One of my favorite golf announcers, Gary McCord, is employed by CBS, but interestingly, isn't on the Augusta National grounds this week. If you follow golf, you've heard the story a million times; if you're just a casual fan, well, here's the lowdown:
McCord is noted for his outspokenness, a trait that has seen him barred from the CBS commentary team for The Masters. During the network's coverage of the 1995 Masters, he remarked that the 17th green was so fast that it seemed to be "bikini-waxed", and that "body bags" were located behind that green for players who missed their approach shots. Augusta National Golf Club ... is notoriously sensitive about how its course is described, used its influence with CBS to have him removed from the Masters commentary team.McCord has long since put the incident behind him, and though people like me just won't let it die, he's had a good sense of humor about the whole thing.
In a 1999 GolfDigest.com interview, McCord described the public's reaction thusly: "They thought it was pretty silly. It just mirrored what they thought of the Augusta committee." And, amazingly, we found out that Tom Watson wrote a letter to Augusta saying McCord should be fired. Wow. If I could offer you a little advice Mr. Watson: Dude, relax.
Anyway, I mention this because I got a tip from a FanHouse reader about something one of the announcers allegedly said during Saturday's coverage (thanks to Awful Announcing, we find out David Feherty was the perp):
"Playing this course is like being tortured by a beautiful woman."Not exactly bikini wax/body bag stuff, but frankly, I didn't think McCord's comments were all that bad to start with. So, if Feherty goes missing during today's coverage, you'll know the Augusta Mafia got to him.
This truly is a tradition unlike any other.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. You're absolutely, 100% correct! I get the feeling that Nick Faldo et,al want to say more, but they risk being blackballed from Augusta fore ever more!
Posted at 2:33PM on Apr 8th 2007 by steve
2. Certainly nowhere as bad as Don Imus. Very uptight down in the magnolia patch.
Posted at 7:00PM on Apr 8th 2007 by Dave
3. I thought golf was supposed to be fun, not drudgery like playing Augusta. What happened to all the birdies and eagles the fans enjoy?
Posted at 12:39PM on Apr 9th 2007 by ed roberts
4. I had exactly the same thought when I heard Feherty's questionable, off-the-cuff comment during the periodic bridge/pond beauty shot. The closed captioning quoted him as saying "...such a beautiful, beautiful view and NOT really a dream of a place to play golf..." I played it back a couple of times to see if that's what he really said; I think it was. Feherty is the best, but I wouldn't be surprised if he receives a slap on the wrist for that quip. Not that we would ever find out. The producers were probably in his ear right away.
Posted at 2:05PM on Apr 9th 2007 by Greg Stewart