Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

August 18, 2004

Don’t laugh too hard

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 5:34 pm

Children, a swing like this:

swing (233K)

will cause a slice.

Wow. I’ve had trouble with the old “athletic stance” and leaving too much weight on the balls of my feet. Looks like I overcorrected! One of my regular partners took this one day on the sixth tee. As you can tell by the sky, we begin early. If I remember correctly, I hit a nice pull draw with that 2-iron, actually.

If I were Tiger I could use the excuse that the sound of the camera caused this poor stroke!

August 11, 2004

Golf on TV

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 8:54 am

In 1955, as televised golf was in its infancy, Henry Longhurst requested feedback from viewers:

“Again, do we talk too little or too much? For myself, I prefer to err on the side of what Sidney Smith described, in reference to the loquacious Macaulay, as ‘brilliant flashes of silence’.”

Longhurst is known as the standard in golf coverage. But few in this country really pay him heed as they pay him homage. Perhaps it is viewers in the US who are to blame. We hate dead air time, whether it be football, baseball, or golf. Perhaps televised tennis has less voice-over. One network tried the silent treatment years ago, with no commentary at all during an entire NFL game. Once.

British golf commentary has always had a bit of class not shared by the counterpart in the US. Part of it has to do with the educational system these men grew up in, where the Classics were still taught. Their commentary often resorts to references to folks like Macaulay. But there is also the poetic turn of phrase we seldom get from American announcers.

“Hitting each shot before the average American professional would have had time to test the direction of a non-existent wind.”

I like David Feherty for that reason. His humor is simply a plus. Much is made of Gary McCord’s humor, but it really could never compare. Phrasing is everything. McCord would never say, as Feherty did after first watching Tiger, “My flabber has been gasted.”

Jerry Tarde, in an article for Golf Digest, spoke of a relationship between Longhurst and Douglas Bader. It is worth reading. But a couple of points worth mentioning here explain why British announcers are often so much better:

Henry described himself as born to travel first-class but without the price of a ticket. He was a Cambridge man, elected to Parliament in the 1940s, the former German Amateur golf champion, and a very fine writer, but in the way television twists everything, he became best known for his eloquent reporting on golf for the BBC. He was the only golf commentator to work for two American networks at the same time, both ABC and CBS, which was just as inconceivable then as now. And he was one of the great gin drinkers, but I digress.

Eloquence lubricated with gin.

August 9, 2004

Golf Psychology

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 6:33 pm

Several years ago, in a tournament at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas, I was playing in about the third flight. We were all playing to win, but enjoying ourselves in the process. We followed right behind a group in the first flight. There were some very good golfers at the club, which boasted Andrew Magee, Scott Verplank, and Brian Watts as alumni from the junior program. Two of the players in the group ahead of us had played in the mini-tours some years before.

As we sat back waiting to tee off on a par three, we watched as the good players finished up on the green. The head pro drove by and asked how we were doing, and we all laughed. He knew what that meant. But then something struck me. So I spoke up. “You know, I would really like to play as well as the guys in that group. But, we’re having fun. I don’t think they are.” And they really weren’t. They fretted over putts, and missing a spot on the fairway bothered them. I was always just happy to hit the fairway.

I guess that’s what really separates golf from other sports. You can be bad and still enjoy yourself. And no matter how bad you are, you still (on occasion) hit the perfect shot–the one you truly wanted to hit.

I’ve sunk my share of 40-foot triple-break putts, and I’ve hit the fairway with a tee shot that rolled to a stop 340 yards away. I’ve had a 170-yard 6-iron bounce and roll into the hole for an ace. I’ve hit an 8-iron from the rough that did the same for an eagle. Those things really aren’t commonplace even on the tour. Ben Hogan never had a hole-in-one during tournament play.

Weekend golfers try to improve every time we play. When someone breaks 100 for the first time, or 90, or 80, it is a special event. But at least one time in every round, the average golfer hits that pure shot. And it’s a good feeling. How often does that happen in other sports? Can you really imagine standing at the plate while Randy Johnson throws pitches to you? Could you ever make contact? How about trying to throw a pass with NFL linemen attacking? Chances are you would never succeed. That isn

August 6, 2004

Caddies

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 10:25 am

Jack Whitaker had a good article on caddies I found in searching for one in particular: William Gunn, or “Caddie Willie.” He was one of the interesting characters in this game, who wore all the clothes he owned. He left Edinburgh one winter to return to his Highlands home as he did each year, and was never heard from again.

In high school, I worked many different jobs at Shady Oak Country Club in Fort Worth. On weekends, I got up early and went to the caddie shack, and hauled bags for the rich and famous. Although I never caddied for Ben Hogan, he was a member there, and I did get the chance to see him play from time to time.

I really wasn’t a very good caddie. I was big and strong, and that pretty much described my caddying assets. I remember a very patient man I loved to caddie for, Sid Uberman, who taught me many of the small things about being a good bag handler. Things like where to stand, when to move, how to tend a flag. Mr. Uberman used a 1-iron and carried no woods. But he outdrove everyone he ever played with.

On many days we waited to get called up for a loop. The sign-in list provided selection priority, first in-first out. But some golfers requested certain caddies regularly. I don’t know that any ever considered requesting my services specifically, but I did carry for one or two on a regular basis. As with any job where you deal with the public, there were good customers and bad ones. But we never had the freedom (or nerve) to deal with them like some of the oldtimers.

The Scottish caddies are not without barbed tongue. One American journalist was playing the Old Course one day and hit his drive into a divot. He moved the ball out of the divot before hitting his second shot. His caddie immediately dropped the golf bag, said, “You’ll nae do that here,” and walked back to the clubhouse. And they are very aware of the monetary side of the grand old game. To one member of the R & A who had not tipped quite enough, the caddie said, “Are you sure you can the spare it sir, I’ll no’ miss it.”

I remember getting the call for one man all too frequently. I could have used that last line with him. He loved to bring guests, and have one caddie carry both bags–it was cheaper that way. Of course, the two players always played opposite sides of any fairway, and I would spend the morning walking a good ten miles with two bags (large, tour-style, of course) slung over my shoulders. I think the rate was three bucks for one bag, or five for two. Plus tip. When he had a quarter to spare.

In Panama, the Horoko Golf Course had caddies, and I hired one each time I played. These guys went everywhere barefoot. If you hit a ball into the jungle, they ran in to find it. My feet would have been shredded. It was just another task to them. And they weren’t shy about mentioning the size of the tip!

Caddies are gone. Less than ten percent of the courses in the US now have caddies. That’s too bad. It was a great way for a kid to get out and make a few bucks on his own. But the IRS wanted to intrude because the Feds weren’t getting their cut of that pay, and courses can make more money renting carts. Often, the course pro’s income is derived from cart revenue.

If you’ve never used a caddie, try it when you get the chance. It may cost a few bucks more than riding a cart, but the walk and help you get will be worth it.

July 30, 2004

Balls

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 6:47 am

‘Tis better to have lofted and sliced than never to have lofted at all.

Thus sayeth brother Bernard Darwin.

What he was talking about was a ball known as “the putty,” made by a company named Eclipse. He tried one for a while in lieu of the then-standard gutta percha, or “gutty”, and wasn’t too pleased. The putty was hailed as the cure for a slice, guaranteed to go straight. It usually did. Unfortunately, it never got much altitude. For links courses, that wasn’t a big problem as long as no hazard lay between you and the target. But extricating the putty from a bunker was near impossible.

The search for the perfect ball continues today.

When I first began playing golf, the ball was made of a center core, rubber with some kind of liquid inside, wound with rubber and covered with balata. If you hit them poorly, they smiled back at you. A deep enough gash pretty much ruined the ball. Some manufacturers also used a Surlyn cover, a synthetic rubber developed by DuPont. It suffered abuse a little better, but wasn’t soft enough to get the kind of spin better players want.

Acushnet made a ball called the Titleist. The Acushnet name is often forgotten, but the corporation still manufactures Titleist and Pinnacle golf balls, along with other golf equipment. They were, and still are, considered the top of the line in golf balls. But they no longer wind rubber.

Spalding came up with a different approach to ball manufacture. They created the Top-Flite, a ball with a solid core. It was durable, and had pretty good spin characteristics. If you played a Top-Flite, people thought you were either cheap or a poor golfer. Everyone knew good golfers played Titleist.

Today, all companies makes balls with solid cores. Some have a solid core with a urethane cover, some have a solid core with a thin layer between the core and cover. Some others have a solid core with a second wrap of another material, an outer core, and then a cover. Four layers has become the standard for a premium ball. Each layer provides some special characteristic to enhance a player’s skills. Thin and soft covers and outer layers provide “feel” and spin, and the harder interior provides the compression to get more distance on shots hit harder. Combine those with new driver technology and people hit drives more than 300 yards on a regular basis.

But, you know…Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus could hit the old balata ball with persimmon and drive it 300 yards when they wanted to. The search continues for the perfect ball for the weekend golfer who slices or hooks or tops his shots on a regular basis.

A new ball is a treasure. The cover, painted bright white, gives you a sense of a new beginning every time you open a new sleeve of three. It is shiny. No scuffs or scratches. That will soon change. Golfers cringe when a ball hits a cart path. No, our swings aren’t so perfect that the flight of the ball on the next shot will be greatly affected, but our psyche is. The ball gets dirty and we wipe it off or wash it at the next tee box. But it will never be the same. It becomes a utility player rather than the star. Soon it finds its way into a different pocket of the golf bag, one reserved for those soldiers who’ve done their duty and still have some life remaining, but are no longer the elite. It will serve as a provisional, ready to step up when one of the new guys has gone astray, but will never again start off a tournament round.

Throwing away an old ball is almost a sin.

July 18, 2004

Finally

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 11:31 am

I finally broke 80 on this course. I really don’t understand it. I’ve shot in the 70s on much tougher courses than this one. Maybe it is just an unforgiving course. It is that. I shot 78 even with a triple bogey. And it was a stupid one, the kind I hate. Our #6 has OB on the right, and it is easy to avoid. But I wanted to cut the corner…just a little. And I hit my 1-iron instead of the driver. Yesterday I put my drive right in front of the green, and expected to do the same today. Instead, I hit the ball of the toe and ended up OB. I hit my third into the fairway bunker, left the approach short, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Fortunately I had enough birdies to accomodate the seven.

I keep forgetting to add a link under golf stuff to the site maintained by one of my playing partners. It’s there, now. Dave sits in the front pew of the First Church of Flog. I’m the new guy, so I bat fourth. We meet for services each Sunday morning at O-Dark-Thirty, and are always the first out. Gilbert plays a yellow ball, and when we can see it off the tee, there’s enough light to play. Herman rounds out the foursome.

Anyway, Dave’s site is mostly about the trials and tribulations of an average golfer, whatever that is. He also has some photos of his trip to Thailand and the courses he played while there. He and his wife are building a house there and will move back when he’s ready to retire.

July 17, 2004

Baby Bogey

Filed under: Golf — Bunker @ 7:05 pm

I just got permission to spread the good news:

baby (90K)

I categorized this under “Golf” because I hope he or she will learn the game (if Mom doesn’t mind).

Love and congratulations to Bogey and his lovely wife–the Little Mama!

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