"Tiger is extremely smart and has a great feel for the game and would have won 60 or so tournaments with a pull cart."
/When I saw that this week's SI Golf Group LLC chatfest was a four pager making War And Peace look like mass market paperback material, I dove in reluctantly. But it's a grabber from page one and easily their most entertaining yet. Guest Mike Donald delivered several cranky one-liners and the group did a nice job dissecting why NBC is pulling so far away from CBS's golf coverage.
I wholeheartedly agree with their take on the caddy-player mike subject, which was heightened yesterday by Sean O'Hair and Paul Tesori constant gabfest, culminating with the 7-iron talk on 18 where O'Hair repeated the club of choice at least three times and then checked mid-preshot routine to see if in fact it was a 7 in his hands, astutely noted by Johnny.
Evans: Sean was shaky coming down the stretch on Saturday, playing with Jason Gore. He's tinkering with his swing and getting an earful on every shot from his excellent caddie, Tesori. I don't think Tiger was in his head as much as O'Hair is struggling to "feel" what he wants to do.
Herre: Love the conversation between O'Hair and his caddie. NBC is smart to mike the caddies next week in Houston.
Dusek: I loved listening to the caddies on those last few holes. Steve Williams and Tiger in the fairway on 16, O'Hair and his man talking 7-iron vs. 8-iron on 18. NBC is doing a nice job of keeping quiet and letting the player and caddie tell the story.
Friedman: Love the colloquy between O'Hair and Tesori, as conveyed by the on-course mikes. Fun to listen in. "Don't be in a rush ... we ain't playin' any more anyway!"
Friedman: Mike, would you be comfortable if your caddie was miked?
Donald: I would not like everyone hearing me and my thoughts. Too much second guessing in the weeks after by Monday morning QBs.
Herre: I'd guess that most pros feel that way, Mike, but listening in helps us civilians better understand what's happening out there.
Bamberger: Mike, I know you were not one to have a lot of chit-chat with caddies. But from your experience, is this new, this intense conversation between caddie and player, even when the player is almost over the ball? Is Steve Williams really telling Tiger anything he doesn't already know?
Donald: I am always amazed by the banter between Phil and Bones. I know that Steve is a great caddie, but I think Tiger is extremely smart and has a great feel for the game and would have won 60 or so tournaments with a pull cart.
Later on...
Herre: Again, I really like the miked caddies, and NBC is going to push that hard in Houston. The Tour needs to get onboard running interference for NBC with the players and some of the caddies, who are sure to push back. As for which network is best, CBS has been doing a fine job for decades, but is a bit stuffy. NBC is doing all the innovating at the moment.
Morfit: I agree with Sir Herre. It's cool that NBC invited Jake to do the Bay Hill telecast seemingly on a whim. I can't see CBS allowing itself such a flier.
Donald: In this economy, everyone should do whatever it takes to make it more interesting and a good buy for the advertisers. Nascar!
And after Rick Lipsey brings up the unhealthy state of the game and the gang kicks things around a bit, Donald offers this.
Donald: Golf is going down because the courses have become too difficult and equipment is too expensive. Most golfers can't even post a real score any more.