Ever played with a touring pro?

[jmck]

Played with Tommy Armour III about 20 years ago at LA Open proam...hit it a ton, but not a particularly pleasant or friendly fellow. Seemed more interested in his cigarettes than his pro am partners, and I don't think spoke more than a word or two to any of us.

 

Still was fun urinating next to Fuzzy in the locker room, and walking up the stairs next to Tiger!

 

Maybe TAIII was just really really r e a l l y hung over?

[ExTrumpet]

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.

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

 

 

This is the big difference between pro's and am's...the ability to get up and down!

 

Lots of folks hit it as far, and some as pure. But very few can salvage par (or make birdie) from where most of us tend to hit it!

[Hstead]

I have played with a few. Jim Estes back in the 90s. Jim was dead arse straight, didn't hit it long, didn't do anything flashy, but hit the fairway nearly every time and then hit the green, made a couple of putts bingo 68 at Skokie CC. Played with Ben Curtis, again not long, but man could he putt, it was ridiculous. Played with Todd White who is now a top Am but played as a Pro for a while. Played with him in college. Incredible player. Have several buddies that have Monday qualified for events and are all good players. Then there is Monte. Hits it as good as any I have played with.

 

My dad used to play with Barney Thompson all of the time and I would tag along. Barney played on Tour for a long time and once took Jack to a playoff where he lost. Barney was beyond talented.

[avgjoe]

does it count if they were kids, well before becoming pros?

[Jasonic]

does it count if they were kids, well before becoming pros?

 

Yes. People would be interested if you rode the bus with a pro. ?

[sdsteb]

Played with Tommy Armour III about 20 years ago at LA Open proam...hit it a ton, but not a particularly pleasant or friendly fellow. Seemed more interested in his cigarettes than his pro am partners, and I don't think spoke more than a word or two to any of us.

 

Still was fun urinating next to Fuzzy in the locker room, and walking up the stairs next to Tiger!

 

Maybe TAIII was just really really r e a l l y hung over?

 

I'm assuming (I know it's not smart) but TA3 was hitting the sauce big time 20 years ago. Literally the PGA Tour's Most Interesting Man on Tour.

[LYG]

Played US Open qualifying (36 holes, one day) with Tommy Armour III on The Atlanta Athletic Club course, site of 4 majors.

 

7,000+ yards, 1982, persimmon woods, balata ball.

 

Long day, he was awesome.

 

Played US Open qualifying (36 holes, one day) with Tommy Armour III on The Atlanta Athletic Club course, site of 4 majors.

 

7,000+ yards, 1982, persimmon woods, balata ball.

 

Long day, he was awesome.

[UstaCouldPlay]

Grew up in Ohio and our High School home course was Muirfield Village. Between that and having a friend who played for Ohio State I was able to play quite a bit with John Cook, Joey Sindelar and Greg Ladehoff. Also played some with Walker Inman Sr.

 

Upper Arlington or Dublin Coffman/Jerome? Played in a high school tournament there and Scioto. Never played with a pro but Jack was there for both tournaments.

 

Have hit balls next to Daniel Burger, Azahara Munoz, Steve Merino. Also have been caddied by a guy who caddied for numerous tour pros at The Bears Club and The Dye Preserve. Got tons of knowledge from him.

 

Also random tidbit was two mini golf groups behind Michelle Wie once. Putting stance and Purple hair were dead give aways.

LOL Actually, Worthington Christian. Ivor Young was Jack's College Roommate/Real Estate Director and Chairman of WCS I think he arraigned the Muirfield deal. Inman was Club Pro at Scioto CC and his son and I played on the WCS Golf Team. Later - after HS played a lot with Rob Howlett - his dad was Worthington Hills Pro. Rob walked on at Ohio State +3 as I recall and played "B" Team.

[huskydawg]

On 2 occasions years apart I played former mini-tour players, older guys maybe in their 50s. Made the game look boring with all the fairways and greens they hit. I could hit it further than them, but I was only occasionally playing b/c I was in college then, about a 12 handicap.

 

One time I strongly suspect Jeff Maggert was hitting directly behind me in the range at a public course; I regret not asking if it was him. He hit everything dead pure, and he asked me if I'm hitting my shots at my true distance. It was a mat driving range though, and I don't know if any PGA Tour pro would stoop to hitting from those and with regular old range balls (maybe though).

[ExTrumpet]

Anybody else conjure up old clips from "Airplane" when you read the thread title?

[imakaveli]

Yes, it was humiliating...

[Liquid]

Me and 3 buddies played in the Shaw Classic Pro-Am (Calgary Alberta) with Maggert. Great guy who put up with our cocktails and joking around all day. I think he missed 2 fairways, but putted poorly and shot 70. The 3 of us all played really well and we won the event. I think Jeff pocketed $500 for the win and then he joined us for a couple beers after. Our good friend that is a member there housed Stadler and he is a great guy as well. The previous year, my buddy was paired with Scott Hoch and he told the organizers "never again" One guy from our group went back this year and caddied for the member and his friend let Daly park on his property. Friday night he had a big BBQ and JD rolled out of the RV with 24 Miller Lites tall cans and a case of Marlboro's. I've seen a few videos of them "singing" at around midnight and when he left there was 3 beer and 4 paks of cigarettes left!! The next morning JD's caddy asked, WTF did you guys do to my man last night, he's a mess? Saturday he shot 67.

[mjtoal]

Played with Robert Garrigus at Del Mar National in San Diego and with Oliver Fisher in a Pro-Am at Wentworth.

 

Robert was a delight to play with and hit a very long ball. Obviously. Oli knocked it around Wentworth West in 67 and could have been lower. Also a nice guy, happy to chat about being a young pro on the European Tour. Before the pro-am was on the range between Martin Kaymer and GMac. They were both watching Alvaro Quiros melting balls miles down the range.

[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.

 

Great to see Lanto get a big win on the Web.com Tour. He has all the talent in the world and keeps grinding to get better. Nice to see his hard work pay off with deserved success.

 

http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/daily-wrapup/2017/07/02/lanto-griffin-wins-nashville-golf-open-playoff.html

[MidwestGolfBum]

Monday after the US Open Berger was hitting balls at my home course. Was told he was incredibly nice then and has been in the past when I've seen/talked to him. He has family in the area that he comes to visit every so often though I think the majority of the guys around my club were more interested in if he had his girlfriend with him.

[Ferguson]

Played in a charity event with Steve Elkington.

A pure swing.

 

Same event, met Pete Sampras. He is a strong golfer.

Played a little tennis too, from what I heard.

[Oliver Klozoff]

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.

 

Lanto has a ton of game. Glad he made it to the big tour. I've never played with him, but have been in some of the same tourneys and he's flat out steamrolled the field.

[Hankshank]

My first home club outside Stockholm had a tremendous Elite junior team at the time, early eighties. I played a few rounds with a guy that went out getting some top-10's on the European tour a few years later. Not the most pleasant experience, a real whiner. One time, shot par and was slamming clubs and swearing, although playing with me and his father. OK, played wonderfully, but that kind of conduct spoiled the experience totally. He was young, but that's no excuse. That's the lasting impression of him.

[Hankshank]

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.

Old post, but I need to comment on that.

It's the other way around. I have been a bogey golfer at around HCP 13 for decades. And i never play better than when I play with really good golfers. Not the round mentioned above, but I have friends that was plus handicappers in their hey days (one a member of our national amateur team), guys that still hits it a mile, chases flagsticks and putts like Crenshaws. And that's just inspiring. I never play as good as when playing with them. That's the beauty of golf. I mean, when you play with a newbie that is all over the place, it's not like he or she is not playing. You cheer the guy on when managing a bogey and so on. Everybody play their game and share the experience of 18 holes of golf in company of others. As simple as that. The only thing bugging me is when people are rude or loose their temper. And good golfers seldom do.

[beckk10]

I WANT TO TELL YOU MY STORY. I NEED 5 LIKES. YOU GUYS WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS.

[AlexanderNevermind]

I was fortunate enough to play with Orville Moody quite a bit while I was in high school (long time ago). He was in between tours and became the pro at my home club. First time I played with him, he played against me and two of my friends low ball. He shot 62, missed one green (by 2 feet) and never broke a sweat. Very underrated ball striker. He never missed the sweet spot. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Very giving, very generous. I never once saw him be rude to anybody.

[jmck]

I WANT TO TELL YOU MY STORY. I NEED 5 LIKES. YOU GUYS WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS.

 

What is this? Some sort of multi-level marketing scam?

[disco111]

Attempted to play in our state open back in the day (early 80's). Got paired with 2 pro's from local courses. In front of us was Gil Morgan and Mark Hayes, in back of us was Doug Touel and Bob Tway.

I mainly just wanted to see if I hit it as far as they did and back then I did. Sadly, it was my first time on tour standard greens. It was a local course that we played many times, but not under those conditions. The greens were running 12-13+. Needless to say it was a long 2 days. I hit 34 of 36 GIR and shot 85/83. I learned the game from an old timer that taught me to putt like Bobby Locke (that pop stroke with no follow through) and it was good for the muni courses I played at, but really bad news for an ice rink. A big thing i took away from just watching these tour players around the green was that they just about 99 out of 100 times flew the ball to the hole and made it stop. Anyway, I got good marks for my ball striking though, but if could have been just a decent putter back then, who knows. .

[MidwestGolfBum]

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.

Old post, but I need to comment on that.

It's the other way around. I have been a bogey golfer at around HCP 13 for decades. And i never play better than when I play with really good golfers. Not the round mentioned above, but I have friends that was plus handicappers in their hey days (one a member of our national amateur team), guys that still hits it a mile, chases flagsticks and putts like Crenshaws. And that's just inspiring. I never play as good as when playing with them. That's the beauty of golf. I mean, when you play with a newbie that is all over the place, it's not like he or she is not playing. You cheer the guy on when managing a bogey and so on. Everybody play their game and share the experience of 18 holes of golf in company of others. As simple as that. The only thing bugging me is when people are rude or loose their temper. And good golfers seldom do.

 

This is a VERY true statement. Playing with somebody who is much better than you are, most players I've seen tend to step up to the challenge and play quite well. Playing in ProAms with Web, PGA, and Champions guys, it's amazing the number of guys who i've seen come out and shoot 4-5 under their handicap in that setting. I don't know that I've ever left playing with a much better player than myself thinking that because they are better than me, I should quit. There's always a different situation for everybody, but I know I have come very much to terms with the fact that I'm, in the grand scheme of things, really not that good even as a low single to scratch golfer.

[DRotella93]

Didn't play with...but Jason Dufner was college roommates with one of the guys at my club when I was in high school. There were about 50 of us following them play. Absolutely insane playing, he shot 64 without batting an eye. Didn't get close enough to say anything.

[OldTomMorris]

Didn't play with... but done a little bit caddying in the past and seen quite a few European Tour players up close including one who played the Ryder Cup he has a career high OWGR of No. 31.

 

The ball coming of the club face is insane and strike sounds crisp and solid.

 

The guy I was caddying for who is a very good player but the thing I noticed most was they were slightly (or more than slightly) better in every department. Up to 10 yards plus longer off the tee, when my guy hits a good shot to 15 feet they hit it inside 10 feet, if my guy got up and down 3/5 they did 4/5 or 5/5, 27 putts instead of 28 or 29 and over the course of 18 holes then ultimately 72 holes it makes a huge difference.

[superduperman]

Grew up playing with/around and getting comfortably beaten by Jason Day. He was that good as a kid he won everything. Got the tail end of Adam Scott/Steven Bowditch as well. Played with Bowditch a few times, he is a dead set madman. There were some seriously good stories about his antics as a young bloke.

[lowheel]

I WANT TO TELL YOU MY STORY. I NEED 5 LIKES. YOU GUYS WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS.

 

[jmck]

[BNGL]

Yes quite a few, and have some stories but one of the more recent ones was with Rob Oppenheim. I was playing a mini tour event in Orlando at West Orange CC. I just 68 feeling pretty good, Opp signs for 62 or 63 in the group behind me. I know he's a great player, and he really is! He is also a phenomenal person one of the nicest most knowledgeable people that you could ever meet in the world of golf, but part of me was like he won't do that tomorrow and I can catch him. We play together the next day, and he shoots 62 to my 68. He was extremely complimentary and called me the "best wedge player he had ever seen" as a couple times I had to punch out on par 4s and laid up on par 5s. But I left that day going wow...I played great pairs of 68s finished second cashed a decent check...and I got waxed by double digits. That day made me look for a different career.