Your big break? TV's David Feherty on how to be the next... Feherty!
The great thing about blogging—apart from the glory, groupies and eight-figure Goldman Sachs-ian bonuses—is that you get to be a lazy bastard. On days when I hand the Flyers reins over to others (links to their articles, guest bloggers), I still get the credit because they're in my house. What a scam! Would that all jobs were this way. ("Boss, Reggie the security guard is doing my PowerPoint presentation for me. I'll be at the pub.")
Today, two guests help me wrap up a week-long look at Golf Magazine's Survey of the American Golfer. First guest: A reader named Mike. A few days back, I accused the 82 percent of you who'd rather play golf with Tiger Woods than play doctor with Angelina Jolie of taking too many rope hooks to the head. While I stand by my slack-jawed incredulity, Mike makes a sound point. He wrote: Look at it this way; the round w/Tiger is gonna last what...a few hours? How long are you gonna last w/Angelina? Duly noted. My suggestion: If you ever play Angelina National, just think about baseball... or Verne Lundquist.
Daresay, our second guest wouldn't make it to her first tee, but David Feherty has lasted plenty long (more than a decade) at CBS. And he's your favorite golf broadcaster, said a whopping forty-five percent of you. With that in mind, I asked Feherty to share his do's and doh's on how to be TV's next... Feherty. Wanna follow in his footsteps? Here's his advice, in his own words:
DO: Comment immediately after McCord talks. Compared to him, I sound like a genius.
DON'T: Care what people think of you. I'm honored by the poll results. But I don't put much stock in other people's opinions of me, good or bad. On TV, you have to be yourself, and people either like you or not. I'm an alcoholic and an addict, and I've learned that how I feel about myself, day by day, is the best way to get through life.
DO: Shut Up. It's been said that a golf broadcaster should speak in captions, not essays. I know when to shut up, to let the golf speak for itself. Less is more. I'm not broadcasting to the blind.
DON'T: Read a player's putt within earshot. The last thing a pro wants to hear is me saying, "Jimmy, I think this breaks left" when the player thinks it breaks right. Instead, what I do is…
DO: Read the greens from 50 yards out. I'll notice the slope of the greens as I approach, run in for a close look, then get out of the way. I'm actually better at reading greens now than when I played because from a distance of about 40-50 yards, you can really see the curve. That's a good tip—read greens from a distance.
DON'T: Be Too Critical. I'm probably not critical enough. Instead, I tease [players]. At the Masters in 1998, Spain's Ignacio Garrido made an 11 on No. 15, and I said, "It’s always nice having a couple 1’s on your scorecard."
DO: Call Tiger a "loser." At the Quail Hollow Championship this year, I asked Tiger, who finished fourth, "What's it feel like to be a loser?" He's smart enough to jump on that. That's not me insulting him. That's me giving him the chance to respond with grace and humor, and he did.
DON'T: Over-prepare. I have no notes, no yardages. I simply describe what I see. I don't care if a player was 128th in sand saves, and he's up to 17th now. F---ing snore! I'm interested in what's happening. Besides, I killed so many brain cells with booze, I can't remember a stat to save my life.
DO: Get lucky. I'm fortunate that my TV career has coincided with Tiger's career. More people know me because of him. He still makes me look bad, though, by hitting impossible shots. I'll hit a shot completely counter to what I thought was feasible, then he'll smile at me and say, "You really called that one."
Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images
