Playing in the SHO pro am next Wednesday. First PGA Tour pro am I've ever played in. Are the pros usually personable? I'd imagine they generally aren't thrilled to tee it up with three amateurs, but probably know how to make the best of it. Anyone have any good/bad stories?

It's all going to depend on who you are playing with.

I won't share who i played with but I can tell you we got hammered and he was in his pocket in a ridiculous skins game.

I've played in the Byron Nelson Pro Am 3 times (and it's been a while since the last), and my feedback would be that there are a wide range. Some don't interact much at all. Others are great. I was pretty fortunate in that the 3 times I played - Nick Price, Rich Beem, and Duffy Waldorf. Nick Price was just awesome - tremendously nice, great stories, etc. Beem was very funny and would talk some **** too. I hooked a drive which he made a "hookenf***er" joke about. Waldorf was the quietest of the 3, which is odd considering he always had the goofy wardrobe so you'd think he'd be super outgoing. He was still friendly; it was probably more just a testament to how great Price and Beem were. He just didn't interact all that much.

But there are a lot of guys that don't interact much and are mostly just looking to get through the round.

Ben Crane... Underrated post

Danny played with the guy that I did!

Which one?

Very jealous.

How did you guys get to play in pro-ams? Do you have to know someone?

I was basically a fill-in all 3 times. My first was just through a friend and his father. I was barely out of college for that one. Then I worked at EDS before/after they got the Byron Nelson sponsorship in the early 2000's. A co-worker that got to be a very close friend (and regular golf buddy) was a former pro golfer (just mini-tours), and when EDS landed the deal, he got a lot of responsibility for coordinating EDS's involvement in the pro am - including arranging the invites, we'd have eds employees caddy in the pro am, etc. I wasn't enough of a bigshot to get on the initial list, but there were a couple of times when a client had to back out and I was the late fill-in.

I was invited by a company we do business with (which also happens to the be title sponsor of the event). Was in the right place at the right time when they were handing out invites.

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Danny played with the guy that I did!

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I'm guessing based on Danny's description, it had to be Rich Beem.

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Very jealous.

How did you guys get to play in pro-ams? Do you have to know someone?

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$$$$$

Yep.

Same deal, got lucky and filled a spot. It was awesome, and I can tell you those guys play a different golf course than we do.

I learned a lot from him about drinking and learning to score the golf ball. I don't remember any of it.

Most random memory of the 3 for me was Nick Price's hands. Relatively small guy, but he had these freakishly big, strong-looking hands. We were assigned Cottonwood and started on #10, so we took a van to the tee. And I just remember this giant ****ing hand reaching over the seat to shake hands.

That's hilarious. Could've been worse, though. At least you said "Look at her" instead of "Damn just looking at her you know she's a freak in the sack."

Lol

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My best pro am story. 2 years ago I played with Dustin Johnson and my largest customer. Dustin was good but not extremely personable. But there were chicks everywhere. And most would gather behind the tee. We kept looking for Paulina Gretzky but never found here.
But on one of the tee boxes on the back I saw this gorgeous girl and I turned to my customer and said, ".... Look at her....." And my customer turned and looked and said, "that's my daughter...."

I wasn't sure what to say at that point.

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No, not her..the one behind her

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My best pro am story. 2 years ago I played with Dustin Johnson and my largest customer. Dustin was good but not extremely personable. But there were chicks everywhere. And most would gather behind the tee. We kept looking for Paulina Gretzky but never found here.
But on one of the tee boxes on the back I saw this gorgeous girl and I turned to my customer and said, ".... Look at her....." And my customer turned and looked and said, "that's my daughter...."

I wasn't sure what to say at that point.

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No, not her..the one behind her

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Customer: "That's my mother."

typically everyone walks and there are 5 players in the group, the 4 amateurs and the pro
I've' seen it where he helps with the lines on putts and gives tips and then other times where the pro rarely even talked to the players. just all depends on your player

For several years I would go to the Nelson on Pro-am day. You could take pics and some guys would sign on the course. I was and am a big Tom Watson fan so I followed his group most of the day. The D player for his group was a huge guy, probably 300 pounds, knee braces, and was drenched in sweat from the first tee on. On about the third hole the guy is on the back fringe. Its a three tier green and the hole is at the bottom, probably a good 90 feet and three breaks away. Watson helps him read it, walks to a spot about 20 feet down the hill and tells the guy, hit it right here , real softly. The guy gets up and does it. The putt takes the break, takes the first slope, takes the next break, takes the next slope, and just dies right in the heart of the cup. Gallery, group, Watson, everybody goes wild. Made the guy's day and was just an awesome moment.

Watson took a picture with me between holes. Still have it on my wall.


On the other hand, I followed Faldo's group some also. He would go several holes without talking to his partners and would stand on his tee waiting for the others to hit. This was back in 1996 so I think his personality was a lot different then.

Ditto on Price. Followed him a little and he just seemed like such a genuine guy.

Haven't played , but have caddied at Nelson.

Furyk - meh
Choi (twice) - limited English
Jerry Kelly - great
JJ Henry - great (even his caddy, Don Donatelo from Big Break was great)
Snedeker - great.

Rode with Dufner from range to 10th tee and you could tell he wasn't excited about the day. Talked to people that played in his group and they confirmed he wasn't much fun.

Thanks for all the feedback.

After the "stars" like Rory/Sergio/Phil, Ian Poulter and Keegan Bradley are both high on my list of guys I'd like to play with. The Ryder Cup is my favorite event and I'd love to hear some first-hand, behind the scenes stories from those two.

Also wouldn't mind an up-and-comer like Justin Thomas, who I think will be a great player but maybe hasn't been dulled by a career of pro-am experiences yet.

Know someone that did a pro am with Phil and said he was the nicest guy he's ever met. Apparently Phil requests information about the person before he plays with them. When the guy I know got to the tee, Phil asked him all about his wife, children, where he grew up, etc. Talked with everyone in the group all throughout the round making jokes to lighten the mood. Said him and Gary Woodland were two of the nicest guys he's ever met.

I remember reading a book a caddy wrote in the 80s and he said that a guy got to the first tee and he was playing with Sam Snead. He said, "Mr. Snead, the guys at my office bet me that you wouldn't say three words to me today." Sam replied, "You lose."

Haha sounds like something Daly would say

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Know someone that did a pro am with Phil and said he was the nicest guy he's ever met. Apparently Phil requests information about the person before he plays with them. When the guy I know got to the tee, Phil asked him all about his wife, children, where he grew up, etc. Talked with everyone in the group all throughout the round making jokes to lighten the mood. Said him and Gary Woodland were two of the nicest guys he's ever met.

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Not sure where I read it, but read about how he was playing with a guy on one of the courses in San Diego. They didn't see a group and hit into them (or an errant shot went towards them). He apologized and told the guy to see him after his round. Phil spent over 2 hours working with the guy.

Through my first job out of college, I worked a bunch of pro-ams (both PGA and Champions), never got to play in a pro-am but you can figure out which ones are the good ones and which ones weren't so great.

Its been a while but here are a few that stick out.

Good:
Kenny Perry
Steve Flesch
Gary McCord
Ken Duke
Jason Day
Jordan Speith
Matt Kuchar

Not as Good:
Vijay Singh
Tom Kite
Miguel Angel Cabrerra
Justin Leonard

I think if I was to choose a pro am - I'd do one on the Champions Tour, those guys are much more loose and really just out there to have a good time.

I met Ryan Palmer seems like a good guy, although when I met him he seemed a little hot because his group was with a bunch of extreme hacks.

I've done a few. Zach Johnson was tremendous. Sean ohair didn't say two words. Padraig was great. Brendan de Jong was nice but focused and not too talkative. I've heard justin Leonard and Ryan Palmer are not friendly at all.

Anyone that "heard" Ryan Palmer isn't friendly heard wrong. I've played with Ryan and he is extremely personable and down to earth. He may a little on the quiet side, but that doesn't make him unfriendly. You just have to get him talking. He's a good guy a great ag.

Frankly the pro ams are required by the pga tour or none of the players would play in them. 6 hour rounds suck

I'm guessing some would still play. Maybe the elite guys wouldn't, but it's a good chance for the mid-level players to network and maybe get an inside track to a sponsor.

I'll be working the 9th hole at the SHO this year. In times past when I worked the tournament I got a brief impression for who seemed to be personable and who isnt.

Ben Crane stood out the most as he even spoke to people and acknowledged them on the tee box. Of course he couldnt break out in a full convo with everyone while in the middle of the tournament, but it was cool he even did that.

Phil was chill whether at the crack of dawn on the driving range or on the tee box, or even the 18th green when he won in 2011.

Angel Cabrera seemed more acknowledging when he was in his practice round, versus during the event when he seemed grouchy. (Maybe he wasnt happy with his play)

Aside from that I was surprised at how small a number of them are. For example I swear 5'9 - 5'10 is very generous for Rory's height. He was practically a gnome.

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After the "stars" like Rory/Sergio/Phil, Ian Poulter and Keegan Bradley are both high on my list of guys I'd like to play with. The Ryder Cup is my favorite event and I'd love to hear some first-hand, behind the scenes stories from those two.

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My buddy randomly got paired with Keegan and his caddie a few years ago. He said Keegan had no personality/was all business, but not necessarily rude. He said the caddie ("Pepsi", I believe) was awesome, and he gave my buddy a Titleist driver after the round & bought him a beer.