Ed Hoard

Ed Hoard was the probably the guy that we all strived to be like. As a PGA professional, he crafted a resume of accomplishments that will be pretty difficult to duplicate. Ed left his house Monday night to take his dog on its nightly walk.

What Ed didn’t know when he left the house, was that God was going to reach down and take him on well deserved walk of his own. Ed Hoard passed away during that walk, suffering a massive heart attack. His death has left a void in every aspect of golf that this man touched in his 63 years.

Hoard was born in Atlanta, GA. He began playing golf at the Bobby Jones Municipal GC, where he later held the official course record of 63. He played on the University of Florida golf team that won the 1968 SEC and NCAA team championships. He has been active in the Georgia PGA, serving as its president on three occasions.

He was the longtime PGA professional at the Athens CC and was appointed to the PGA of America’s Rules Committee in 1985, serving as chairman from 1995-2001. He served as Rules Chairman for the PGA Championship during his time as chairman. He was the Ryder Cup Match chief referee in 1995, and again in 1999.

Ed Hoard’s additional honors include winning the 1983 Georgia Match Play Championship, Georgia PGA Professional of the Year twice and the Georgia PGA Horton Smith Award five times. He was also the recipient of the PGA National Horton Smith Award in 1996 and was named PGA National Golf Professional of the Year in 1999.

“Ed never tried to create a resume,” said Larry Startzel, PGA Master Professional and longtime friend. “He was Ed and all of the cards just fell in place.”

Hoard has been receiving accolades all week from those that knew him and what he meant to golf. He was a well-rounded golf professional who excelled at whatever he did.

“I don’t know where to start,” said Kerry Haigh, PGA of America Managing Director of Championships. “As the Rules Chairman, he was outstanding. Ed dealt with everybody in a beautiful manner. He was a kind and generous man. He really helped move the Rules Committee forward.”

“Ed had a calm demeanor with the players. They respected him and accepted what he said. He never raised his voice. Ed was a great reader of the greens and I used his expertise to help me identify hole locations. Even when he wasn’t chairman, I asked to have Ed help me look at the greens and support my thoughts,” said Haigh.

Mark Wilson, Co-Chairman of the PGA of America Rules Committee and PGA Master Professional from Watermark CC in Grand Rapids, MI shared the following thoughts about Hoard. “This has been a tough week. The correspondence that I have received from all who knew Ed, demonstrates what a great man he was. He was a real patient teacher of the rules- a deep thinker. He was extremely good with the younger guys and always took the time to explain things really well. He would do anything you asked and clearly led by example.”

Wilson relayed a story involving Hoard at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National GC in Chaska, MN.

“On Saturday morning after torrential rains, we brought the Fire Department in to help pump water off the golf course. Play was delayed. Don Essig and David Price took the front nine. Ed and I took the back nine. We stopped at each hole, checking the greens, tees and landing areas for water. On #16, I was out in the middle of the fairway when I heard this noise. The water was overflowing from the hazard on the left of the hole into Lake Hazeltine. There was a little wooden bridge and the water was moving so fast it swept Ed off the bridge.

“When I looked back he was totally underwater. At first. I didn’t see him and I thought this is how people die. Fortunately, he came up and I helped pull him out. He never lost his hat or his cigarettes! But, his Rules radio is somewhere in the Mississippi River. I told him that it would be ‘our secret’ and to go back to the hotel and change. But, he ran into another rules official’s wife in the lobby with his drenched clothes and the secret was out!”

“In all seriousness, Ed touched so many people. Yesterday, I got a call from John Paramor, Chief Referee of the European Tour. He was in Switzerland and had heard the news. John said he ‘was gutted’ when he heard about Ed’s passing,” explained Wilson.

David Price, PGA professional from Bent Tree CC in Dallas, is the Co-Chairman of the PGA Rules Committee and he had similar thoughts on Hoard. “My very first impression of Ed was in 1987 when I worked my first PGA Championship. He was quoting the Rules of Golf off the top of his head. I was so impressed. He always treated everybody the same. Ed was just a big, ole bear who made everybody feel welcome.”

“We kidded Ed a lot at the PGA Championship this year about the bridge on #16. We were going to have a bridge ceremony and didn’t get it done, so we talked about doing it at the 2016 Ryder Cup. Everybody on the Rules Committee got on it. But, he was always a big helper. We used his playing expertise to help with course set-ups. Ed was always very fair and looked at things logically- not how hard can we make it,” said Price.

Certainly, the Georgia PGA was taking the loss of Hoard in a hard way. Ray Cutright, PGA District 13 Director from the Idle Hour GC in Macon said, “He’s been around forever. Ed was just a dry, funny guy who was a hero to a lot of people here. I never carried a rule book, I just called Ed. He moved our Section along in the mid-80’s. He never took credit for anything. As decorated as he was, Ed was just one of the guys. That was the example that he set. He was never too busy to talk to anyone.”

“Ed and Kathy (Hoard’s wife) had no kids, so he had to find some other energy. He did that,” recalled Startzel. “He had no problem being one of the guys after he was the Rules Chairman. That isn’t easy for some, but it was no problem for Ed. He was a true Southern gentleman. He had zero ego and was just a regular guy.”

“We will all miss Ed,” said Haigh. “Kathy is truly a charming lady. She didn’t know anything about the Rules of Golf, but Ed always took the time to look after her when she came to the tournaments.”

“The first call that I had on Tuesday was from Kathy,” said Haigh. “She told me that Ed had passed away and she was calling so I could re-assign his rules responsibilities for the rest of the year.”

That would be the Hoard way of doing things.

When it comes to majors, 2009 proves to be dramatic year

CHASKA, Minn. Storylines abound from the exciting finish of the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Sunday.
There is no question that Y.E. Yang’s victory, the first major golf championship won by an Asian-born man, is the most historical accomplishment of this season or any other in a while.
The South Korean chased down Tiger Woods, the most dominant player in modern golf. It was the first time in 15 tries that Woods had led a major after 54 holes and lost.
Yang was emotional in victory. He cried when the subject was raised about his victory being the first of its kind by an Asian-born player.
I stood 3 feet from him in the Hazeltine clubhouse during the champagne toast to the champion. It was clear that he realized the magnitude of his victory and what it might mean in Korea.
Maybe John Kim of Turner Sports said it best.
“Se Ri Pak won the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998. Look at the impact that had on the number of Korean players on the LPGA Tour today. People thought that Tiger Woods winning a major would do the same for the PGA Tour, yet he is still the only African-American on the Tour.”
Yang’s viewpoint of what his win might mean was this:
“I hope this win would be, if not as significant, something quite parallel to an impact both to golf in Korea as well as golf in Asia so that all young golfers, across Asia, would build their dreams and expand their horizons.”
Interestingly, when informed through his interpreter that he was the first man in golf to take down Woods when leading a major after 54 holes, Yang stood emotionless. No reaction.
“I saw a lot of players fold when they would play with him, so I would watch on TV and come up with a mock strategy on how to win,” Yang said. “When my chance came, I thought that I could always play a good round of golf, and Tiger, who is great, could always have a bad day.”
A couple of things come to mind. Does Yang’s inability to communicate well in English place him in a vacuum when competing on a stage such as Sunday’s at Hazeltine? Are the galleries, which were openly partial to Woods, a non-factor to someone who understands little English?
An official with the Yang-Woods group indicated that someone in the gallery projected a loud cough in the middle of Yang’s backswing on his second shot into hole No. 18. Yang’s mental discipline didn’t allow it to be a distraction.
And what about Woods? Is he now exposed? Is there a crack in the armor?
This is the first calendar year since 2004 that he has failed to win a major. Despite missing the cut in the British Open, he finished tied for sixth in the Masters and U.S. Open before Sunday’s runner-up finish in the PGA. Not a bad year, but even Woods proved that he can be human when being the pursuer.
Interestingly enough, Hazeltine will be gassing its greens and redoing the putting surfaces this summer as it prepares for the 2016 Ryder Cup.
The greens are overrun with poa annua, an annual bluegrass that produces an irregular putting surface. As I stood on the 18th green for Sunday’s awards presentation, I could not help but notice the high concentration of poa annua in the greens.
Woods had difficulty making putts Sunday. Many players experienced the same problem all week. Steve Hulka caddies for English-man Brian Davis, and he told me, “You could read the putt, hit it perfectly, and the ball would do something different.”
Despite the putting surfaces, Woods hit uncharacteristic shots into the 15th, 16th and 18th greens, leaving him with no real good birdie opportunities. He hit a great shot at the flag on the 17th, but it landed over the green.
For the first time ever, Woods looked mortal. He was trailing Yang, and he was now the one who looked to be forcing things.
It was strange to see Woods out of control.
I was positioned a few feet off the back of the 18th green when Yang hit his second shot. He had to carry the ball out of the rough and over some large trees to a flag 204 yards away. Yang used a hybrid club, and as soon as the ball landed on the green, you knew it was one of golf’s great shots.
This year has produced arguably the most exciting collection of major championships to date — the three-way playoff at the Masters; the rain and Lucas Glover outlasting Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open; and then Tom Watson falling just shy of being the oldest player to ever win a major at the British Open. Yang outdueling Woods at the PGA was a fitting finale to 2009.
For the 37-year-old Yang, the impact of his victory will resonate on the other side of our world. At the same time, he once again proved why nothing is a sure bet in sports.
And for Woods? Now that he has lost a few, he will be revered more than ever by America’s golfing public. We embrace our heroes. We hurry to tear them down and then rush to their side when they prove their vulnerability.
All in all, it has been one of golf’s best 12-month runs dating back to the U.S. victory at the Ryder Cup in September. It will be difficult to top 2009.

Photo Caption: CHASKA, Minn.
Storylines abound from the exciting finish of the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club on Sunday.

Award winner great start to tournament

CHASKA, Minn.

The PGA Championship has been labeled as "Glory's Last Shot" because it is the final major championship of the season.
Legacies, Ryder Cup spots and many other things are at stake. It is the proudest moment of the year for the PGA's 28,000 members and apprentices.
The PGA Distinguished Service Award ceremony takes place each Wednesday evening of championship week. Inaugurated in 1988, the award honors individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf.
Previous award winners include Bob Hope, Gerald Ford, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Patty Berg, George H.W. Bush and Jack Nicklaus, to name a few.
William Powell was presented with the 2009 PGA Distinguished Service Award, and this has been the highlight of the championship week for me. Unless the 2009 champion holes his second shot on the 72nd hole for a one-stroke victory, Powell probably will leave the longest lasting impression on many who attend the 91st PGA Championship.
Powell is a 92-year-old black man, and his story in golf is worth telling. He grew up in Minerva, Ohio, near Akron. He discovered a love of golf at age 9 by playing and caddying at Edgewater Golf Course. As his own game developed, Powell became a multisport athlete at Minerva High School.
He led his football team to an undefeated season, outscoring opponents by a 332-0 margin. Powell and his friends formed a high school golf team, and Bill was asked by his athletics director to serve as captain and coach. Powell even scheduled his team's matches.
Some of the most profound advice Powell received as a youngster came at age 12, when during a fire drill his principal randomly said, "Billy, you know you are a little colored boy, and you have to realize that you can't do things just as good as a white boy. You have to do them better."
He applied that wisdom to his life after high school. He attended Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, where in 1937 the school's golf team traveled to face Northern Ohio University in the first interracial collegiate golf match in U.S. history.
Powell met Marcella Oliver, the love of his life, in 1939, and the couple married a year later. In 1942, he began a four-year stint in the U.S. Army and reached the rank of technical sergeant. While stationed in England and Scotland, Powell enjoyed the opportunity to play some of the world's finest courses, something he would be denied upon returning to the United States.
When he came home, most clubhouse doors were not open to him. Powell then decided it was up to him to create a pathway to the course on his own. In September 1946, having been denied a G.I. loan by banks that claimed ignorance of the program, Powell received the financial backing of two black physicians and began building a public golf course, which he named Clearview.
He was able to open nine holes in 1948. Powell built the course by hand. He walk-seeded every acre of the course. He converted a Model A car into a tractor to help mow fairways. Hunters would use Clearview for target practice while Powell cleared the land. As late as 1999, a shooter left a hole in a water container on the front nine. Passing motorists periodically still yell racial slurs as golfers play the course.
For 23 years, Powell worked 18 hours a day as a security guard and golf course operator. In 1978, he expanded Clearview into an 18-hole golf course. Marcella loyally worked by his side until she died a few years ago. His son, Larry, is a 36-year member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association and serves Clearview in that capacity.
Today, Clearview is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and "America's course," as Powell once said, "is a course where the only color that matters is the color of the greens."
Powell's pioneering efforts have been carried on by his daughter, Renee, who was the 2003 PGA First Lady of Golf and a PGA/LPGA professional. She was the second black woman to compete on the LPGA Tour, following tennis great Althea Gibson.
"It was his will to not allow things to hold him down," Renee said of her father. "If you continue to always ponder on the negative, you can never get anything positive done."
In 1996, Bill Powell was inducted into the National Black Hall of Fame; and in 1997, he was presented honorary PGA membership by the Northern Ohio PGA Section.
In 1999, his PGA membership was made retroactive to Jan. 1, 1962, by the PGA of America, thus making Powell a long overdue PGA life member. He had been excluded as a member because of the PGA's whites-only membership clause that existed before 1961.
Powell was honored Wednesday night by the PGA in front of a packed house in a downtown Minneapolis auditorium.
Big names in attendance were led by NFL greats Franco Harris, Alan Page and Carl Eller. Tubby Smith, University of Minnesota basketball coach, also was on hand. Letters of recognition were presented from several, including President Barack Obama.
Powell was helped to the stage, where he read a compelling account of his life story to a silent, spellbound and emotionally charged crowd. Powell's own account of his life and the obstacles that he faced might rate as one of his finest accomplishments. That is saying a lot given the magnitude of this man's life.
After the ceremony concluded, I had the opportunity to congratulate Powell and shake his hand. I couldn't help but notice the softness of his skin. Most golf pros have callused hands, but the softness of Powell's hands matched that of his heart.
Here was a proud man with a gentle smile who overcame so much. He is a man whose family dedicated their lives to his dream and yet left their own separate marks on golf. For Bill Powell there is no bitterness. No hard feelings; just appreciation on his part for the opportunity to fulfill his dreams.
Powell is indeed a special man and the first champion of the 2009 PGA Championship.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America.

Beem ready to face longer course than in 2002 PGA

CHASKA, Minn.

Hazeltine National Golf Club is a storied venue for major championships.
Before this week's PGA Championship, the club has hosted six major championships. The most recent was the 2002 PGA Championship, won by Rich Beem. It also will serve as host to the 2016 Ryder Cup.
I had the pleasure of sitting with Beem at Tuesday night's past champions dinner. In 2002, he had a five-shot lead with four holes to play and held off a hard-charging Tiger Woods, who finished with four straight birdies.
"It was crazy," Beem said. "I was up by four with five to go, and Tiger went crazy down the stretch with those four birdies. I was able to bogey number 18 and win by a shot."
Beem is typical in some ways of recent major championship winners like Ben Curtis, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton and Mark Brooks, who leave their legacy as winners of golf's most prestigious prizes, rather than like Bob Mays and Chris DiMarco, who had near misses in majors.
Beem is an interesting character. He grew up near Las Cruces, N.M., and attended New Mexico State University on a golf scholarship. According to Beem, he really wasn't recruited by anybody else, and the local university was his best choice.
His father was a pharmacist who decided to make a career change and become a PGA professional.
"That probably was not a smart move," Beem said with a laugh. "But he loved golf, and he is now a life member of the PGA. My dad influenced my career more than anyone."
When asked to compare the Hazeltine of 2009 to that of the venue where he won in 2002, the answer was pretty simple.
"It's about 400 yards longer," Beem said, "and I am seven years older."
Much already has been written about Hazeltine's length for this championship. There are four par-5 holes which average 613 yards in length. This tournament features the longest par-5 in the history of the PGA Championship, No. 15, which is 642 yards long.
If that is not enough, throw in No. 13, a 248-yard par-3 and the longest of its kind in PGA Championship history. Sand-wiched in between is No. 14, a 352-yard par-4 that can be adjusted to see its green driven with a forward tee placement.
Kerry Haigh, director of championships for the PGA of America, has many tricks available this week.
The weather forecast is for temperatures in the low 90s by week's end, with winds in excess of 20 mph. Conditions should get hard and fast, which will minimize the 7,674 yards ahead of the best field in golf.
To date, 98 of the top 100 players in the world are competing at Hazeltine. Only Trevor Immelman and Robert Karlsson will miss due to injury.
Practice round crowds have been fantastic, with more than 25,000 in attendance each of the first two days. Minneapolis traditionally has been one of golf's strongest markets, and expectations are high for record weekend crowds.
Studies have shown that 27 percent of the households in the Twin Cities metro area have a golf presence. That is a phenomenal number.
The official hotel of the PGA of America is the Sofitel, about 30 minutes from the golf course. Many of the players are staying there.
Private housing is another option during the week of a major. Beem said, "I usually stay at a hotel for the affordability, but this week was an exception."
One of Beem's perks for winning the 2002 PGA was receiving a lifetime membership presented to him by the members of Hazeltine in 2003. His relationship with the club has grown, and it now includes an annual interclub match between the El Paso Country Club, Beem's home club in Texas, and Hazeltine, his new club.
"That has been a blast," he said. "I hand-picked my team from El Paso, so I didn't bring any guys from El Paso that would embarrass me."
Beem shot 10-under par when he won at Hazeltine in 2002. When asked for a prediction on this year's winning score, he replied, "I think it will be in the same ballpark. Things will dry out here, and guys will still post some scores even with the length of the course. The rough is gnarly in spots but manageable in others."
Beem is paired in rounds 1 and 2 with Padraig Harrington, the defending champion, and Tiger Woods. At the champions dinner, he offered his two challengers a warning.
"I want you guys to know that I have a lot of friends here now," he said. "The crowd will be really pulling for me. I hope it doesn't distract you."
Privately, Beem confided to me, "I would much rather be playing with Tiger than in front of him."
So, let the games begin.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America.

Tiger talks of recovery, behavior, Olympics

"This is the best field we play against. It's the deepest field that we have. You beat this field, and you have beaten the best in all of golf."

Those words were spoken by Tiger Woods during a news conference Tuesday at the PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis.
Woods always is the center of attention at any PGA Tour event, most certainly at any of the four major championships. He comes to Hazeltine with back-to-back victories and is the favorite to win his 15th major championship.
With last week's win at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, Woods earned his 70th professional title and trails only Sam Snead (82) and Kathy Whitworth (88) in the total wins column.
His performance in the three majors this year has been less than what we have come to expect from Tiger. Last month, he even missed his second career cut in a major championship at the British Open. Has he been relaxed in the majors this year?
"I wasn't at The Masters. I had been gone for a long time," Woods said. "As the summer has gone by,
I have gotten more and more comfortable.
"Early in the year, I didn't want to hurt my knee. I tried to let it heal properly and rely on other parts of my game, like my chipping and putting. Recently, I have practiced better because I haven't had to worry about the knee.
"A year ago in August, I was on crutches, and no one could ever imagine me having a year like this. I don't think anybody thought that I could win this many events this year," said Woods, a five-time winner in 2009.
Woods was free with opinions on other subjects.
When asked about the possibility of golf in the 2016 Olympics, he said, "Golf is truly a global sport. It would be great for golf. If I am not retired, I might play."
Regarding his well-noted on-course behavior, specifically swearing and club pounding, he said, "It is what it is. I don't mean to. I am trying to get better. It happens from time to time. I just have to keep working on it."
His fist-pumps and high-fives are legendary. Of them he said: "I do get excited and my emotions do come out. You don't plan it. It happens in the heat of the moment. It's high density and, yeah, I get excited."
"I didn't realize how stupid it looks. When I watched the replay of the putt I holed against Rocco (Mediate) to get in the playoff at the (U.S.) Open, I felt pretty stupid," Woods said with a grin.
He also weighed in on Hazeltine and its record length, 7,647 yards.
"It's a pretty long course," Woods said. "I roasted a driver on number 12 (a 518-yard par-4) and then hit a full three-iron."
Woods will take today off because he has played three straight weeks. He cited his rigorous training regime as key during stretches like this.
When asked who was a better player, the dominant Tiger Woods of 2000 or today's Tiger, the response was immediate.
"I like me now," he said. "I know how to manage my game around the golf course better than I did nine years ago. Those years of experience have helped me to understand how to play the game better. I will probably say the same thing nine years from now."
This is a busy week for me. My official PGA duties are nonstop from dawn to dark.
Monday night I attended a surprise birthday party hosted by Corey Pavin, 2010 Ryder Cup captain, for his wife, Lisa. In attendance were Jim Nantz of CBS and tour players Zach Johnson, Paul Goydos, Cameron Beckman, Ben Crane and Pat Perez.
Tuesday night was the Past Champions Dinner hosted by Padraig Harrington, defending PGA Champion. The menu was Irish stew and salmon, with Irish whiskey as dessert. This is always a highlight of the week.
We have a dinner Thursday night hosted by CBS, our media partner, which features all of the network's talent and the PGA officers.
Saturday afternoon, I will announce the final five groups to tee off of on hole No. 1. This will be aired on CBS. Sunday, I will be on the 18th green for the Wanamaker Trophy presentation.
It should be a memorable week, and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America.

Golfer, family mending emotionally, starting to ease way back into game

About 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the night after the Beth Smith Memorial Golf Tournament, I wanted to give Chris Smith a call to let him know what the preliminary numbers looked like for the fundraiser that we conducted at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin.

A few minutes after leaving a voice mail on his cell phone, I got a call back from Chris.
"Sorry I missed your call. I just finished my fifth load of laundry, and I was upstairs in Abigail's room when the phone rang. I still have a lot more laundry to do," he said with a laugh.
Two months ago, Chris Smith would not have figured he would be at home doing laundry on a Saturday night in early August. Chris' wife, Beth, tragically lost her life in a Father's Day auto accident, and their children, Abigail and Cameron, were critically injured.
The primary purpose of Friday's golf tournament was to raise money and help the Smith family resume some semblance of a normal life.
Smith has been forced to set his career as a professional golfer aside. He now is a single parent without a job raising two kids who have a long recovery ahead.
Preliminary indications are that the first Beth Smith Memorial Tournament raised about $150,000 for Smith and his kids. The success of this event can be attributed to the 288 players who participated and the efforts of many around the United States.
"There is no way I can express how I feel. This whole thing has been remarkable. It's been incredible and extraordinary," Chris Smith said. "The support from so many people here in Indiana and from around the country has been overwhelming.
"Just to get back out on the golf course and laugh, to resume some type of normalcy in our lives, was what (Friday) meant to Abigail, Cameron and myself," Smith added. "Driving golf carts and seeing so many people. I tried to say it Friday night, but the support of the entire golf community has been unbelievable. I wish there was some way to thank every single person who was involved."
Smith started playing professionally at the tour level in 1995. Since that time, he has had full-time status on the PGA Tour nine times. Smith won the Buick Classic in 2002 at the Westchester Country Club in New York. The past two years he has played on the Nationwide Tour after seeing his status on the PGA Tour be conditional.
"The past couple of years, I have felt like I was in golf's no man's land," he said. "I had made a lot of friends on the PGA Tour, and that is what I thought I would always be doing. All of a sudden, I am playing on the Nationwide Tour with a lot of younger kids and foreign players who I really don't know.
"My friends were on the PGA Tour. I lost touch with a lot of them, and sometimes I felt like I was a forgotten person. Then (Beth's accident) happens, and you find out how many friends you really have. Everybody has reached out, and it's been unbelievable.
"The letters and handwritten notes that I have received are what has gotten me through this. About a week after the accident, Tom Watson sent me a full-page handwritten letter. We had worked some clinics together, but I never expected that kind of support from people like Tom."
Smith has not watched golf since June 21.
"I have not watched golf one time," he said. "I have pulled up some scores on the Internet to see how some of my friends are playing. Positively, that will change this week with the PGA Championship. The PGA and the British Open are my two favorite tournaments, and I love Hazeltine Golf Club.
"The PGA Championship always has the strongest field. It is the best course setup we play all year. The tournament is always at great venues, and the PGA runs the best events in professional golf. The players and their families really love the PGA Championship."
I could feel the spark in Chris' voice as he talked about golf. Asked when he might start playing again? At least, there is now light at the end of the tunnel.
"The kids want me to play again. I definitely want to, but there is no way that will happen before next summer," Smith predicted.
"Abigail and Cameron face obstacles physically and emotionally. I need to be here. If they have a good school year, then the three of us will load up and I will play in three to five tournaments next summer and see how it goes. Hopefully, I will play a lot in 2011 before Abigail goes to college."
When he does head back out, Smith will be granted a full-time medical exemption from the Nationwide Tour and will have conditional status on the PGA Tour as a former winner and veteran player.
Once the kids start back to school, Smith plans to spend at least an hour a day working on his game.
"That's my goal," he said. "Hitting balls and practicing frees up my mind. I look forward to playing in the Wednesday men's club (at Rock Hollow Golf Course in Peru, Ind.). It will be good to get back on the course."
The Smith kids are a chip off the old block when it comes to golf.
"The three of us actually went out on the course (Saturday night). Abigail drove the cart right up next to the green so Cameron could chip and putt," Smith said.
Friday's event was the first Beth Smith Memorial Tournament. What does that mean for next year?
"I would like to see this thing keep going," Chris Smith said. "Now that we are back on our feet as a family, I would like to help some people that helped us. The children's burn unit at the hospital was great, and that would be one example.
"(Tour player) Jay Delsing left me a message during the tournament on Friday, and he said, 'You have to do that again next year.' He wants to be here, and I think some of the Tour players would be happy to help out."
Another week lies ahead for Chris, Abigail and Cameron. Maybe this one will offer a few more opportunities to laugh.
It sounds like golf will be easing its way back into their lives. And while things will never be normal in the true sense of the word for this family, there has to be some strength gained over the past few weeks knowing that the entire golf community was there to help.
And help it did, in more ways than you can imagine.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for the PGA of America.

First 'real hit' hooks Colts player on golf

Melvin Bullitt came to the Indianapolis Colts two years ago as an undrafted free agent from Texas A&M.

In 2008, his second NFL season, he started 12 games and led the team in interceptions, including three game-saving picks in the final seconds to seal Colts victories. He also has been a stalwart on special teams.
Before the Indiana PGA's Play Golf America Day on May 29, Bullitt had been to a golf course only once. On his trip to The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin, he had no expectations of becoming a golfer.
"The Colts asked me to come, so I did. I wasn't really interested in golf until I had the experience of a real hit that day," Bullitt said.
That real hit - an ironic phrase from one of the Colts' hardest hitters - was the hook that was going to change his summer. After two hours of instruction on that day in May, he was bitten by the golf bug.
"I am real athletic, and I didn't respect the athleticism that goes into golf," Bullitt said.
Over the next three weeks, Bullitt and I got together for several golf lessons. During this time, he bought stylish new golf clothes and started using a new set of clubs. He became an avid viewer of the Golf Channel. It was apparent that he was becoming a student of the game.
It was not uncommon for me to get a text from Bullitt regarding the PGA Tour event that was being played or some other programming that was being aired on the Golf Channel. Once, he even let me know that he was watching Michele Wie in an LPGA tournament.
This might sound like strange behavior to the non-golfer, but for those of us who know the sport, this was the evolution of a golfer.
Bullitt will tell you that football and golf have some things in
common.
"In some ways they are really similar. You have to be patient because everything doesn't go your way," he said. "You can't overdo it. You don't force it.
"When I started hitting golf balls, I thought it was all about the arms. I learned that I wasn't utilizing all of my power and that I needed to use my hips and legs. It is like making a tackle; even though you use your arms, the power is in the legs."
Bullitt continued to work hard. He hit a lot of balls. When he played, the scores were high.
"The first time I played this summer, I shot 81 for nine holes. Making consistent contact with the ball was hard," he said with a laugh. "But the more I worked on it, I hit it every time. I started to get precise and began to figure things out like how to open or close the club face to control my distance."
As the summer rolled by, it was time for Bullitt to head to his hometown of Dallas. It was there that he continued his golf with Ronny Glanton, PGA professional at Sherrill Park Golf Course.
"He is very motivated and a great listener," Glanton said of Bullitt. "He is highly competitive and expects to get better.
"Most importantly, Melvin is an unbelievable person. What he does with his local football program is amazing. He donates his time, teaching drills and techniques to kids. He just gives back. His dad instilled a lot of moral character in him. Melvin is a class act."
Bullitt started getting better on the course. His low score to date is 47 for nine holes. He lists his first-ever birdie as his biggest thrill.
"It was Hole 9 at Woodbridge Golf Club in Wylie, Texas. It is a par 4, and we played from the blue tees, about 450 yards, and I made a 20-yard putt."
Spoken like a true football player - yards, not feet.
Bullitt will be the first to tell you that his time with the PGA professionals was valuable.
"Patience is the key to golf, and they taught me that," he said. "The other thing that I learned is that you have to be well-conditioned to play golf. My swing changes after 11 or 12 holes when I get physically tired.
"I have a hard time maintaining my concentration. Golf is helping me learn to focus. I think the things that I have learned from golf in regard to focusing will help me study my playbook better.
"Getting ready to hit a shot in golf is like preparing for the next play in football. I should be better with my concentration."
Like all golf fans, Bullitt has a favorite player.
"Of course, it's Tiger," he said. "But there's a new cat out there. They call him Spider-man. He's ripped. I don't know much about him yet, but I like watching him."
He was speaking of Camilo Villegas.
What does Bullitt expect long term from golf?
"This sounds crazy, but eventually seven or eight years from now, when I am done playing, I want to be a full-time pro. It will be my number one sport," Bullitt said.
"I would encourage all kids to give it a shot. I promise you, golf is something you will enjoy. Many minority kids need the opportunity to experience golf. You never know what might happen to a kid who gets a chance to play golf."
This weekend Bullitt joins his Colts teammates at training camp. He will be hanging up the clubs and shifting his attention to his current No. 1 game, football.
"I am excited for the season to start. We control our own destiny. We have a lot of talent, and I am really looking forward to playing for coach (Jim) Caldwell," he said. "There is going to be a lot of moving around on defense and a new special-teams coach. I'm ready."
Bullitt again will be listed behind All-Pro safety Bob Sanders on the Colts' depth chart.
"He is still my mentor," Bullitt said. "Bob and Antoine (Bethea) are the best safeties in the league. I just have to be ready to play. I know I will get my chances."
And the golf clubs?
"Yep, the golf clubs get put away until early February when we hopefully finish our business. As soon as we take care of that, I can't think of a better way to celebrate than with a round of golf," Bullitt said.
Bullitt wears No. 33 on the field. Want to make a bet when he shoots his number on the golf course? It's not if, just a matter of when.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America.

Watson gracious runner-up, even during flight

Here are a few final observations on last week's British Open golf championship:

On my trip home Monday, I spent time with Andy North, ABC golf analyst, at the airport in Glasgow, Scotland. North and Tom Watson are the same age, 59. They competed for many years on the PGA Tour and are close friends.
North, who is a two-time U.S. Open champion, said of his buddy Watson:
"He hit a perfect iron shot on 18. It's 182 yards to the flag, and he hits an eight iron. If he miss-hits the shot at all, he wins the Open. He played spectacularly all week; and in the end, he handled it well. But he always has."
When I got on the plane to London, I found myself seated two rows behind Watson, his wife, Hillary, and North.
During the flight, an autograph seeker brought one of the British tabloids for Watson to sign. This started the onslaught.
Another English girl approached him. Then it was a middle-aged man. He was followed by three older Asian men. Finally, the flight attendant asked Watson if he objected to the interruptions.
"No, that's all right," Watson said with a smile.
Again it was apparent why this man is the beloved golf legend that he is.
I mentioned last week that I ran into Jim Nantz from CBS last week on the course at Turnberry.
He indicated that he was leaving the tournament Sunday. When I saw part of the final round on the BBC television network, I was surprised to see Nantz doing some commentary in the booth.
We exchanged e-mails this week, and he said, "I wasn't going to miss that round even if it meant I had to elbow my way into the BBC broadcast booth and work for free."
Golf fans will be interested to know that the 2010 British Open championship, the 150th in golf history, will be at St. Andrews Golf Club, where golf originated.
ESPN will televise the event, and coverage will begin at 5 a.m. the first two days running through the final putt being holed in the first two rounds.
The network will provide full weekend coverage for the final two rounds. All shots from start to finish will be aired on ESPN.
The PGA Championship will be golf's final major of the season. It will be Aug. 13 to 16 at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
The past few years, the PGA Championship has provided the most exciting finishes of the season. It's hard to believe that it could get much better than The Masters or the British Open.
I found myself in the United Airlines Red Carpet room on Monday between flights from London to Chicago. As luck would have it, I was in the same area with a bunch of national writers, and Rick Reilly from Sports Illustrated was holding court.
"Do you guys realize that the biggest stories at golf's two majors this year have been the losers?" Reilly asked.
Losers? Well, that might be a relative term.
Memorial tournament
I am happy to report that the response for the Beth Smith memorial tournament Aug. 7 at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course has been phenomenal.
Beth was the wife of PGA Tour player Chris Smith from Peru. She was killed in an automobile accident on Fathers Day. Chris' kids, Abigail and Cameron, are out of the hospital and starting their long recovery.
The outpouring of support for the Smiths has been off the charts. The afternoon shotgun is full with 216 players. A morning shotgun has been scheduled as well.
Those who play in the morning will be treated to a "free" tournament on the par-3 course in the afternoon, which will be a good reason to stick around for dinner. Players will enjoy lunch and dinner.
One of the highlights of the day will be the auction of memorabilia donated by sports and entertainment icons. The PGA Tour has lent its support for the event as well. Mac Fritz, co-organizer of the event, has arranged rounds of golf with Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker, John Cook, Jerry Kelly and Nick Price.
Fritz has gotten signed clubs from Stricker, Camilo Villegas, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Hunter Mahan and Vijay Singh. There are rounds of golf at some of the nation's legendary courses. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrignton and Jim Furyk all have donated signed flags from winning tournaments.
Colts players have donated jerseys. Kenny G and Kenny Chesney have supported the event with some unbelievable items.
Others to participate are Nantz, Nick Faldo, Alan Jackson, Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic of ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning," Martina McBride and music group Alabama.
Finally, the St. Louis Cardinals are donating signed jerseys from Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa. Each comes with four premium tickets and an on-field experience that includes dugout access prior to the game and field access during batting practice.
There are more than 100 auction items available.
Dinner tickets are available for $50, which gives you access to the auction. For more information on dinner or playing in the tournament, contact me at tblegends@aol.com or call 736-8939.
All proceeds go directly to Smith and his kids, Abigail and Cameron.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course and secretary for PGA of America.

Old Tom took game to brink of history

Sunday broke with the hope of history. The debate already was starting. Should Tom Watson win the 149th Open Champ-ionship, where would this settle in the annals of competitive sport?

The BBC commentators were quite open. Even given the fact that two Englishmen, Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher, were nipping at the old man’s heels, Watson would be the crowd favorite. You see, the British appreciate an American who relishes their sacred competitions.
Over the years in golf, many of the greats never made the event a frequent stop. Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson avoided the British Open with regularity.
Talk to the Brits and they will tell you that it wasn’t until 1970 when American players started making the summer trip across the pond, and they credit Arnold Palmer as being the captain of that eastbound ship.
In the mid-70s, along came Tom Watson. The Kansas City, Mo., native and Stanford graduate soon found links golf to his liking.
Needless to say, if I would have told you last week that a Stanford grad with the initials “T.W.” would be leading the Open heading to the 72nd hole, you would have guessed Tiger Woods and not Watson.
Prior to Watson’s 2:20 p.m. tee time, I attended a private luncheon with R&A officials. My host was Gordon Jeffries, and I asked him what in sports would compare with a Watson victory.
“I suppose if Bjorn Borg came out of retirement and won Wimbledon again with a wooden racket, that might compare,” Jeffries answered.
Those of us who work in golf or play the game know the cruelty the sport can sometimes bring. It
reared its ugly head in the final two holes at Augusta this year when it appeared Kenny Perry would be the oldest winner of a major championship.
Today after Watson birdied the 17th hole, it appeared the improbable championship was in his grasp. And when he hit a perfect tee shot safely into the fairway at 18, there was little doubt.
“Oh, Thomas, Thomas, Thomas,” Peter Alliss sighed. “You are proving that miracles do happen. Fairy tales come true. This is something we thought we would never see. Tom Watson, the great champion, some forty-odd days away from his 60th birthday with a chance to win his sixth Open championship.”
Then, as happens in golf, Watson struck what appeared to be a perfect 8-iron on his second shot, and the ball just stayed in the air and carried well onto the green and rolled off the back into the rough behind.
“That was real unlucky,” Alliss remarked. “In the old days, he would pop out a sand wedge and pitch it close.”
But, Watson elected to putt and whipped it past the hole by 10 feet. He showed the frailty of his aging nerves by fanning what would have been a winning putt to the right, forcing a four-hole playoff with another American, Stewart Cink.
Poor Cink. Here is a guy who has played 14 years on the PGA Tour.
This was his 54th major championship, and he wore the tag of “the best never to win a major.” Cink is likeable among everyone in golf, but he went to the playoff being the villain. The world was rooting for Tom.
“I have always been an under the radar guy. I am the guy that nobody really ever roots for,” Cink said. “Saturday, I played with Lee Westwood. He’s a Brit, and the crowd was with him. So, I knew the feeling. I was used to it. Maybe that will change now.”
We all knew that Watson missed his chance on the 72nd hole. It was obvious to the naked eye that he knew it, too. Clearly deflated in the playoff, he grew weary and looked like a 60-year-old who simply had nothing left in the tank.
But there was a lesson to be learned. Sometimes more is learned in defeat than victory. On a day when some of the game’s great young players have been criticized for not handling bad shots well, Watson was graceful and elegant in his behavior when things were plummeting out of control.
As Watson played the final playoff hole, he was four shots down to Cink. Watson hit a spectator with an errant tee shot, and he sincerely apologized to the gent upon arriving to his ball. He continued to hit wayward shots and finally scraped in a bogey losing the four-hole playoff by six shots.
When Watson sank his final putt, Cink stepped back and applauded the effort. Watson tried to keep a smile on his worn-out face throughout all of the adversity. There was no display of frustration in what had to be one of the most painful hours of his competitive career.
As one BBC commentator aptly put it, “Stewart sinks Tom’s dream.”
The trophy presentation at golf’s oldest championship was one of the most unusual in the history of the game.
There was Watson, 59 years old, being presented the silver medal.
Cink, at age 36, was handed the claret jug.
Matteo Manassero, the 16-year-old Italian, was recognized as the leading amateur.
Three generations were represented.
For 71 holes, old Tom Watson played like young Tom Watson. He gave us memories that we all will take to the grave. He left Turnberry as a champion.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America. He has been reporting from the British Open in Scotland.

Photo Caption: Sunday broke with the hope of history. The debate already was starting. Should Tom Watson win the 149th Open Champ-ionship, where would this settle in the annals of competitive sport?
The BBC commentators were quite open. Even given the fact that two Englishmen, Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher, were nipping at the old man’s heels, Watson would be the crowd favorite. You see, the British appreciate an American who relishes their sacred competitions.
Over the years in golf, many of the greats never made the event a frequent stop. Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson avoided the British Open with regularity.

Conditions, BBC chatter, hanging with Nantz make for great day

Friday was my first chance to get on the course and see Turnberry, site of this week’s British Open golf championship.

The group that I picked to follow included Kenny Perry (1 over par to start the round), a Kentucky native and Masters runner-up; Greg Norman (7 over), a former Open winner; and Oliver Wilson (2 over) from England, who was a European Ryder Cup member in 2008.
The weather, or lack thereof, was a major story in the first couple of days of this Open Championship. Sunny calm skies were the order of the day Thursday. The second round forecast was for rain and wind.
The Scottish weather people have totally missed it. It has been slightly breezy, cloudy and warmer than predicted. The weather has been reflected in the scores. The most recent time the Open was at Turnberry in 1994, the cut score was 4 over par.
The key to scoring at Turnberry is accurate driving. The fescue, called “hee” by the Scots, is very healthy near the fairway cut. An errant tee shot almost certainly will result in a bogey or, at least, a great saving par.
The terrain at Turnberry is rugged. It is tough walking for the spectators, and there were many reported injuries Thursday from falls down the hillsides. The course is a true links course, as players go out for 11 holes and return to the clubhouse on the final seven holes.
A necessary part of walking and watching the Open at Turnberry is buying one of the small transistor radios that broadcast the BBC feed on 107.5 FM. The cost for the radio and two extra sets of AA batteries is 10 pounds ($16.20).
The BBC radio feed always is entertaining. The announcers invite e-mails from all over the world throughout the broadcast and periodically read questions from listeners. Comments came from across the globe, including Australia, Morocco, Japan, Portu-gal, Sweden and the United States.
The questions and answers both are unpredictable. The dialogue can be as hysterical as an episode of “Monty Python.”
One discussion dealt with the greatest rain-jacket player of all-time. After a little debate, it was agreed that Sandy Lyle, a Scot, was the winner. There was an all-out argument on whether “shades” (sunglasses) caused distortion on the green when trying to read putts.
As Camilo Villegas went to the first tee, a BBC commentator re-marked, “Villegas always wears tight fitting shirts to show he is ripped.”
This prompted a response from his BBC colleague, “The only time in your life that you have been ripped is when you drank too much beer.”
As I reached the sixth tee at Turnberry, a 231-yard par-3, I looked over my left shoulder and found myself standing next to Jim Nantz of CBS sports. We have become acquaintances over the past couple of years, and it was great to rekindle our friendship.
The Emmy Award-winning announcer was making his first trip to the Open Championship since 1980.
“I am just here walking and watching,” Nantz said.
Interestingly, he also had the BBC transistor plugged into his left ear listening to the broadcast.
Nantz will be at Turnberry until Sunday. He asked about his good friend, Craig Kelley, vice president of media relations for the Indianapolis Colts, and said, “Wait until Craig hears that we met on the sixth tee at Turnberry.”
We walked the hole and watched the group play the tough par 3. As we reached the sixth green, our vantage point was one of the highest on the course. We could see the seventh and 17th, two great par 5s.
Nantz smiled and said, “Television just doesn’t do it justice, does it?”
Nantz left for the hospitality area, where he had an obligation with Rolex. I left for the media center, where I had an obligation with you to meet a deadline.
As I write, I hear the rain pounding on the media tent. The television monitor in front of me shows umbrellas, sideways rain and grimaces from players who are out on the course grinding to make the cut and finish the round.
It keeps raining harder, and for the moment these are Open Championship conditions at their best.
The weather people have been saved.
So, to all of you lads and lassies, “See you on the weekend.”
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America. He is reporting this week from the British Open in Scotland.

Photo Caption: Friday was my first chance to get on the course and see Turnberry, site of this week’s British Open golf championship.
The group that I picked to follow included Kenny Perry (1 over par to start the round), a Kentucky native and Masters runner-up; Greg Norman (7 over), a former Open winner; and Oliver Wilson (2 over) from England, who was a European Ryder Cup member in 2008.

Caddy source of Scottish history, ‘in-law’ golf lingo

The 2009 British Open Championship began at Turnberry on Thursday.

My day started in perfect fashion with a 7:30 a.m. starting time a few miles away at Prestwick Golf Club. This is significant because the Open Championship began in 1860, and Prestwick hosted golf’s oldest event for its first 12 years.
I would like to take a moment and introduce you to my caddy, Chris McBride. He is going to help take us through this wonderful Scottish journey.
Caddies can be a fruitful source for history and trivia. In my lifetime, I have been fortunate to play some great courses with caddies — Augusta National, Pine Valley, Oakmont and Royal Troon, just to name a few.
McBride rates as the finest caddy I have ever had because he provided more than just correct yardages, local advice and the line on my putts.
He helped me understand the
significance of the Open Championship and how this part of the world has shaped championship golf as we know it.
His descendents were Irish. They changed their name from the Irish McBryde to the Scottish McBride. They did so, hoping to get jobs in the Scottish shipyards at a time when Irish Catholics couldn’t get hired.
According to McBride, the greatest Scottish golfer in history was Alan Robertson.
“He was undefeated in four-ball play. No one could touch him, not even Old Tom Morris,” McBride said.
Robertson was a golf ball maker, and one of his “featheries” recently sold for $46,000. He died in 1859 and is buried 20 feet to the right of Old and Young Tom Morris at St. Andrews.
Upon Robertson’s death, heated arguments surfaced all over Scotland as to who was now the country’s best player.
In 1860, the first Open Championship was contested solely for the reason of seeing who would be Robertson’s successor. It was a three-round, stroke-play tournament, and Prestwick was chosen as the site. At the time, the course had 12 holes.
The tournament was played in a single day.
“They started in the dark and finished in the dark,” McBride said.
The winner was Willie Park.
Prestwick later was converted to an 18-hole course. The most recent Open Championship played there was in 1925.
There is a stone monument on the site of the original first tee. When the course opened, the No. 1 hole was a 587-yard par-6. In 1870, Young Tom Morris made a three on the hole on his way to winning the Open.
The 17th hole at Prestwick, a par 4, is known as “Alps” because the green lies over three large hills. It is the only undisturbed hole from the 1851 layout.
There is not much maintainable turf at today’s Prestwick. The 18-hole layout rests on about 85 acres in Ayshire, within eyesight of Turnberry Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.
Even though it is no longer on the Open Championship rotation, it still is used for major amateur championships. Prestwick remains a marvelous test of golfing skills; and despite today’s modern equipment, the course is challenging and fun to play. It is a course that reminds all who play it of “the essence of links golf as originally conceived,” it says on the scorecard from Prestwick.
My group consisted of fellow PGA officers, Jim Remy, president; Allen Wronowski, vice president; and Joe Steranka, chief executive officer.
We played from the club designated tees of the day, about 6,500 yards. Our round finished under the allowed 4 hours and 11 minutes for a foursome, and we walked.
I used a driver once in the first five holes. The “wee stretch” from holes 7 to 13 featured five par-4s that ranged in length from 430 to 460 yards, a 215-yard par-3 and a 550-yard par-5. The home stretch included the 16th and 18th, which were 284 and 288 yards and were drivable.
Prestwick was an 18-course meal that provided everything your golfing taste buds could ever want.
During the round, I learned several new golf terms courtesy of McBride, the caddy.
“A son-in-law shot” is not what you were hoping for, but you will live with it. Let me go on record as saying that I have two great sons-in-law.
“A mother-in-law shot” is looking good going away. No comment.
“A sister-in-law shot” is up there where you know you shouldn’t be. Hmm.
“A Lebanese Hotel” is one of the large sand bunkers at Prestwick.
Even for a guy as savvy as McBride, this is an exciting week.
“The local train was loaded at 6 a.m. today,” he said. “Lots of foreigners headed to the Open.”
The weather forecast looks perfect, and somebody could shoot 63 at Turnberry this week.
“It’ll probably be somebody in the first round that won’t finish in the top 10,” McBride said.
McBride will be heading to Turnberry for the final round.
“We have a group of Americans coming in on Sunday morning to play. They don’t know it yet, but I am riding with them on their bus up to Turnberry. I can’t wait to get there,” he said.
And I think that says it all about being at this Open Championship.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America. He is in Scotland this week reporting on the British Open.

Photo Caption: The 2009 British Open Championship began at Turnberry on Thursday.
My day started in perfect fashion with a 7:30 a.m. starting time a few miles away at Prestwick Golf Club. This is significant because the Open Championship began in 1860, and Prestwick hosted golf’s oldest event for its first 12 years.

In Scotland, duffers go out for ‘knock’

After a good night’s rest, I was up early in the morning, awakened by the squawking of sea gulls. That seems to be a daily occurrence around 4:30 a.m.

Our lodging accommodations in Scotland are nice but very European in the sense that there is no air conditioning and the rooms are rather small.
The sinks have separate hot and cold spigots, so when I shave, I try to evenly distribute water in the sink. The hot water here is scalding. You can actually use tap water to brew a cup of instant coffee in the morning. It’s that hot.
There are seven rooms in the house where we stay. Four are occupied by the PGA of America and three by local residents. As I left the house this morning with golf shoes in hand, I was asked by a Scottish gentleman if I was going out for “a knock.”
Looking puzzled and my mind wandering to what he might mean, I asked, “What is a knock?”
To which he replied, “Golf.”
So, we headed to Dundonald Links for a knock with the British PGA.
The trip to Dundonald was crazy. We got lost and the GPS malfunctioned, so it was another wacky driving experience in Scotland. We arrived right at tee time.
Dundonald Links is a typical Scottish course with fescue rough and pot bunkers as the predominant driving obstacles. The early-morning weather was stellar, with bright sunny skies and little wind. The temperature reached 70 degrees, and the wind stayed down.
This course had very undulated greens, and the fairway bunkers were strategically placed in the landing areas. These bunkers were more penal than those at Royal Troon. If the ball was in the
bunker, it was a definite sand wedge to get out. In some cases the shot had to be hit sideways to escape the steep faces.
On Tuesday we were told by the locals that Dundonald Links is one of the toughest courses in Scotland. It is a newer facility, only seven years old and relatively unknown by Scottish standards. However, it was a great test, and I enjoyed it very much.
The Scot Rail runs alongside Dundonald. This is the same train that passed Troon on Tuesday, making the hourly round trip from Glasgow to Ayre.
Located on the other side of the railroad tracks was a course called Western Gailes, which had three Perry tour buses in its parking lot. According to our caddies, these buses contained Americans who are welcomed by the Scottish economy.
Today was an opportunity for us, as PGA leaders, to spend time with our British counterparts. Following golf, we had a couple of hours to discuss pertinent issues relating to the golf industry and both associations.
One topic of discussion, sure to be receiving worldwide exposure, is the possibility of adding golf to the competition at the Summer Olympics in 2016. British oddsmakers will take bets on the likelihood that this will happen. The conventional wisdom in the golf industry is that golf probably will be added to the Olympics.
The format of play will be 72 holes of stroke play. Sixty players would comprise the field, which will be filled by the World Golf Rankings. The biggest twist is that a country like the United States would have a maximum two players in the competition. Many in the sport feel that the global attention given to golf by the Olympics will be good for the game.
On Wednesday we headed to Turnberry for a reception with the British PGA. Then it was on to another reception and dinner with the Royal and Ancient Golf Association later in the evening.
Today will be our last round of golf before the Open Championship occupies the rest of our week. Our destination in the morning will be Prestwick Golf Club, site of the first Open Championship in 1860, won by Willie Park. This is truly one of golf’s sacred venues, and it promises to be memorable.
The Open Championship tees off at 6:30 a.m. Scottish time today and Friday. This is golf’s largest field, and the final tee times each day are slated for 4:30 p.m.
I look forward to walking the course and reporting on the tournament.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America. He is in Scotland this week for
the British Open.

Photo Caption: After a good night’s rest, I was up early in the morning, awakened by the squawking of sea gulls. That seems to be a daily occurrence around 4:30 a.m.
Our lodging accommodations in Scotland are nice but very European in the sense that there is no air conditioning and the rooms are rather small.

Surroundings, company make for great day of golf at Royal Troon

This trip is my first away from North America. I have always heard of jet lag, and now that I have experienced it, let me confidently tell you that it is not exaggerated.

After being up for about 40 straight hours, I awoke at 1:30 a.m. Indiana time Tuesday to start my day. Psychologically, that was a blow.
My first destination was the Royal Troon Golf Club and a 7:50 a.m. local tee time. This is one of the spectacular courses that are part of the regular rotation for the British Open.
Built in 1878, Royal Troon is a seaside links course. The opening seven holes run away from the clubhouse and overlook the ocean.
The tournament tees at Royal Troon stretch 7,175 yards. We caught this Scottish gem on a docile morning. The sun shone brilliantly off the ocean, and the breeze was rather gentle. The fairways, although irrigated, were a mixture of green and brown turf, which is customary for Scottish links courses.
The greens were excellent and a little on the slow side. The bunkers at Royal Troon are classic pot bunkering with faces featuring layered stacked sod. The bunkers are deep, and the sod walls can be a nemesis. The sand is brown and heavy but very playable.
I made my first birdie of the trip on the fifth hole, a 210-yard par-3. I hit a 5-wood into the wind about 12 feet from the hole and made the putt.
I mentioned that the first seven holes were seaside. The eighth hole is a 123-yard par-3 that features a small green. As a result, it is named “Postage Stamp.”
The locals refer to the fescue rough at Royal Troon as “hinchu.” And, as the Scots say, the first foot is “rather juicy.” That’s a fact that I can testify to.
The No. 1 handicap hole on Royal Troon is the 11th, called “The Railway” because a train runs along the right side of the hole. This train runs from Ayre to Glasgow, which is about a 35-minute trip.
Separating the golf course from the railroad track is a stone fence built in 1784 by Bill Shepman. This par-4 hole played 421 yards for us, 490 yards from the tournament tee.
I never knew Shepman, but I am in debt to him. My errant second shot, struck with a 5-iron, went way to the right and bounced off Shepman’s wall onto the green about 25 feet from the hole. I collected my par and moved on.
As you can imagine, a place like Royal Troon is laced with history. Recent Open winners include Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf and Arnold Palmer. The next Open to be played at Troon probably will be 2014, although that announcement is forthcoming.
This was one of those rare days in golf when the surroundings, circumstances and company far outweighed the quality of the shots hit. My caddy, Kevin, has toted bags around Royal Troon for 20 years and in his own words “is the youngest lad in the company.”
After lunch at Royal Troon, we headed over to Turnberry and our first look at the site for this week’s British Open Championship.
One of the most pleasant parts of the day was being in the clubhouse when Jim Remy, president of the PGA of America, informed Tom Lehman that we are giving him an exemption to next month’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine in his home state of Minnesota.
Lehman, a former Masters champion and Ryder Cup captain, responded with a big hug to Remy and a heartfelt thank-you.
“I know you guys have important sponsors at the PGA; and if there is anything I can do to help, just ask,” Lehman said.
That was a classy move by one of the greatest guys to ever play professional golf.
We walked around the main area and kind of got our bearings for the rest of the week. I checked into the media center and was assigned my worksite for the week. Kenny Perry was in the media center interview room at the time.
Turnberry is about 30 minutes from our lodging in Ayre. On the way home, we drove the coastal road. This will be our route to and from Turnberry each day. It is less traveled, and the scenery is breathtaking.
The road winds along the steep cliffs overlooking the Turnberry Bay, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Scotland has many beautiful, small cottages. Most are made of stone or stucco. The properties are clean and tidy. Many dwellings are perched on hilltops, where the beauty reaches as far as the eye can see.
The fields and meadows are luscious and emerald green. The white dots you see are hundreds of sheep that graze on the hillsides.
Joining the sheep are herds of cattle. One particular species is known as the belted cow. This black cow dates to ancient times and is native to Scotland. This cow has a white ring around its middle, resembling a belt, and that is why they call it the belted cow.
Life here seems simple.
As I finish writing this column from the small tea room at the Ellisland Hotel, a group of local residents is enjoying afternoon tea.
The chattering stops, and the ladies turn to the small television in the room. The Sky Network is showing live footage of eight Union Jack flag-draped coffins that are being returned from Afghanistan. These are British soldiers who were killed in action a few days ago, the worst disaster of the war for this country.
Reality always has a way of showing up, even for the Scots.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and secretary for PGA of America.

Photo Caption: This trip is my first away from North America. I have always heard of jet lag, and now that I have experienced it, let me confidently tell you that it is not exaggerated.
After being up for about 40 straight hours, I awoke at 1:30 a.m. Indiana time Tuesday to start my day. Psychologically, that was a blow.

The Evolution of Melvin Bullitt: The Golfer

Melvin Bullitt came to the Indianapolis Colts two years ago as an undrafted free agent from Texas A&M. In 2008, his second NFL season, Bullitt started 12 games and led the team in interceptions, including three game-saving picks in the final seconds to seal Colt victories. He has also been a stalwart on special teams.

Prior to the Indiana PGA’s Play Golf America Day on May 29, Bullitt had been to a golf course only one time. On his trip to The Legends last spring, he had no expectations of becoming a golfer. “The Colts asked me to come, so I did. I wasn’t really interested in golf until I had the experience of a real hit that day!” said Bullitt.

That “real hit”, an ironic phrase from one of the Colts’ hardest hitters, was like the seductive glance from a good lookin’ girl! It was the hook that was going to change Melvin Bullitt’s summer. After two hours of instruction on that day in May, he was officially bitten by the golf bug.

“I am real athletic, and I didn’t respect the athleticism that goes into golf,” said Bullitt.

Over the next three weeks, Bullitt and I got together for several golf lessons. During this time, Melvin re-worked his wardrobe to include stylish Nike golf clothes. He embraced his new set of Cobra clubs and he became an avid viewer of the Golf Channel. It was apparent that he was becoming a student of the game.

It was not uncommon for me to get a text from Melvin regarding the PGA Tour event that was being played, or some other programming that was being aired on the Golf Channel. One time, he even let me know that he was watching Michele Wie in an LPGA tournament! This might sound like strange behavior to the non-golfer, but for those of us that know the sport- this was the evolution of a golfer!  

Bullitt will tell you that football and golf have some things in common. “In some ways they are really similar. You have to be patient because everything doesn’t go your way,” observed Bullitt. “You can’t over do it. You don’t force it.”

“When I started hitting golf balls, I thought it was all about the arms. I learned that I wasn’t utilizing all of my power and that I needed to use my hips and legs. It is like making a tackle, even though you use your arms- the power is in the legs,” said Bullitt.      

Melvin continued to work hard. He hit a lot of balls. When he played, the scores were high. “The first time I played this summer, I shot 81 for 9 holes. Making consistent contact with the ball was hard,” laughed Bullitt. “But, the more I worked on it, I hit it every time. I started to get precise and began to figure things out like how to open or close the club face to control my distance.”

As the summer rolled by, it was time for Melvin to head to his hometown of Dallas. It was here that he continued his golf with Ronny Glanton, PGA professional at Sherrill Park GC. “He is very motivated and a great listener,” said Glanton of Bullitt. “He is highly competitive and expects to get better.”

“Most importantly, Melvin is an unbelievable person. What he does with his local football program is amazing. He donates his time, teaching drills and techniques to kids. He just gives back.  His dad instilled a lot of moral character in him. Melvin is a class act,” said Glanton.

Bullitt started getting better on the course. His low score to date is 47 for nine holes. He lists his first ever birdie as his biggest thrill. “It was Hole 9 at Woodbridge Golf Club in Wilie, TX. It is a par 4 and we played from the blue tees, about 450 yards, and I made a 20 yard putt!” Spoken like a true football player- yards not feet!

Bullitt will be the first to tell you that his time with the PGA professionals was valuable. “It was very important. I used the help from the pros to get better. Patience is the key to golf and they taught me that. The other thing that I learned is that you have to be well conditioned to play golf. My swing changes after 11 or 12 holes when I get physically tired,” said Melvin.

“I have a hard time maintaining my concentration. Golf is helping me learn to focus. I think the things that I have learned from golf in regard to focusing will help me study my playbook better,” said Bullitt. “Getting ready to hit a shot in golf is like preparing for the next play in football. I should be better with my concentration.”

And like all golf fans, Bullitt has a favorite player. “Of course, it’s Tiger,” he laughed. “But, there’s a new Cat out there. They call him Spider Man. He’s ripped. I don’t know much about him yet, but I like watching him!” said Bullitt. He speaks of Camilo Villegas.

What does Bullitt expect long term from golf?  “This sounds crazy, but eventually seven or eight years from now, when I am done playing- I want to be a full time pro. It will be my number one sport,” projected Bullitt.

“I would encourage all kids to give it a shot. I promise you, golf is something you will enjoy. Many minority kids need the opportunity to experience golf. You never know what might happen to a kid who gets a chance to play golf,” said Melvin. 

This weekend Melvin Bullitt joins his Colt teammates at training camp. He will be hanging up the clubs and shifting his attention to his current number one game- football.

“I am excited for the season to start. We control our own destiny. We have a lot of talent and I am really looking forward to playing for Coach (Jim) Caldwell,” said Bullitt. “There is going to be a lot of moving around on defense and a new special teams coach. I’m ready!”

Bullitt will again be listed behind All-Pro Safety, Bob Sanders on the Colts’ depth chart. “He is still my mentor. Bob and Antoine (Bethea) are the best Safeties in the league. I just have to be ready to play. I know I will get my chances.”  

And the golf clubs?

“Yep, the golf clubs get put away until early February when we hopefully finish our business. As soon as we take care of that, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with a round of golf!” exclaimed Melvin.

Bullitt wears No. 33 on the field. Want to make a bet when this guy shoots his number on the golf course? It’s not if, just a matter of when!     

Busy week in Scotland includes driving on ‘wrong’ side of road

This week I will be sharing with you my experiences from The Open Champ-ionship at Turnberry’s Ailsa course in Scotland.

This is the oldest golf championship in the world. It is commonly called The British Open by us Yanks.
This is the country where golf originated. The winner of the Open Championship gets the Claret Jug, a sterling silver pitcher that has provided many victory toasts through the years.
It also is a place where you drive on the left side of the road and steer the vehicle from the passenger’s seat. If you are unlucky like me, you get a manual transmission, which means you shift gears with the left hand. The roundabouts can be more challenging than Turnberry’s 17th, a par-5, 559-yard hole.
It’s 3:15 p.m. Monday here in Ayrshire where I am staying. I have been up since 6 a.m. Sunday, so please excuse any sloppiness in this writing. We are staying in a bed and breakfast connected to the Ellisland Hotel about 30 minutes from Turnberry.
The Scottish people are known for their warmth, hospitality, Scotch whisky and fresh fish. They haven’t let me down yet. I am just having a hard time understanding their thick brogue.
This is my first trip “across the
pond,” and my PGA itinerary for the week is as follows:
Monday: Arrive and recover from jet lag
Today: Play golf at Royal Troon and meet with the British PGA
Wednesday: Play golf at Dundonald; attend the British PGA Reception/Supper; the R&A Reception and Dinner. The PGA of America is good about having me be two places at one time.
Thursday: Play golf at Prestwick, one of Scotland’s oldest courses. Attend the British Open in the afternoon. Tee times start at 8:30 a.m. and run through 2:30 p.m. because it doesn’t get dark until 10 p.m.
Friday: Attend the British Open all day. In the evening, we have dinner with the Turner Sports crew on the Orient Express. This is the famous train that triggered the movie “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Saturday: Another full day at Turnberry
Sunday: More of the Open and a private lunch for my wife and I with Hamish Richie, the Captain of the Royal & Ancient, the governing body of golf everywhere except the United States.
The weather here on the western coast of Scotland promises to change every hour or so, as evidenced by Monday. It can be sunny and warm, cloud up and rain like crazy and then cool off and get windy. The Scottish caddies say that the weather will change five times during the typical 18-hole round at Turnberry.
This is the fourth Open Championship to be played at Turnberry. During World War II, the course was used as a British airfield, parts of which still are visible today.
It was built for pilots being trained to fly Liberator bombers, which were used for sorties against German submarines. There are monuments on the course to commemorate those who lost their lives during World War II in training missions at Turnberry.
Part of the Turnberry crest features a lighthouse which stands on the headland between the Firth of Clyde and Turnberry Bay. It offers a spectacular backdrop for this week’s worldwide television coverage. Most golfers in this part of the world would say that Turnberry could be Scotland’s most scenic coastal links course.
In 1977 at Turnberry, Tom Watson defeated Jack Nicklaus in the famed “Duel in the Sun.” Greg Norman was the winner in 1986. Nick Price was the 1994 winner by a shot over Jesper Parnevik. The three winners all were ranked at the top, or near it, in the World Golf Rankings.
Most experts feel that Turnberry will not produce a long-shot winner in 2009, unlike at The Masters and U.S. Open.
The British Open usually is about players manufacturing shots to combat the weather and the elements it might produce. Rain and changing winds are sure to be factors at Turnberry.
My plan this week is to give you a little bit about the Scottish culture, my experiences here and a lot of information on the British Open.
As far as a prediction goes, I have nothing to gain and everything to lose. But, that being said, Tiger Woods is my pick this week, and I designated a general long-shot pick in both The Masters and U.S. Open earlier this year.
When Tiger drives it well, he plays well. This will be major championship No. 15 for the dominant player in modern day golf.
On a somber note, Beth Smith, wife of PGA Tour player Chris Smith, will be laid to rest today in Peru, Ind. Support for the Beth Smith Memorial Tournament, scheduled for Aug. 7 at The Legends of Indiana Golf Course, has been incredible. For details and information, visit legendsof
indiana.com.
Ted Bishop is director of golf for The Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin and is secretary for PGA of America.

Photo Caption: This week I will be sharing with you my experiences from The Open Champ-ionship at Turnberry’s Ailsa course in Scotland.
This is the oldest golf championship in the world. It is commonly called The British Open by us Yanks.

2009 British Open

Day 2 Scotland

This trip is my first away from North America. I have always heard of jet lag and now that I have experienced it, let me confidently tell you that it is not underrated! After being up for approximately 40 straight hours, I awoke on Tuesday morning at 1:30 a.m. EST (Indiana time) to start my day. And psychologically that was a blow!

My first destination was the Royal Troon Golf Club and a 7:50 a.m. local tee time. This is one of the spectacular courses that are part of the regular rotation for the British Open. Built in 1878, Royal Troon is a seaside links course. The opening seven holes run away from the clubhouse and overlook the ocean.

The tournament tees at Royal Troon stretch 7,175 yards. We caught this Scottish gem on a docile morning. The sun shone brilliantly off the ocean and the breeze was rather gentle. The fairways, although irrigated were a mixture of green and brown turf, which is customary for Scottish links courses.

The greens were excellent and a little on the slow side. The bunkering at Royal Troon is classic pot bunkering with faces featuring layered stacked sod. The bunkers are deep and the sod walls can be a nemesis. The sand is brown and heavy, but very playable.

I made my first birdie of the trip on the 5^th hole, a 210 yard par three. I hit a 5-wood into the wind about 12 feet from the hole and made the putt. I mentioned that the first seven holes were seaside. The 8^th hole is a 123-yard par three, which features a small green and as a result it is named “Postage Stamp”.

The locals refer to the fescue rough at Royal Troon as “hinchu” and as the Scots say, the first foot is “rather juicy”. That is a fact that I can testify to!

The number one handicap hole on Royal Troon is the 11^th called “The Railway” because a train runs alongside the right of the hole. This train runs from Ayre to Glasgow, which is about a 35 minute trip. Separating the golf course from the railroad track is a stone fence built in 1784 by Bill Shepman.  This par four hole played 421 yards for us- 490 yards from the tournament tee.

I never knew Bill Shepman, but I am now in debt to him! My errant second shot, struck with a 5-iron, went wayward to the right and bounced off Shepman’s wall onto the green about 25 feet from the hole. I collected my par and moved on.

As you can imagine, a place like Royal Troon is laced with history. Recent Open winners include Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf and Arnold Palmer. The next Open to be played at Troon will probably be 2014, although that announcement is forthcoming.

This was one of those rare days in golf when the surroundings, circumstances and company far outweigh the quality of the shots hit. My caddy, Kevin, has toted bags around Royal Troon for 20 years and in his own words, “is the youngest lad in the company.”

After lunch at Royal Troon we headed over to Turnberry and our first look at the site for this week’s Open Championship. One of the real pleasant parts of the day was being in the clubhouse when Jim Remy, President of the PGA of America, informed Tom Lehman that we are giving him an exemption to next month’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine in his home state of Minnesota.

Lehman, a former Masters champion and Ryder Cup Captain, responded with a big hug to Remy and a heartfelt thank you. “I know you guys have important sponsors at the PGA and if there is anything I can do to help, just ask.” That was a classy move by one of the all-time great guys to play professional golf.

We walked around the main area and kind of got our bearings for the rest of the week. I checked into the Media Center and was assigned my worksite the week. Kenny Perry was in the media center interview room at the time.

Turnberry is located about 30 minutes from our lodging in Ayre. On the way home, we drove the coastal road. This will be our route to and from Turnberry each day. It is less traveled and the scenery is breath taking.

The road winds along the steep cliffs overlooking the Turnberry Bay, part of the Atlantic Ocean. Scotland is inhabited by many beautiful, small cottages. Most are made of stone or stucco. The properties are clean and tidy. Many dwellings are perched on the tops of hills where the beauty reaches as far as the eye can see.

The fields and meadows are luscious and emerald green. The white dots you see are hundreds of sheep that graze on the hillsides. Joining the sheep are herds of cattle. One particular species is known as the belted cow. This black cow dates back to ancient times and is native to Scotland. This cow actually has a white ring around its middle, resembling a belt and that is why they call it the belted cow.

Life here………. seems simple.

As I finish writing this story from the small tea room at the Ellisland Hotel, six local ladies are nearby enjoying their afternoon tea.

The chattering stops and the ladies turn to the small television in the room. The Sky Network is showing live footage of eight Union Jack flag draped coffins that are being returned from Afghanistan. These are British soldiers who were killed in action a few days ago- the worst disaster of the war for this country.

Reality always has a way of showing up………. even for the Scots. 

 

Day 4 Scotland:

The 2009 Open Championship began at Turnberry on Thursday morning. I would say that my day started in perfect fashion with a 7:30 a.m. starting time a few miles away at Prestwick Golf Club.

This is significant because the Open Championship began in 1860 and Prestwick hosted golf’s oldest event for its first 12 years. I would like to take a moment and introduce you to my caddy, Chris McBride. He is going to help take us through this wonderful Scottish journey.

Caddies can be a fruitful source for history and trivia. In my lifetime, I have been fortunate to play some great courses with caddies- Augusta National, Pine Valley, Oakmont and Royal Troon, just to name a few. Chris McBride rates as the finest caddy I have ever had because he provided more than just correct yardages, local advice and the line on my putts.

Chris helped me understand the significance of the Open Championship and how this part of the world has shaped championship golf as we know it. His descendents were Irish. They changed their name from the Irish McBryde to the Scottish McBride. They did so, hoping to get jobs in the Scottish shipyards at a time when Irish Catholics couldn’t get hired.                

According to McBride, the greatest Scottish golfer in history was a fellow named Alan Robertson. “He was undefeated in four ball play. No one could touch him- not even Old Tom Morris,” said McBride.

Robertson was a golf ball maker and one of his “featheries” recently sold for 28,000 pounds! He died in 1859 and is buried twenty feet to the right of Old and Young Tom Morris at St. Andrews. Upon Robertson’s death, heated arguments surfaced all over Scotland as to who would be the countries best player would be.

In 1860 the first Open Championship was held solely for the reason of seeing who would be Robertson’s successor. It was a three round stroke play tournament and  Prestwick was chosen as the site.

At the time, the course had 12 holes. The Open Championship of 1860 was won by Willie Park. It consisted of three 12-hole rounds in one day. “They started in the dark and finished in the dark,” said McBride.

Over the years, Prestwick was converted to an 18-hole course. The last Open Championship played there was in 1925. There is a stone monument on the site where the original first tee was. When the course opened, the #1 hole was a 587 yard, par six. In 1870, Young Tom Morris made a three on the hole on his way to winning the Open.

The 17^th hole, a par 4, at Prestwick is known as “Alps” because the green lies over and beneath the base of three large hills. It is the only original and undisturbed hole from the 1851 layout. It was then the 2^nd hole. 

There is not much maintainable turf at today’s Prestwick. The 18-hole layout rests on about 85 acres of land, which is located in Ayshire within eyesight of Turnberry Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.

“Even though it is no longer on the Open Championship rota, it is still used for major Amateur Championships. Prestwick remains to this day a marvelous test of golfing skills and despite today’s modern equipment the course is still challenging and fun to play. It is a course which reminds all who play it of the essence of links golf as originally conceived,” says the scorecard from Prestwick.

My group consisted of fellow PGA Officers, Jim Remy, President; Allen Wronowski, Vice President plus Joe Steranka, Chief Executive Officer. We played Prestwick from the club designated tees of the day, about 6,500 yards. Our round finished under the allowed 4 hours and 11 minutes for a foursome and we walked.

I used a driver once in the first five holes. The “wee stretch” from 7 through 13 featured five par 4’s that ranged in length from 430-460 yards; a 215 yard par three and a 550 yard par five. The home stretch included the 16^th and 18^th which were 284-288 yard holes that were drivable. Prestwick was an 18-course meal that provided everything your taste buds could ever want!

During the round, I learned several new golf terms courtesy of McBride, the caddy.

“A son-in-law shot” is not what you were hoping for, but you will live with it. Let me go on record as saying that I have two great son-in-laws.

“A mother-in-law shot” is looking good going away. No comment.

“A sister-in-law shot” is up there where you know you shouldn’t be. Hmmmm.

“A Lebanese Hotel” is one of the large sand bunkers at Prestwick.

Even for a guy as savvy as McBride, this is an exciting week. “The local train was loaded at 6 a.m. this morning. Lots of foreigners headed to the Open. The weather forecast looks perfect and somebody could shoot 63 out there this week. It’ll probably be somebody in the first round that won’t finish in the top 10,” quipped McBride.

“We have a group of Americans coming in on Sunday morning to play. They don’t know it yet, but I am riding with them on their bus up to Turnberry. I can’t wait to get there,” concluded McBride.

And I think that says it all about being at this Open Championship!

Day 5 Scotland

Friday was my first chance to get on the course and see Turnberry, site of this week’s Open Championship. The group that I picked to follow at 12.47 local time featured Kenny Perry (+1), Kentucky native and Masters runner-up; Greg Norman (+7), former Open winner and Oliver Wilson (+2), from England who was a European Ryder Cup member in 2008.

Speculation at the time I write this is that the cut will be (+3). The weather, or lack thereof, has been a major story in the first couple of days of this Open Championship. Sunny calm skies were the order of the day on Thursday. The second round forecast was for rain and wind.

The Scottish weather people have totally missed it. It has been slightly breezy, cloudy and warmer than predicted. The weather has been reflected in the scores. The last time the Open was at Turnberry in 1994, the cut score was (+4).

I walked the first seven holes today before writing this story. The key to scoring at Turnberry is accurate driving. The fescue, called “hee” by the Scots is very healthy near the fairway cut. An errant tee shot will most certainly result in a bogey or, at least, a great saving par.

The terrain at Turnberry is rugged. It is tough walking for the spectators and there were many reported injuries yesterday from falls down the hillsides. The course is a true links course by the fact the players go out for 11 holes before returning back to the clubhouse on the final 7 holes.

In the threesome that I followed, there was not much in the way of dramatics. Perry birdied the first hole with an approach that left him a 3-footer. He pared the next six holes to stay at level for the Open.

Norman drove it in the “hee” on the first three holes and managed to lose just one shot to par. But, it is looking like he will finish over par in double digits and miss the cut. Wilson has been errant off the tee and was hanging on the cut line.   

A necessary part of walking and watching the Open at Turnberry is buying one of the small transistor radios that broadcast the BBC feed on 107.5 FM. The cost for the radio and two extra sets of double AA batteries is 10 pounds- $16.20 U.S.

The BBC radio feed is always entertaining. They invite emails from all over the world throughout the broadcast and periodically read questions from listeners. The geography represented ranges from Morocco to Australia; from Portugal to Japan; from the U.S. to Sweden. The questions and answers are both unpredictable. The dialogue can be as hysterical as an episode of Monte Python!

One discussion dealt with the greatest rain jacket player of all-time. After little debate it was agreed upon that Sandy Lyle, a Scot, was the winner. There was an all out argument on whether or not “shades” (sunglasses) caused distortion on the green when trying to read putts.

As Camilo Villegas went to the First Tee, a BBC commentator remarked that “Villegas always wears tight fitting shirts to show he is ripped.”

This prompted a response from his BBC colleague, “The only time in your life that you have been ripped is when you drank too much beer!”

As I reached the Sixth Tee at Turnberry, a 231 yard par three, I looked over my left shoulder and found myself standing next to Jim Nantz, CBS sports. We have become acquaintances over the past couple of years and it was great to rekindle our friendship.

The Emmy Award winning announcer was making his first trip to the Open Championship since 1980. “I am just here walking and watching,” said Nantz. Interestingly enough, he like me, had the BBC transistor plugged into his left ear listening to the broadcast.

Nantz will be here until Sunday. He asked about his good friend Craig Kelley, Vice President of Media Relations for the Indianapolis Colts and said, “Wait until Craig hears that we met on the Sixth Tee at Turnberry!”

We walked the hole and watched the group play the tough par three. As we reached the Sixth green, our vantage point was one of the highest on the course. We could see the 7^th and 17^th two great par 5’s. Nantz smiled and said, “Television just doesn’t dot it justice, does it?”

Nantz left for the hospitality area where he had an obligation with Rolex. I left for the Media Center where I had an obligation with you to meet a deadline!   

As I write, I hear the rain pounding on the Media tent. The television monitor in front of me is showing umbrellas, sideways rain and grimaces from players who are out there grinding to make the cut and finish the round. It keeps raining harder and for the moment these are Open Championship conditions at their best. The weather people have been saved.

It promises to be an exciting weekend. Steve Marino, an America who made the Open field as an alternate, is currently on top of the leader board. Names like Calcavecchia, Watson, Fisher, Goosen, Jimenez, Kuboya, Villegas, Goggin, Weekley and Grace are right below. The cut line has gone to (+3) and could go higher.

I am headed to Gleneagles tonight on the Orient Express for a dinner with the people from Turner Sports, a major sponsor for PGA of America. So, to all of you lads and lassies, “See you on the weekend!”