playing with the guys at the club and as he picks up his tee he turns to me and says "Thank you" and smiles as he walks away. I don't think he was being sarcastic. That was cool.

 

Finally after getting through the back 9 it was getting late so I decided to go to my hotel room after I had a stop in the pro shop - back then it seemed they did not have stuff for sale on the course and you had to buy any souvenirs in the fairly small pro shop in the clubhouse. I made a purchase and must have gone out the wrong way or something because I found myself in a roped-off players-only area leading to parking. I found myself walking next to a caddy carrying a golf bag and someone I recognized right away, being a Canadian, Richard Zokol. He said "hi" and we struck up a conversation once I told him where I was from. Turns out we even knew some of the same people back in my hometown. That was really cool and we had a nice conversation, just a super-nice guy.

 

Funny how you remember things from the second round of a not-very-important event (although it turned out to be Lanny Wadkins last tour win that week) when everything is so new to you.

[TimK1]

Yep,

I didn't really mean it litterally but I forgot what era we are living in. To many politacally correct and sensitive moes out there.

Should I make a public apoligy? Not

[Les Strokes]

I played a round with Richard Zokol at Shaunessy - as you say, very nice guy, down to earth. On one hole his drive ended up trickling into a bunker on the left side of the fairway. It was a deep bunker, so he had a sidehill lie. His left foot was in the bunker substantially lower than his right foot, which was outside and on the turf. The green was elevated, firm and surrounded by deep bunkers. I'm thinking he's dead. He just gets in there, takes a big swing and puts it about 3 feet from the pin. I couldn't believe it. I told him "you're a magician, how did you do that?". He smiles and says "you probably know a few tricks in your business too".