Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists: On and Off the Tour with Gary McCord

Gary McCord

G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1997 - Biography & Autobiography - 206 pages

Gary McCord has been playing the PGA Tour for the last twenty-three years, and broadcasting with CBS Sports for the last ten. His success in tournaments has been, shall we say, mixed, but not so his success in television. "McCord is the most entertaining golf commentator to come along in years", says The New York Times. "Quick, knowledgeable, colorful and irreverent - a talented and very smart man". During all those years playing and talking, "a number of strange and interesting things have transpired", he admits, and he brings some of them to us now, along with his unique greens-eye view of the world of professional golf: the Tour, the personalities, the culture, the very sights and smells. In these pages, you'll find people named Norman, Pavin, Watson, Mickelson, Daly, and Nicklaus, but also the legendary mentor Mac O'Grady, who teaches McCord how to "become the ball" a little to literally; Fairway Louie and Unemployed Lloyd, denizens of the semi-mystical San Luis Rey Downs; and a combat-booted man named Demon, who provides an unforgettable pairing in the U.S. Open qualifer. In these pages, "The Range" weaves its magic; the British Open its spectacle; Qualifying School - "golf's version of hell week" - its terror; and the Masters - well, of course, McCord has a thing or two to say about the Masters.

Contents

• The Smell of Golf: 7
• Big Divorces and Small Divots: 13
• Blindmans Buff: 27

About the author

Gary McCord was born in San Gabriel, California on May 23, 1948. He was a professional golfer who never won a title over his twenty-three year career. He did finish second in the 1977 Greater Milwaukee Open. After competing in the 1986 Colonial Invitational, he approached a CBS producer and offered to look at their approach to its golf coverage in exchange for a week's room and board. They took him up on his offer and a week later, he was handed a headset at the 16th hole tower and was told he was a commentator. He wrote Golf for Dummies with John Huggan and Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists. He has written several instructional articles in national golf magazines and writes a weekly America Online article for iGolf. He appeared as himself in the movie Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner and Don Johnson. He runs a golf school in Scottsdale, Arizona with Peter Kostis that is called the Kostis/McCord Learning Center.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Just a Range Ball in a Box of Titleists: On and Off the Tour with Gary McCord
• Author: Gary McCord
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1997
• ISBN: 0399142339, 9780399142338
• Length: 206 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; Sports & Recreation / General; Sports & Recreation / Golf