2020 Is In The Books! - Golf With Jay Delsing

Jay Delsing spent 25 years on the PGA Tour and is a lifetime member of the PGA Tour and PGA of America.

Now he provides his unique perspective as a golfer and network broadcaster. It's time to go On The Range with Jay Delsing. Hey, good morning. This is Golf with Jay Delsing. I'm your host, Jay Delsing. Pearly was with me. Good morning, Pearly.

What's going on? You know, I mean, he just said to follow him. I did that in college. I did that in many tours. I did that when I was caddying every time it bit me in the butt.

So are you going to do it? Oh, yeah. We formatted this show like around the golf.

Our first segment is called the On The Range segment. We want you to check out our social media outlets. Twitter is at Jay Delsing. Facebook is Golf with Jay Delsing. Jay Delsing Golf Hospitality. LinkedIn is Jay Delsing.

And Instagram, we don't know what it is. We want to thank Bob and Kathy Donahue at Donahue Painting and the Finishing for supporting the show again this year. 314-805-2132. Pearly, 2020 is gone. Thank goodness. Everybody stand up and cheer. Man, I'm telling you. Party.

Nobody, nobody is mad about that. We got a best of show. And this is really cool. We've had some really fun, super people on this show.

Absolutely. And up first, so here's our list that we're going. Our list is going to be Valentino Dixon is coming out of Hopper First.

Great story. And John Hewlett, who is just super jock, disc jockey and all around great guy in St. Louis. And we've got Ozzie Smith and Adam Long.

We've got and then Ted Scott, who's Bubba Watson's caddy and the great Bob Costas. Sweet. Let's jump into this first interview with Valentino Dixon.

The best of 2020 is brought to you by Golden Tee. The jury came back and found me guilty. They gave me 39 years.

I found myself in Attica Prison, which is one of the worst prisons in America. And, you know, for the first seven years, I didn't draw at all, you know. And so my uncle sent me some art supplies and he says, if you can reclaim your talent, you can reclaim your life. And so I just started drawing. And he said, hey, man, you may have to draw yourself out of prison.

The evidence is there, but authorities is not acknowledging it. So you may have to draw yourself out of prison. I didn't know what he was talking about. I started drawing every day. My my spirit started getting stronger. And the whole time God was with me, I didn't understand it or know God. But he was with me and I was always sort of educated. So I would help guys learn their GED. You know, I went to college in prison. You know, I was, you know, just basically a counselor in there for other people. And, you know, I went to performing arts high school for artwork.

So I already had the skill, but I hadn't used it in nearly eight or nine years. And so I started drawing every day, every day, every day. And this was invigorating my spirit and making me feel better.

And in comes one, in comes the boarding one day. So they Valentino, could you draw my favorite golf hole? You know, because I had by then I had become known as the artist in Attica.

I had 20 years in prison. And I said, sure. Even though I never golfed before, I'm a black kid from the inner city. I know about golf. You kidding me? Like, how is this?

You know, we we don't we're not introduced to anything like this. Basketball, football. That's it. So I drew it the picture form the 12th hole of Augusta. He loved it.

He was elated. And my neighbor, another guy that used to golf, a white guy, he said, hey, I don't see the need to draw some more golf holes. I said, Adam, you must be kidding me. I'm not going into more golf. Let's get out of here. And he tossed some old golf dice, just magazines on my bed.

So all right. Eventually I started going through them because I did enjoy drawing the 12th hole. I mean, that bridge is iconic. The flower scene, it was different. It was more than the golf, a golf hole. And so I started going through the magazine. So I start pulling out the different, cause he gave a bunch of old issues.

He said, you don't want to toss him up. So I started pulling out all the nice golf courses that I thought was nice. You know, cause some of them, you know, is shabby, but so yeah. So I know all about those shabby ones. I grew up on a, on a Muni for sure.

Dusty, a lot of dirt, a little bit of grass, whatever. So I, I remember loving the temple beach and I did a bunch of pebble beaches, you know, just the water, the, the, the fence on the end of it and the sunlight hitting. And so I just did it from different perspectives. So after about six months I had about 40 golf drawings. Cause whenever I do something, Jay, I just put my whole heart and soul into it.

So I was just golf crazy then I was just going in just like all day, every day up to 10 hours drawing golf courses. So I started reading the articles inside the magazines. All right. I don't know nothing about this sport. Let me read about this world.

Valentino, let me stop you just for a minute. Seriously. You're, you grew up in the inner city in Buffalo, New York.

There's not a golf course around. I mean golf and you and the, how I just, it's just amazing. But let me just back up just a little bit. But you had to have some really dark days in prison. How, how did you get through?

Let me say this, right? I did have some dark days. I had some tough days. I cried a lot. I buried my face in the pillow, but let me just say this. I always knew that I was blessed and I always knew that God had a plan for me.

Okay. And when you're tested in life, you don't get it. You don't get to decide what test God is going to throw at you. You know, you got to roll with it, you know, and we're all going to be tested. It could be depth. It could be a death in the family. It could be a divorce.

It could be a car accident. I don't know what it is. Everybody's going to have a test. You know, my chest was 27 years of wrongful imprisonment, you know? So I just wanted to, you know, eventually as I understood this, I want to be able to show people that you can overcome anything.

All right. So Pearl, I got to sit with this guy. I got to have lunch with this guy. I I've I've been honored to meet way too many people that I shouldn't have had to meet this guy. He's got something so special about him. It's yeah, for me, it's his attitude. I mean 100% you could go all different directions with what he's been through challenge with et cetera. Every time you pose the question, he came right back with, but Jay, this is how I handled it.

This is what was best for me. That's all about that personal growth, that edge, that next level. And that guy's got it in spades. If you would have told this guy at any time, other than probably the last five years before he was freed, that golf was going to play a part of his life, he would have laughed us out of the conversation.

It wouldn't have even been relevant for crying out loud. And that's, what's so fun about this show is how often golf plays a major part in different lives, different activities, different efforts, and it's all the time. Yup. Yup. That's pretty, pretty cool.

Very cool. Well, we are going now to my good buddy, John Eula. John has worked at Kashi radio here in St. Louis for 44 years. He's also been the public address announcer at the ballpark for 37 years.

He and his wife, Ruth have three daughters. He is just a great guy. Let's go listen to his he's got a cool Alice Cooper story from our interview earlier this year. Jay, Delcine's best of 2020 is brought to you by golden T. He's looking to play golf. He plays golf every day. He says that it was golf that rescue him from from alcoholism and drug, drug addiction, maybe, maybe just alcoholism. But anyway, he came to town, he wanted to play golf, and he got hold of somebody to the radio station and myself and my friend Mark emo met him somewhere picked him up and drove him out to quail Creek golf course in South County.

And else Alice is a pretty decent player. You know, I would say he probably shot like 78 that day. As a matter of fact, it was 70.

I got the scorecard. So afterwards, he had to get back down to Pete's records to do a show on top of the record store there on Hampton and Chippewa. We were running late. And so he jumped in my car and we're heading up tests on ferry towards 270. And the traffic backs up.

So I decided I'm gonna take a side route. I made a right turn off of there on maybe Kennerly or something like that. And sure enough, some guy pulls out of Dearberg's parking lot and slams into the car and bust the front axle.

We weren't going anywhere. And axle and so Alice Cooper is in my car going, Oh, man, I'm gonna miss this show. So I called emo. And we had to go into the Walgreens to payphone to call emo. And while we're in there, we got a soda and some Cheetos. And we sat on the curb waiting for Mark emo to come and pick us up. And took Alice Cooper down to the show.

But yeah, I still have this mental picture of Alice Cooper's head in the roof of my car right at impact of that accident. Did you man we have Alice Cooper. We have Cheetos. And we have soda.

I mean, we also have golf. I mean, we've got all the major groups covered here. Yeah, until this day, every once in a while, one of our listeners will run into him somewhere and they'll ask him about that. Yeah, yeah, he's tired of hearing about it. Oh, I bet. You know what's interesting about Alice Cooper, Jen, when I've met him and talked to him.

He is highly intelligent guy, isn't he? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Very, very normal. You know, he carved out this image of himself being, you know, crazy and, you know, out of control. But that's just the show. And that's just the persona of Alice Cooper, the real guy Vincent Fournier, which is his real name.

He's as normal a dude as you'll find Vincent Fournier is Alice Cooper. Oh, man. Remember when schools out when he first released schools out? I'm like, Oh, man, schools out. Let's go play golf.

That's all. Yeah, it's funny how we tie different songs into our pants like that. But yeah, that's that's a good one. Okay, so all I have to say is John Hewlett, Alice Cooper, Cheetos, a car accident and soda. I had my brush with Alice Cooper in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was a member in college golf course. For whatever reason, Alice Cooper joined out there he would come out with his entourage in that wild car. What was that?

I don't even know what the style of that car was some kind of a Benz or Mercedes or whatever from vintage era. And you know what, though, they would come out and had nothing but respect for the game. He was a really good player and a really good guy and just made it happen. But it was fun to see this guy that I had a picture of his crazy rocker. And bottom line is he was nothing but passionate golfer. That's right, the person he is and the persona that he, you know, portrays are far different and just a really, really cool, cool dude and a lover of the game and in john Hewlett was just a great interview to have and just a kind of like a St. Louis contribution. I just love Hewlett's passion for what he's done, his appreciation for what he's done. And relative to golf, the way his whole family has just blended into it and fits.

It was just it was perfect for your show. Well, that's gonna wrap up the on the range segment, but don't go anywhere. We're gonna come right back to the front nine.

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And welcome back. This is golf with Jay delsing. I'm your host Jay Pearly is with me and we are on the segment.

We call the front nine. It's brought to you by the Ascension charity classic. It will be held at Norwood Hills country club in North St. Louis County this September.

And I cannot wait. Is it going to be the first tournament that you play in with your new knee? I don't know.

That's a good question. I would not, if I'm, you know, bolting down the fairways and feeling great on this knee, I wouldn't mind trying to sneak a tournament or two in before then. I hope you do. I would love it. How about that? I surprised you with that answer. I'm not going to caddy for a meet, but I hope to hell he does it.

Could you imagine me bolting down anywhere? No, that's insane. Um, no, that's not happening. Well, um, guys, we are doing, uh, the best of 2020. None of us are too bummed that 2020 is in the rear view mirror. So, uh, we had an interview in 2020 with the great, the wizard of Oz, Ozzy Smith. So let's go and listen to what Ozzy had to say.

The best of 2020 is brought to you by golden T for all the young people out there. I wasn't one of those bonus babies that signed for a lot of money. Um, but, uh, I held onto my dream. I held onto the dream that at some day I would make myself a, a big league ball player and just, just to get the opportunity and be the best big league ball player that I could be. And lo and behold, like I get signed by the Padres and in my, I was there for my first four years and then how Gary Templeton had some problems here in St. Louis.

And I certainly had some problems there in San Diego. So we ended up getting traded for each other. And you know, Gary was probably one of the most talented guys ever put on a pair of spikes. You know, he, um, he was a two five, two player who could hit for power, could hit for average. Um, he could run, he could throw, he did it all.

And he's still the only guy in the national league to get 200 hits from each side, a hundred hits from each side of the plate. So that was a lot of pressure coming to an organization such as the Cardinals, you know, having to try and reprove myself over again. But here again, I believed in what I could do.

I think Whitey Herzog and acquiring me believed in what I could do and felt that I could, uh, I would be the missing link or I was the missing link to what this organization needed. And lo and behold, 1982 was a magical year for us. And I've been here ever since I think that is, that stuck out in my mind when I watched you play for, I had never seen anybody bring the sort of athleticism that you brought to the shortstop position. Your range was sick. I mean, it was crazy. And the, the, the way that you were able to dive, get back up on your feet and all that stuff, it was, it just never been seen before.

I mean a 13 time gold Glover, a 15 time all star. I mean, you even won the silver slugger award in 1987 that man, that from, from what you just talked about in the high school, you know, and, and then Iowa and that whole thing is, I mean, did you ever, you had to dream though you had to think you could do it. No, you know, Jay, you know, it was just about being the best at whatever I chose to do. And my mom used to preach this and I was lucky enough that I had the, I had the people that were important in my life.

They were all preaching the same message about working hard to be the best, whatever it was that I chose to do in my life. It just so happened that I realized that at early age that my hand and eye coordination would be my ticket. It was something that was very special. It was a blessing. And I never wanted that to be, um, uh, something that I took for granted, you know, so I just continued to work hard at being the best baseball player that I could be.

And I wouldn't let all of those other things take care of themselves as, as it did. You know, my job every day was to go out there and catch and throw the baseball, um, make as few mistakes as I possibly could knowing that there was no such thing as perfection, which will lead us into what golf is all about when we start talking about that. But that was that that's a correlation there, uh, that I find it a two sports, but it was to be the very best that I could be with what I was given. All right. So John, when I hear Ozzie Smith talk about his commitment to baseball, his hand eye coordination and baseball and all these other things, and I started thinking about it in golf.

Whoa. I, when I hear him talk and I think of all the years I got to watch him run out on the field and do a flip, not, and I wasn't necessarily, I'm a, I'm a Cubs fan. Sorry.

I wasn't necessarily St. Louis. We'll cut that later. We take that out. Come on, come on, come on. The fact that I'm on a radio show and you're interviewing him and we're going through this. I absolutely love that. And what a fun guy and a passionate guy and a guy that came up through the ranks that you and I can both relate to relative to coming up to the ranks in golf. Yeah, absolutely.

And how about, you know, uh, just his story is terrific. I mean, he went to high school with Eddie Murray, two hall of famers on the same. Come on.

How does that ever happen? Any Murray? So let's like an Eddie Murray to golf.

How do you go out and strike the ball? Well, every day there was about two guys like that. I know. I know.

Who the hell can you say can do that? Part of the part problem with, uh, with Ozzy, when you're around a guy like that, you're thinking, well, how can I compete if this guy's doing this? But he hung with it and did it and did it and did it and found his own way. Exactly.

Pearl. And you couldn't find two different players. Ozzy was almost ballerina. Like he was just effortless. His range was second shortstop. Eddie Murray was a very good defender, but he was clubbing the ball. Strong, powerful left-handed batter. And, uh, Oh man, what else can you say? Had a great career in Baltimore.

All right. Uh, up next, our St. Louis buddy, Adam long, what a fun interview this is. Let's go talk to recent PGA tour winner, Adam long. The best of 2020 is brought to you by golden T you were born in new Orleans, but grew up here in St. Louis in 2008, you won the metropolitan amateur championship and you went to the university of do, uh, Duke university and, uh, which is just a, a phenomenal, uh, you know, place to go get a degree and had a good golf program. And then you turned pro in 2010 and you kind of kicked it around the mini tours for a little bit. Right.

Yeah. Um, we had a, you know, I grew up in St. Louis and grew up playing Whitmore country club and then old Hickory and then wing Haven for a bit and like forest more recently. And, uh, so we moved around a little bit and, and, and the suburbs there in St. Louis, St. Charles and went to Francis howl. And we had some good, good high school teams there and, um, was playing national events growing up, you know, since I was probably 11 years old and, um, just kept getting a little bit better and eventually ended up at Duke. And, you know, we weren't, uh, the UCLA teams of your past, but we were some pretty good, uh, we had some pretty good guys on our team and we had, we had a good four years there and, um, you know, turned pro, like you said, in 2010 and, um, qualified for the U S open in 2011.

And that was kind of an eye-opener for me and taught me kind of two things, one that the best players in the world, aren't perfect. And I was probably closer than I thought I was to, to those guys. But, uh, you know, it took me a few years, but I ended up playing the, the, well, it was the nationwide web.com corn ferry tour in 2012 and lost my card pretty easily. I didn't have a very good year out there, but, um, you know, I, I played the mini tours, e-golf tour, Hooters tour, Latin America, Canada.

I played them all. It seems like, um, for a few years and got back onto the corn ferry tour in 2015 and then, uh, played another four years out there. And finally finally able to get my card in 2018. So, um, it took me a little bit longer than I wanted to, but, uh, it all worked out. You know, Adam, let's talk a little bit about that progression though, because, um, most people go, Oh, Adam long, this overnight success, you know, in, in, we know that there is no such thing.

Really. It's an overnight success. Like you said, the Wolfs and Marca was, they may have more, uh, immediate, uh, impact and success on the PGA tour, man. This thing's a marathon.

This is not a sprint, but, and talk a little bit about the progression that you saw in your game. You just mentioned the U S open and then getting out on the corn ferry that the nationwide it's a, it's a phenomenal place to figure it out. Isn't it? Yeah, uh, exactly. I think all those tours taught me something. Um, I've learned right away how to kind of travel on my own in college. Everything's kind of set up for you. This is your schedule. This is when we're leaving for the airport.

This is what we're going to wear every day. I mean, literally everything pretty much laid out for you. You just have to go play and then you turn pro and you got to figure out your own schedule. You're in charge of your travel, where you stay, how you get from one tournament to another or a Monday qualifier when, how you kind of organize all that, um, is all up to you, uh, submitting an entry fee or signing up for events, all of it.

And it's all on you. And so you've got to figure it all out and, you know, going out on your own and it teaches you that it teaches you how to play four rounds of competitive golf. Um, it teaches you the ups and downs and missing cuts. And, you know, in college you don't miss cuts. And so it teaches you all of that and how to bounce back from the bad weeks and get better.

And, um, so I, you know, I kind of learned a bit on my own. I had Brian Foat there in St. Louis by my side the whole way. And, um, I would work with him when I went through St. Louis, but it teaches you really got to kind of learn on the fly a bit. And, uh, yeah, the corn fairy tour was great.

I played, you know, four or five years out there that were, were all really good. It taught me a lot and they're set up the exact same way as the PGA tour, as far as committing to events and, you know, how they're run is all the same. Um, they're just different areas, different countries, or even, you know, traveling in South America, you're traveling around all over the place, but, uh, it's, it's a great learning experience and, uh, it teaches you everything you need to know for the most part. But, um, there is no substitute for the PGA tour. Um, they're, they're great breeding grounds, but you get that under the gun on the PGA tour and you've got crowds that you've never seen before and you got these cameras all over you. It's a, it is a bit different, but, uh, those are definitely good stepping stones to get there.

Yeah, that's really well said. So Adam, this is so cool. So you, you made one cut out of your first four events, I think, and then you turn around and win the Desert Classic in Palm Springs at PGA West. You made an unbelievable birdie on 18, uh, which I have been where you hit your tee shot off to the right, but I did not follow my tee shot up with it nearly as good a second shot or putt as you did. And it was so fun to watch you kind of stick it in Philly mix here. Um, Adam Hadwick was in the last group there to talk us through the last little bit of that back nine, but because I watched you hold that putt on 18 and I said to my buddy, John Pearlis, he does a show with me.

This thing is going straight in the center of the hole and he goes, how do you know? I go, I can just tell you look so locked in the, the stage wasn't too big and it looked like it just was your time. Yeah.

Um, I don't know. I, a whole last day was it kind of went fast for me for sure. I mean, it was my first time in the final group obviously, and you're playing with one of the best players in history and Phil Nicholson and Adam Hadwin, you know, a star in his own, right? So it was, uh, you know, a lot to accept they're going into the round, but I really just kept, kept my cool and just wanted to have fun and enjoy it and laugh with my caddy and just enjoy the whole experience was really my goal.

I didn't think I was going to win. I wasn't trying to win when they teed off on Sunday, I was trying to have fun. I was trying to hit, keep playing great golf. I mean, I was like 19 under for the first three rounds. Like I clearly, I was playing great golf, making a lot of birdies, just keep doing that stuff and give myself chances and keep knocking putts in. And that's basically what I did. Uh, I still made the turn. I was still back with had one by three, I believe. And, um, so there was still a lot of work to do. I thought one of those two guys was probably going to win. They've won before Phil's won 40 events or whatever. I mean, clearly, uh, you know, I'm not going to win this thing, but I just wanted to keep having fun.

I needed a top 10 to even get into the next week at the farmers and Tory. So I was mostly planned for that, but honestly just trying to stay in the moment and enjoy it. And literally all of a sudden we're on 18 T and all three of us are tied.

And that's when it kind of changed. Like, all right, I've done it. Like I've succeeded. It's been a successful day.

I've got my top 10 I'm in the next week. I'm going to make a bunch of points, a bunch of money. Like let's, let's just see where this thing goes. And, uh, a little conservative off the tee, um, the water left to hit it right.

And it ended up somehow on the downslope of this mogul out there. And, uh, not exactly what I was looking for, but, um, it was just one of those shots where I was just had to turn into an athlete and, and I couldn't think about, okay, ball below my feet. It's going to want me to hit it right, but it's easy to pull these as well. And you know, this is, we're tied and these guys are, I'm hitting first. Those guys are going to be flagging it close to, I need to be aggressive.

It wasn't really any of that. It was like, all right, I'm playing great golf. Um, I need to just be an athlete about this. And you've hit this shot like this, you know, a hundred times before.

It's nothing crazy. And, uh, I just went right at it and you know, I was probably aiming what, 10 feet right at the flag or whatever and pulled it right at it. I was happy to see that it was going right at the flag and a pretty good distance as well. So, and uh, all of a sudden I had a chance to win the golf tournament, um, with about 13 feet, I think it was.

Um, but same thing. I went through what I've been feeling since Thursday of, you know, my putting stroke feels good. I've been reading the greens great and just wanted to pretend it was a putt on Thursday rather than a Sunday to win a tournament. And, and I went, you know, it did go through my mind, like as soon as Phil and Hadwin had both missed their opportunities that, okay, this is to win the tournament, but I only let myself think that for a second. And then it went into like, okay, this is, this doesn't really matter. It's the same thing.

I think I've been thinking just roll the putt and, uh, the darn thing went in. Okay. So John, one of my favorites, favorite parts about what Adam brought up was his journey, the way that this thing has broken out for him. You know, he's, he talked about Matthew Wolf. He talked about Victor Hovland. He talked about, uh, Colin Morikawa and how they kind of came out of school and boom, you know, it just started happening for him. Not the case for him.

Not the case for most people. Right. That's why I think this story is absolutely phenomenal. And what I love about him, he keeps popping up. Yes, here he is.

Here he is. He's got to win. He makes this happen. He makes this happen. The guy is constantly in the hunt. He's building his confidence. Just an absolutely great story.

It's the way most things happen. I was just texting him, bro. Uh, the night before the Maya coma event in Mexico, he had to lead. He had the, or no, no, he was in there. Whatever it was close. It was very close.

Maybe not. It was close. He was in the top five. Exactly. And we had some, some, uh, really fun texting going back and forth and he wound up finishing in the top five.

You and I talk about this. I mean, you can look at Nick Faldo used to be called Nick Faldo. You can look at Tom Kite. Tom Kite considered a choker. Tom Watson. How about the great Payne Stewart?

Consider a choker Payne Stewart. Can't get over the hump. We all forget that when they start winning. The fact is those guys went through the blood, sweat, and tears to get to that point. And I think we need to remember that whether it's golf, whether it's our careers, whether it's our families, you got to go through those times.

Absolutely. Well, that's going to wrap up the front nine, but don't go anywhere. We got Bob Costas and Bubba Watson's Kenny Ted Scott coming up on the back nine. This is golf with Jay Delson workouts, more fun. Well, if they are, then I want to sign you to an endorsement deal with Michelob ultra. I'm looking for anyone in everyone who makes working out a blast.

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Call them at 636-926-9622. We're halfway there. It's time for the back nine on golf with Jay Delcie. Welcome back. This is golf with Jay Delcie. I'm your host Jay. I got my favorite caddy Pearly with me. Brad Barnes has taken great care of us here at the ESPN studios.

We are headed to the back nine. Um, okay, John, Ted Scott. Great guy. I don't, ladies and gentlemen, if you are into social media, you got to check out Ted Scott on, on Twitter. He is just a hoot. He had some, um, well let's just go to his interview and then we'll talk about it. This is Ted Scott who now caddies for Bubba Watson.

Jay Delcie's best of 2020 is brought to you by golden tee. Kind of a freak accident the way that I got into caddy and foosball was the same when I was in college. My, uh, my neighbor owned a pool hall and I would go in there and I didn't shoot pools every Monday and Thursday. I was hearing these people in the back of the room just screaming and hollering over this game that I had seen played before. I was like, why is it so many people back there? What are they doing? My ADD I guess kicked in up.

What's going on over there? So I had to go see when I got there, I was amazed that the ball control they had and how competitive it looked and so much fun. So I just same, same philosophy. I just said, excuse me, who can teach me how to do this? And he said, well, probably the guy that runs the tournament. So I walked over to him. I said, how are you doing?

My name is Ted. I want to learn how to do this. It looks fun. What do I need to do to get lessons and said, we'll play in my tournament every Monday and Thursday. I said, well, how much is that?

He said $5. So I'm in. So he was a state champion and from day one I had perfect fundamentals. So it'd be almost like a, a great golfer teaching you exactly how to grip it, you know, stand and you had never seen golf really played like that before. So I just had really good fundamentals and I fell in love with it. I'm kind of like every kind of game, sport, anything that is fun for me and I can get into it. I've never met a game that I didn't like.

I got one yet. So that's how I ended up doing football. That's how I ended up playing golf. I've made Caddy just strictly by trying to get better.

I spend time with people that are better than this. And Ted, how cool was it? You start getting, you meet grant weight. Grant has an unbelievable season and you guys are going toe to toe with tiger woods at Glen Abbey up at the Canadian open. Yeah, it was really strange. You know, I went from a, for those that might've heard the story of my first day on the job where I didn't have a yardage book and two, three month later standing there with tiger wins, greatest season, you know, hitting what many people think is going to happen for him.

He made one more puppet after that. That's when, you know, the one stroke victory team, but that was just the major, you know, trying to start Caddy and just to learn something. So three months later, spending time with the greatest player ever beating us.

If you can take a loss and enjoy it. So Ted, that shot that tiger hit from the right fairway bunker at 18. Was there anybody else on tour at that time you think would have pulled, could have pulled that off? Well, interestingly enough, grant actually was hitting the exact same items on the par threes that day. Uh, you know, so, so I think, you know, the power that grant had, you know, how fit he is. He's super strong.

He was pretty long back then. Um, and I think with the adrenaline, you know, he could have, he could have hit that shot. Uh, but I think just the fact that the tiger was aiming so aggressive possibly is what most of us wouldn't do. I think for me personally, I think that way left the water. Oh, Ted, for me, that back bunker, I'd have been all over that back bunker.

Yeah. You know, Ted, the right club is probably a six iron and I'd have probably taken a five, you know, when he asked me, I was like, uh, okay, you know, but he just so pumped up in that moment. And then, you know, tiger was six yards closer, six yards. So, you know, you know, it's like when you get a journal, these guys, you know, they hit it far already. You get pumped up and the situations on the line, you know, you can be almost as far as you want.

So it's almost, differences are irrelevant at times. And that, that can't be easy to caddy for. I mean, you're almost, especially with who you've got now, Ted, I've never, ever encountered a player like Bubba Watson. He is so creative and hit some of the, I'm just going to call them wild or craziest shots I've ever seen.

Yeah. You know, I definitely have the best ticket in golf, you know, um, 14 years together, there's not a week that goes by that I just, I just kind of look at him and just go, man, that's, that's freakish, you know, that's just nuts what you just did, you know, and, uh, and not to say some other players can't do it. It's just the fact that he does some of that stuff in the middle of the fairway, which doesn't make sense, you know, so a lot of fun, a lot of talent, you know, not a, not a real big, uh, practicer in the sense of normal way of going about it. You know, I mean, Bubba doesn't go to the range, you know, hardly ever. Um, you know, he just, he likes to go play golf.

And if he goes to the range, typically he'll, he'll end up by the end of 10 minute or 15 minute session, getting bored and take his three iron out and start trying to hit it to the 50 yard flag, to the a hundred yard flag, one 20, one 80, the 200 and the 300, you know, he just hit all kinds of shots to it because he just likes to play the game and be creative and not, and not try to worry about having, you know, what many would call a perfect looking swing, you know, it's like, Hey, what, what gets the job done? So very unique approach in today's, in today's game, you know, I think it's a little bit different, um, today with all the coaching and track man information and flight scope and you know, the quad, there's so many different things out there that, that people, um, you know, can gather information from and, and 3d analysis. And you know, that you can really get bogged down in the details of a one second endeavor. You know, if it takes us one second to swing a golf club, there's a lot of stuff, a lot of information out there about that one second. But you know, that just shows you how complex the movements are to create the desired ball flight.

And, um, you know, Bubba just the genius of who he is, is he doesn't think about any of that stuff. You know, he just kind of almost fans need us, you know, I think fade and it fades, I think draw and it draws. So it's, it's a fun, exciting way to play the game. I'm sure something that I've never really done played golf like that. And, uh, it's even more fun to caddy for someone like that. Just knowing that day to day is pretty much going to have his A game, you know, physically, it's just all about how he's thinking.

All right, Pearl, I don't know. I I'm a huge fan of Ted Scott's, but I loved listening to him talk about coming down the stretch when he was caddying for grant weight before he worked for, uh, for Bubba and playing with tiger Glen Abbey. And that last hole where tiger had his drive in the right hand bunker and blasted that iron over the green and birdied 18 to win the thing and beat grant by a stroke. Oh man, that was just, I remember watching that and going, this is just phenomenal. One of the best shots that we will ever see in our lives. I mean, you were on tour a long time.

You played with great players. Seriously. Did you see too many shots better than that?

No, no. It's a, the line that he took was so it's hard to even explain. I mean, did he mean to take that line?

I don't know. I was going to say he probably pushed it a little bit, but nonetheless it, it, it, it's the line that he got, you know what I mean? And so it was such a great player, a little bit maybe into his mechanics, you know, probably an understatement, but he had this shot right there and he's probably thinking tiger over there, this isn't going to happen.

And all of a sudden it happened. Yep. Yeah. I didn't know Ted was, uh, uh, Grant's caddy at that time.

Yeah, he was. And, um, um, um, he's also the world champion foods ball player. You know, he's just, he's just a really interesting guy.

That fits being Bubba's caddy. Yeah. The way that everything is kind of broken out. It's just a terrific, and Ted is just a terrific guy.

All right. So our last best of we've got a bunch of cuts because the interview was so fun to do the great Bob Costas world-class world-class let's listen to Bob J. Delphine's best of 2020 is brought to you by golden T I'm looking at your accomplishments, man. And I just cannot believe the sports spectrum that you've covered in your career. I mean, I guess we could start in 1974 when you got to come to St. Louis, I'm assuming, you know, you're a kid that grew up in Queens and that you had never been to St. Louis before I had never set foot in St. Louis until October of 1974. I was in Syracuse where I went to college. I had gotten my first job a year before doing minor league hockey in the Eastern hockey league for $30 a game and $5 a day meal money on the road. While I was still a student at Syracuse. The only thing I really knew about St. Louis was the Cardinals and the fact that I could sometimes pick up KMOX if the signal was clear enough on the right night and I could listen to Harry carry and Jack buck.

And by the mid seventies, it was just Jack because Harry had left. So I was excited to have an interview at KMOX for the chance to be the voice of the spirits and maybe to meet Jack buck. But I thought, Hey, I'm 22 years old. I have a very thin resume. There's almost no way in the world I'm going to get this job.

But lo and behold, I did. And so when I came to St. Louis for the interview, I'm thinking this is the one and only time for the foreseeable future. I'll be in this town.

And what do I know about this town? I know the Cardinals. And I know that Stan Musial has a restaurant.

At least he did then for many years called Musial and Biggies. So I went after the interview with Mr. Hyland and with Jack Buck, I went to New Zealand Biggies by myself. And this is 1974. And all I had was a hamburger and maybe a Coke. And the bill was maybe 10 bucks. And I didn't even have any credit cards then all I had was a little bit of cash. And as the tip after paying the bill, I left three singles, a quarter, a nickel and a penny.

$3.31 in honor of Stan Musial's lifetime batting average of 331. I'm sure the waiter was puzzled, but I'm thinking I'm never going to set foot here again. So I go back to Syracuse. And a couple of days later, Mr. Hyland calls me and what do you know, I've got the job. And I'm back in Syracuse a couple of weeks after I'm back in St. Louis rather a couple of weeks after that, embarking upon my career with KMRX. Bob, what a phenomenal career you've had. But one of the things as a kid, I can remember listening to you call the St. Louis spirits games, and fly Williams, the three point line, you know, the colored ball, all of those really fun things as a you know, as a kid, I grew up in North County and love sports. But hearing your voice, the passion that you had when you called basketball was phenomenal. Well, you know, I was a kid, that's part of it. I was a kid, starting out on his first really big broadcasting adventure. I was at KMOX, I understood the prestige and the history of the station.

I understood that I was working with Jack Buck and with Dan Kelly and other legendary broadcasters on a station where Harry Caray and Joe Garagiola and others had worked. And I was a small part of that. So I was all I was all psyched up anyway.

And of course, basketball is a fast paced sport. And I guess I just let it rip. Yeah, absolutely. And you became part of this tremendous roster of unbelievable broadcasters that this little flyover city as we're called sometimes has had the people that have come through here have been just phenomenal.

Oh, absolutely. Hall of Fame broadcasters. You think about all the people that have been associated primarily with St. Louis that are in the Baseball Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Broadcasters Wing in Cooperstown, or various other broadcasting halls of fame, boldface names.

There has never been a radio station. And this is a considered opinion. Never been a radio station more influential or better in quality than KMOX over the course of decades, more dominant in the ratings and more respected in every way. And it's only a small exaggeration to say that especially in sports, we had a roster of people there that could have stopped the network's entire sports department. Oh, there's no question I had Jay Randolph Sr. on. Oh, gosh, a couple of months ago, Bob, and he talked about, you know, the Gary benders of the world and some of those guys that you know, because we had the big red back then.

And, oh, man, as a kid, you know, you just don't appreciate it as I'm older now. And I've been fortunate to be in sports. I'm like, man, St. Louis has just got a first class seat that takes, you know, it doesn't have to take anything from any other city in terms of our broadcasters.

Yeah, even Dan Girdorf began broadcasting at KMOX when he was still an active player with the Football Cardinals and went on from there to its horrific career on network television calling football. All right, so Dan, just just the fact that he knew what Stan Musial's lifetime batting average of 331 is and to leave that tip and everything. Oh, man, it's just fantastic. But that's going to wrap up the back nine.

Don't go anywhere. We got more Bob Casas on the Michelob Ultra 19th hole. This is golf with Jay Delsing. The management team at Marcon would like to give a shout out to our 500 plus employees and their families. Their diligence and commitment to each other, our process and our company are so good that we are obligated to state publicly. We are so grateful for each and every one of you. You have all contributed to our success and your dedication is imperative to the continued growth of our company.

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Don't waste your time with the national online brokers. USA mortgage is employee owned and operated right here in Saint Louis. Joe Sieser has closed over $500 million in loans in nearly 30 years in the business and over 2 million alone to delsings professional golf returns to ST Louis in 2021. The Ascension Charity Classic presented by Emerson stars like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and more compete at Norwood Hills Country Club September six through the 12th tickets, clubhouse passes, hospitality suites and pro and four sims are on sale. Now all proceeds go to North ST Louis County Charities visit ascension charity classic.com or call 314-938-2828 PGA Tour golf is back in the loo. The Ascension Charity Classic. When things come out of left field having a game plan matters. Farmers Insurance has over 90 years of experience helping people play through every stage of the game.

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Grab your friends a cold one and pull up a chair. We're on to the 19th hole on golf with Jay Delsing. The 19th hole is brought to you by Michelob Ultra. Well, thanks for staying with us. This is golf with Jay Delsing and we are at our favorite part of the show.

The 19th hole brought to you by Michelob Ultra. So we're doing the best of and we are at the very back end of this. We've got two more clips with a great Bob Costas. So let's just go to this first clip now.

This is Bob Costas. The best of 2020 is brought to you by Golden T. I just finished watching The Last Dance and I think the 10th episode of that great series was basically the 6th championship for the Bulls in game 7 and it was just a spectacular call and what a great ending and you did exactly what you just said. Well, it was so dramatic that you say to yourself at certain points, there's nothing I can do to add to this or enhance it in any way. It speaks for itself so let me get out of the way until it's time for me to come back in. But when it came to that last dance season in 98, the Bulls as a team and also Michael Jordan as an individual, I was aware as I think anybody would be over the course of the season that this was more than just an NBA championship more than just a really exciting conclusion to a final. It was something bigger than that and the proof is that it resonates 22 years later people were drawn to The Last Dance and really interested in it. So I knew in the moment that this was something different and I was able to say a few things that acknowledge that and that still I guess played pretty well 22 years later wonderfully well Bob is that the sport fan in you is that the true kid that as a sports fan obviously you're polished and you're aware of the situation but you're a fan of the of the games aren't you yes and I hope that that comes through I think it naturally comes through better when you're younger and you have to guard against sort of world world weariness been there done that seen it all you've never really seen it all that's part of the appeal of sports it's a drama without a script you can walk into an arena or onto the golf course or into a stadium and see something no matter how many events you've been to see something that you've never seen before you don't know when you don't know if but it could happen and you always have to be open to that and always have to be willing to respond at least in part like a fan like a kid but as you said with with the craftsmanship you hope of an experienced professional all right pro what is the main what is your main takeaway when you hear a guy like bob costas talk about he is passionate about what he does to his core that to me is what what matters and who doesn't want that that's why to me he's successful if you will brilliant if you like him but that's that's at his core he knows what it is he's passionate about it and that's why every time the guy speaks it's interesting to listen to him well i gotta tell you what i i loved how we talked about the olympics and how he would always you know he's like i don't want to insult my audience i know that we've got to talk about i'm in beijing we're in a communist country we are you know when he in he did it in such a way that it never ever took away from the event i mean he talked about the he got the game seven call for the last dance you know the sixth championship for the chicago bulls and you know that that's a fine balancing act pearl to to give michael jordan and the bulls are due but also be able to say something poignant or something that's that that matters and man he just seems to be perfect at it absolutely it's just it's just fun you've had jim nance on here i think he's similar relative to understanding the moment and clearly costas understands the moment well that's going to wrap up another show um man 2021 come on man we bring it on for some great stuff we're ready to get i love what he said about 2021 it's going to be big things it's going to be great things it's going to be kind of a bit of a new awakening we both want that we all want that absolutely so this is golf with jay delsing come back next week we've got vince gill this is golf with jay delsing hit him straight st louis that was golf with jay delsing brought to you by whitmore country club tune in next sunday for more from jay john and the other pros and experts from the golf world in the meantime you can find all of jay's shows at 101 espn.com as well as at jay delsing golf.com