Tales from the Ranks: Archives
March 28, 2006
What was the week like the first time you came here for your Masters?
Q: In regards to The Masters, obviously it made an impression on you, what was the week like the first time you came here for your Masters?
AP: Well, I suppose my gut feeling was I was so relieved and so happy to be at Augusta. I had played the Winter Tour, and a lot of things happened. One, I couldn’t take any money I won because I had to wait six month. It was a relief to get here because I knew that if I won any money, I’d get it, and that was important.
The other thing was that I played golf courses coming across the sweep in the South that in some cases, I started on the golf course at 5’10” and ended up at 6’0” because the mud on my shoes had built up a couple of inches.
And the greens, the greens on a lot of golf courses there was no grass; they overseed in the winter and it didn’t work.
So to get here where everything was impeccable, it was beautiful, the club, the facilities, and I was relieved. I was looking forward to it so much.
You can talk about it, but you can’t really tell someone how relieved you are. It was an inner feeling, and I knew that I had a chance to do something; that whatever I did play wise I was going to get rewarded for, and that was something I really looked forward to.
Posted by scurry at 12:53 PM
You won four, but how many do you think you left out there that you could have won?
Q: You won four, but how many do you think you left out there that you could have won?
AP: A lot more than four. You mean that I thought I could have won? Oh, yeah. Well, there was a couple of obvious ones, and there were others that weren’t so obvious.
I could go back, oh, probably even before I think in ’57 or ’56, I had a shot with nine holes to go and didn’t perform very well, and then after that, from ’58, oh God, almost up to close to ’70, maybe with a few exceptions, I would have had a shot every year.
Posted by scurry at 12:51 PM
How hard was that to just say, my last Masters?
Q: How hard was that to just say, my last Masters?
AP: Well it’s not easy. When you think about it, after this year, that will have been 50. And, of course, there’s all kinds of reasons why that should be the end. I hope to come back and be here at the Masters.
My game, you know, I suppose that if I made the cut this year.
You know, lightening hasn’t struck lately, and I’m not sure that it’s going to this year.
But I hit the ball pretty good today. Didn’t play particularly well, but I was encouraged; I reached all of the fairways off the tee.
I even made a few pars. So the next Thursday and Friday will be fun for me. I suppose it’s a bittersweet type situation. I’m going to miss coming and playing in the Masters, as I have for 50 years. You do anything that long, it’s like getting married. You get married and have a great time and then things go, sort of cool down, and you start it up again. Who knows?
It’s been great. It’s been a 50 great years, and I don’t think that I think that that’s enough. I think that’s it.
Posted by scurry at 12:45 PM
How did you feel about your 50th anniversary of the Masters in 2004?
Q: Can you describe emotionally what you were feeling walking up the 18th fairway at The Masters in 2004?
AP: Well, if you just use your imagination, you will understand that emotion. I’ve thought about how many times I’ve walked up that 18th fairway. I can think of the four times that I won the Masters. I can think of a couple of times that I didn’t win that I felt like I should have won. I can think of the fans that have supported me and listened to them, and, of course, they all have something to say, or most of them have something to say about what I’m doing when I’m walking up that fairway.
I think of all the things from the beginning, 1955 and ’56 and ’57, and I think of the times when I’ve teed it off at 10 and before I won the Masters and all of those things. I could go on and one and tell you things that are of no interest to you other than the fact it had something to do with my life and my playing golf here.
Emotion? A lot. Sometimes I just get tired and the emotion overrules and runs away with me. I’m not upset about that. You know, if I can’t handle it, that’s my fault. But it’s a part of me. That’s pretty much it. That’s what I think about, whether it be making a 6 at the last hole to lose the Masters, or whether it be hitting a 7 iron in about four feet to make a putt to win the Masters, all of those things go through my mind.
Posted by scurry at 12:27 PM
Are you leaving the Masters in good hands?
Q: Are you leaving the Masters in good hands? Are there things that you’re worried about that they need to address in the future, distance of the ball, etc., Something that perhaps concerns you as you make your exit?
AP: Well, I think there are always things that you probably have some concerns about. I don’t think that has really much to do with the Masters itself. I think it’s golf. I think it’s the competition. It really, in my feeling and opinion, like it or not, I think the ball needs to be slowed down. I think the best thing that we can do, rather than continuing to try to extend the real estate and make the golf courses longer and longer and longer, we really need to look for a way to slow the ball down a little bit, and rather than if you don’t slow it down, as time goes on, it’s going to get the problem is going to become more severe because these young people are growing stronger, and equipment, the things that they do to shafts and clubs and heads and all within the rules.
The one thing that they can do that would be very key to competitive golf, and that is slow the golf ball down, either the initial velocity, or I suppose there are numerous things that you can do to make a difference. You can probably lighten it a little. You can probably enlarge it a little. There are all kinds of ways to look at slowing it down. But I think that if you’re going to try to do something about the distance these people hit the golf ball, that’s where you have to go.
Posted by scurry at 12:19 PM