Ever played with a touring pro?

[cma8516]

Topic for some possible fun stories...

 

Curious how many folks on here if any have ever had a chance to play with a touring pro? What was your experience like?

 

My personal experience is a round with Bubba while traveling in Florida. Playing in a Saturday morning Men's game of ABC ball...needless to say I played terrible out of nervousness while watching him driver/wedge it around making birdies left and right.

 

There's a lot of people out there with opinions of him being a jerk and not the most friendly, but I have to say he was the total opposite in my opinion. We all had our own carts he didn't ride off ahead of everyone or stay off on his own, had a very nice conversation about where we were from and our families, even cracked quite a few jokes and sat down with us after the round for lunch.

 

Anyone else have any similar experiences, good or bad?

[BMC]

Canadian Brad Fritsch (PGA and Web.Com tours) played in the group ahead of me yesterday at the CC I work at, in the rain and 55 degrees. He lives in NC now. I said hello.

I played with Curtis Strange quite a few times before he went to college and the Tour, twice while he was on tour in the 90s. We went to school together. He does not "play for fun" though, even with his friends.

[Shawn Paul]

Last year I got to play with Tom Lehman and Bill Moretti. Super nice dudes. I learned about a bazillion things just from watching and at the end my brain hurt. It was kind of like the best golf lesson I've ever had.

I didn't think you could play golf for that long as these guys have played and still be as into golf as both of these guys are.

For the two months that followed when discussing golf with my pals I begin every sentence with, "well when I played with Tom..." and we all had a good laugh.

I can't imagine Bubba would want to be a D to a normal Joe, what's the point? Good to hear he's "approachable". Or shall I say he has a good approach...bada-bump.

[wcb231]

I was paired with Jon Curran our senior year of high school in the state tournament. Fairways and greens all day for him.

[sevenfourate]

I have.It was:

"Humbling".

Competition scenario, so there wasn't much chit-chat.

He let his clubs do all the talking, and knocked in an easy 67(-5) that couldn't have been much worse. I don't think my 75 impressed him too much.

[John L.]

The only PGA pro that I ever wanted to play with was Lee Trevino. Lee plays a lot like I do, or did. He loves to tweek every shot he stands over. He loves talking golf, golf shots, and equipment.

[golfandfishing]

Steve Flesch a lot, probably 15 rounds.

Played a us open qualifier with Emlyn Aubry a loooong time ago. He was medalist and didn't break a sweat. I was grinding my a off for a pair of 75's that missed by a mile.

Played with Billy Mayfair once, very nice round, fun and light hearted. Also played with Jim Carter a few weeks later. I was unimpressed, his ball flight didn't have a consistent, tight trajectory like others I have played with. His ball fluttered in the wind, and he couldn't predict the spin or bounce like you would expect.

[knock it close]

I've hit balls next to Stephan Ames a handful of times, that's as close as I've got right now.

[nitram]

Yes.

Some were a blast and some were not.

The most fun was with Daly, Pavin, and Jackie Burke, Jr.

The not so fun will not be mentioned by name.

They all have game but can be beaten as mere mortals.

Some just take it better than others....

[GWD]

Thank goodness, I've never played with a pro.

I'd be so discouraged that I'd lay my clubs down on 18 and go buy a bowling ball.

[AlecEmersonGolf]

I personally havent but last week my buddy played with Tyler Aldridge. He said he was "very good." As he shot a smooth 64 on a tough course.

[EKELLY]

Back in the early to mid 90's I lived at Bay Hill in Orlando. A lot of tour guys hung around there. I played quite a few rounds with Andy Bean, the Rinker boys, and Donnie Hammond. I did get to play 9 with Mark O'Meara, but that was long before he became a celebrity after winning the Open and Masters. I used to see Norman frequently but he didn't talk to anyone. David Frost probably hit more balls daily than the rest of them combined. Consider myself lucky to have seen them practice and prepare for tournaments......

All I can say is they ALL were amazing with the driver, wedges, and putter.

[EKELLY]

[quote name='golfandfishing' timestamp='1451435093' post='12777694']
Steve Flesch a lot, probably 15 rounds.

Played a us open qualifier with Emlyn Aubry a loooong time ago. He was medalist and didn't break a sweat. I was grinding my a off for a pair of 75's that missed by a mile.

Played with Billy Mayfair once, very nice round, fun and light hearted. Also played with Jim Carter a few weeks later. I was unimpressed, his ball flight didn't have a consistent, tight trajectory like others I have played with. His ball fluttered in the wind, and he couldn't predict the spin or bounce like you would expect.
[/quote]I played with Steve Pate one time in Orlando. He hit like 3 fairways and maybe 5 greens. He was all over the place, and shot 69. I laughed a few times at where he hit it, but that 69 beat my 73 like a dog......LOL

[2bGood]

A few. Most fun was the LPGA ones I have played with as I could out hit them distance wise, but every one LPGA pro I have played with had very 'boring games', where they never seemed to miss the fairway or GIRs. It was a real reason in control over ones game.

[Obee]

Last week I played with Phil and Rickie. Had an absolute blast. They played the blacks (7,157, 75.7/146), and my amateur buddies and I played the blues (6,480, 71.7/138). What an amazing day. One I will never forget. We might be doing it again soon....

[Brooks_Cupcake]

[quote name='Obee' timestamp='1451454747' post='12778954']Last week I played with Phil and Rickie. Had an absolute blast. They played the blacks (7,157, 75.7/146), and my amateur buddies and I played the blues (6,480, 71.7/138). What an amazing day. One I will never forget. We might be doing it again soon....[/quote]

I know you have connex Obee, so do tell how you got the invite...$??

[ggk17]

[size=3]
[color=#282828]Some years ago I played with Maarten Lafeber, member of the European Tour. It was impressive how consistent he played, he seldom missed a fairway and hit many GIR but his putter was ice cold. He was very friendly and talkative telling me I had a nice swing. Finally I asked him something about swing plane and other technical stuff and he looked at me as I was toxic. He didn't say another word to me for the whole round. I'd better kept my mouth shut.[/color][/size]

[ChipDriver]

Best was about 5 years ago with Len Mattiace - one of the nicest guys ever. Boring round. Hit it a mile into the fairway, hit it a mile onto the green, putted with about 5 birdies. Then he told me he was short compared to most PGA pros. Also played with Glen "All" Day (last pro to get penalized for slow play) - another guy who just hit fairways and greens from the tips and shot a ho-hum round of below-par. I have a couple friends who played on the Symettra tour - and they too are "boring" golfers. Have played with a few Web.com players and they are the most excited to play - and man can they hit it well.

Lets me realize how badly I play this game.

[flog2]

not a tour pro as such but a challenge tour pro, it was depressing. I thought I was ok at golf but this 'johnny no name' dude hit fairways with ease and came out of deep fairway bunkers to hit greens that us mortals would be happy just to get out the bunker.

He made it look easy cause it was.....for him, yet he could hardly make a living on the challenge tour.........

like I say, depressing

[EKELLY]

[quote name='Obee' timestamp='1451454747' post='12778954']
Last week I played with Phil and Rickie. Had an absolute blast. They played the blacks (7,157, 75.7/146), and my amateur buddies and I played the blues (6,480, 71.7/138). What an amazing day. One I will never forget. We might be doing it again soon....
[/quote]Nice! I'm sure that was a blast.....

[Boricua Golf]

Played with a few, mostly Chris Kirk, he is a really good friend of one of my golf buddies (while in Hawaii for the Sony Open) and also played a few rounds with Kim Kaufman I washer caddy for two years at the Lotte Championship...agreed with the humbling experience, the shoot in the 60s without trying...

[cma8516]

It truly is humbling to see the way they play. I like to think I hit the ball a decent distance and cranked one off the first tee while playing with Bubba.

He was playing 2 sets of tees behind me (probably 30-40 yard difference on the hole) and knocked a 3 wood 30 yards past one of my better drives.

The funniest moment of our day was probably when we made the turn to the back 9. Not the shortest dog leg left par 4, he pulls out his 3 wood, goes up over the left side of the hole and lands it about 10 yards shy of the green, we gave him a hard time about not being able to drive the green and he responded -- I laid off it a little since I couldn't tell if anyone was on the green, just the thought of having that much control is amazing.


I've also gotten to hit balls on the range next to a few pros - Charles Howell (super nice guy) and JB Holmes. The ball just has a totally different sound off their club face.

[North Texas]

Back in the 80's Dwight Nevil was the head pro where we played so got to play with him numerous times. He played on tour in the 70's and won the old Magnolia State Classic, played opposite the Masters, twice.

He was a ball-striker. One day I saw him shoot 30 on the front nine and he made it look ho-hum. He hit every green and never had a birdie putt over about 15 feet. Saw him shoot in the low 60's numerous times. I remember him not even teeing his driver up on holes that were playing into a good wind. He would just throw the ball down on the tee and hit it. It was amazing to watch. The story was that he could ever make it on tour because he couldn't putt good enough. Man, you could have fooled me.

Back then, there was always a tournament in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for head pros and their club champion. My wife won the club championship either 7 or 8 years in a row and she and Dwight would go play in this tournament. They would either win it or finish in the top 3 pretty much every year.

Dwight grew up in Denison, Texas (me and the wife lived in Sherman, Texas) and he was a super, super good guy. He actually took another head pro job in the area and numerous people moved their membership to where he went. He was that well-liked.

[Francois]

[quote name='cma8516' timestamp='1451483366' post='12779570']
......The ball just has a totally different sound off their club face.
[/quote]

Never played with a pro but sat and watched a lot of them at the ranges around the UAE. Abu Dhabi National, Els Club, Jumeirah, Emirates Golf Club etc. That was the one thing that stood out the most for me. That sound. The ball is in total submission at all times.

Did play behind Rory at Yas Links once.

[Sixcat]

I played with Lanto Griffin a couple of times a few years ago. The experience was humbling to say the least. No matter how well I play, I couldn't do what he does. I have followed his career ever since. He made it to second stage of Q-school this season after winning the first stage event in Kannapolis, NC at Irish Creek. He won an event earlier this year on the PGA Tour LatinoAmerica.

Lanto has caddied for his roommate Will Wilcox on the PGA Tour some as well.

[RSinSG]

Played in a Senior PGA Pro-Am with Bert Yancy. This was a long time ago so the distances were much shorter than today. Like others said, his game was boring to watch. Fairways and greens all day. Playing in a tournament with gallery ropes and 1st tee announcer put me way out of my comfort zone though. Lucky for me the format was the typical better ball so the pressure wasn't as bad as it could have been.

[sprcoop]

In the early 90's I don't remember his name but it was some kid that had just gotten his PGA tour card. First hole PAR 4 downhill dogleg right he hits 30 yard draw over the trees onto the green. Every approach was pin high. Amazing distance control. He was a couple under at the end of the day and missed a few really makeable putts.

Luckily I played way over my head and was only 10 over. Still my personal best for 18. That was with a 30 year old set of irons I paid $20 for (putter and bag included) and a new $8 wooden driver. I guess it really is the indian and not the arrow.

[edutch22]

 

Me and some buddies were at TPC Myrtle a few years ago, when we were about to tee off my buddy came out of clubhouse said DJ was in there having lunch, little did we know when we rolled up to #17, he was filming a commercial for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. He challenged us to a closest to pin contest and lets just say DJ took it easily. Super cool experience.

[crazy8golfer]

It's been quite some time back, but played a round with these pros; Gay Brewer, Steve Jones and Payne Stewart. Played with Gay Brewer in a Senior Tour Pro Am, he was an ole sour puss. I played the next day with Steve Jones, this was a couple of years after he won the U S Open. He was a great guy to play with and could putt the lights out. Got to play with Payne Stewart in 1993, this guy loved life and would crack you up. As we were getting ready to tee off, he puts in his Bubba teeth and gets everyone relaxed. This was a great day.

[BrianL99]

[quote name='crazy8golfer' timestamp='1451599785' post='12785866']

I played the next day with Steve Jones, this was a couple of years after he won the U S Open. He was a great guy to play with and could putt the lights out.

[/quote]

I played with Steve when he was still playing the mini-tours. Great guy to play with!