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CHICAGO GOLF SHOW MEDIA CONFERENCEFebruary 19, 2008John DalyBARRY CRONIN: Thank you very much. Thanks, everyone, for dialing in. We have John Daly on the line. As you know, John is going to be featured at the Chicago Golf Show. It's their 25th anniversary, so we're having a big celebration and we're really glad John is going to be able to join us. As you know, the Golf Show is Friday, February 29th, through Sunday, March 2nd, and John is going to be with us for two shows on Saturday. John, if you could, any opening remarks you might have. You got to play on the weekend the other day in LA, and were able to play pretty well. How are you feeling, and how are you feeling about coming into the Golf Show? JOHN DALY: Well, I'm finally getting my rib back to where I need to get it. The swing is still pretty short, but I got that bug everybody got, that viral bug. I got it for five days and I didn't have any energy to play over the weekend, much less the tournament. But it was nice to play four days. I love Riviera. It's a golf course that I've had a pretty good track record, I just wish I could have felt a little better, could have played better and got some confidence. I was working with Butch, working the swing because of the rib. I think it's going to take some time. I played golf one way for 38 years, and that was only the second week I've kind of used the not-quite-the-long backswing, nor near the hard follow-through I'm so used to. But it'll get better. I'm looking forward to the show. I've been to the shows in Orlando where you go to get product, but a lot of times they can't get it until June, and what's nice about this show that I've kind of remembered from the past is in this time frame there's some stuff that may come out in June that maybe the people in Orlando didn't get to see, or there's a lot of people that didn't get to go to the show in Orlando that they're going to get to see all of this stuff, as well. It should be pretty exciting. So I'm excited for it, and I'm kind of excited to see some of the new product and stuff, too. It should be a good time. Q. I was hoping you could update us on your project down in Bolingbrook, Illinois, which is a short drive from Chicago. I don't know if you have plans to visit out there or if you could update us on what's happening in the south suburbs. JOHN DALY: Well, I haven't heard from the mayor and the guys, I think, because of the home building and all that stuff has been down so much that I think we're just kind of -- I haven't heard from the mayor. I'm looking forward to doing the project. I think we're still a go, it's just taking some time. I'd love to get back there and get that golf course going. Q. John, thanks for doing the call. I'm sorry I missed the first part of the call. Have you talked any yet about your work with Butch Harmon? Did that come up yet? JOHN DALY: No, no. We've worked about three times for extensive hours. The last time I saw Butch was right before Pebble, and we had to shorten my swing because the rib just hasn't gotten any better. So it's going to take some time to get used to. I'm not going to hit it quite as far, but I've found I'm hitting it a little straighter. When I was at the Taylor Made facility right before that, the guys were laughing at me because they had never seen my swing so short. I'm not losing a ton of distance, I'm losing about four to six yards in my middle irons, and my driver is probably 10, 15, 20 yards. But having a half swing, it's not hurting the rib as bad and it's kind of taken some distance out, but I feel like once I get used to it and get some power back, I should get all my distance back, it's just going to take a while. I've only done it for two weeks. And I was fortunate to make the cut last week in LA with this viral bug that I've had. It just seems like as soon as I get to feeling pretty decent, something else comes up. It's been two years of hell, but we're going to fight through it, and I think Butch is the greatest. I think he's going to get me out of it. Q. You say you shortened your swing. How short is it? Is it still pretty long by conventional standards, or is it much shorter? JOHN DALY: Well, the thing about me is when I take the club back, whether it's an L-wedge or driver, when that club got over my left side I could see it out of the corner of my eye and that was my trigger to take the downswing. I don't see it anymore, so it looks shorter but it's still a little bit past parallel, but not seeing that club out of my left eye, it's given me some rhythm problems that I'm going to have to get used to. It's something that I've never had to deal with. I've played golf for 38 years of my life, and I've only done it one way. Not to see that club in my left eye, which is usually my time to say go ahead and swing down, now I don't see it so I've got to feel it, and it's going to take some time. But I feel like I'm on the right track. Q. Did you feel like last week you were more accurate, that you weren't perhaps spraying the ball or having trouble keeping it in the fairway? JOHN DALY: Yeah, I was a little more accurate. The trouble is I'm still coming up a little short on some of the irons. You know, the irons are -- my middle irons and shorter irons are anywhere from four to six, seven yards off, and that's something I've got to get used to until I get the power that I know I can get. It's just going to take some time. I'm just really scared to go at it real hard with the follow-through because of my rib. But it's just going to take some time. A few more lessons with Butch and I think we're going to be okay. The short game is letting me down right now because I've been concentrating so much on the new swing, so I've got to get the short game going again. It's like starting golf all over again for me. Q. Can you talk a little bit about working with Butch? He's known for being pretty direct and being fairly honest. How has he been with you? JOHN DALY: He's been great. I like honesty. He's been hard on me, which I needed, and he likes my work ethic. People don't think I would practice that much, but when I'm usually at home or with him, I work really hard. And on the tournaments I don't -- really don't beat balls on the range as much because if I'm not ready to play when I get there, there's no sense in being there, basically just to warm up, and if something does go wrong I'll go work on it. But Butch is great. I love him. What's great about Butch is you've got to go see him, and that shows the class and the character and what a great teacher he is. He's not going to come out on TOUR with all the -- there's just too much going on on the ranges and with media and stuff that it's impossible to get anything done, so I'd rather just go see him anyway. Q. Just to follow up on that, do you think that this is -- considering the work you are putting in, to feel better with your swing, once that muscle does heal, is this something you'd consider keeping, considering the work you are putting into it, or is that just depending on results and things like that? JOHN DALY: Well, I mean, I was talking to Lynn Swann that day out at Taylor Made. He's still got two of those muscles he's had since football and they haven't gone away. It almost turns into a cartilage. It gets so hard. It's like the size of a golf ball. Basically the only thing that I can do is go in and have surgery and have them crack both ribs so the muscle can relieve itself where it can maybe thin out through the cracked rib. I wish I would have had cracked ribs instead of a separation because every time that rib hits that muscle, that muscle is so strong right now, that rib hits it and it pops it out, it can pop it up and out. I don't know if it's ever going to heal, but I'm still going to work my butt off to shorten the swing so I can play and maybe get a little more consistent, give up a little distance, and hopefully that'll just help. If it does ever heal, then maybe I will go back to my old style, but I'm putting so much effort into this that I may not be able to. Q. Has anyone recommended just resting it? Is that something that's not an option or is it something that's not going to really go away? JOHN DALY: No, I did for six weeks that I had off after the Shark Shootout. I rested and only played golf a couple times. I felt okay in Hawai'i, and when I got to the Hope, it started flaming up again when I was practicing really hard at one of the courses, and I told my caddie, "Peter, it's out again." Jim came over and popped it before I played -- the morning of Friday's round. I don't know if you saw the telecast, but it kept popping out. That was probably the most pain I've ever had with it, that whole day on Friday playing with Lopez and them. Then Saturday I missed the cut at Pebble and I was sitting there eating at the Tap Room, and I said, "Jim, you've got to pop it again. It really, really hurts." He said, "I'm going to try something different." And when he popped it, it went all the way down from any neck to my buttocks. It was the first time I've felt it pop all the way down. Usually it's only half. Then he pushed the rib back in. It's been pretty good since then, even last week when it was cold. But if I try and take the club back too far or try and swing down too hard that will hit the muscle, so I've got to be cautious of it. Q. Even in conscious or subconscious, are you aware that -- how you handled that, you kind of know it's in there and know one swing can do it? Does it affect you mentally as far as how much you're able to grip it and rip it, so to speak? JOHN DALY: Oh, there's no doubt. It is a scary situation. You know, I don't think I could hurt it any more than it is, but the thing is I don't want it to keep popping out. And as long as I can keep swinging with a little shorter swing and have a short follow-through, once I get used to it, I think I'll be okay. I've just got to get -- it's just a matter of getting used to it. Q. Is it hard for you to have to accept that you're going to hit it a little shorter, because that's always been your game with the long game? JOHN DALY: Yeah, I mean, the thing is it's not flying as far but I'm hitting it lower where it's rolling a lot further. On a wet golf course I'm going to be behind a lot of guys, but on a dry golf course -- I got a lot of roll at Riviera last week. So it'll just depend on the golf courses. BARRY CRONIN: Just wondering, you've been to Chicago a number of times. What are your memories about playing some Western Opens and PGAs out at Cog Hill and any other courses around here? Are you familiar with a lot of the golf courses around here? JOHN DALY: When I first came out like my first year I was at Butler, I think I made the cut. I didn't play real good. But my first -- it would have been my third 2 on a par-5 as a pro, it's when we played Cog Hill. It's the fifth hole, the par-5, I think. Now it's a par-4. I hit a driver, 6-iron and made a 2 there early in my career, and I'll always remember that. BARRY CRONIN: And how about this cut rule, John, that you were talking about on The Golf Channel back in Hawai'i? It looks like it might be changed. What are your thoughts on what's happening with that? JOHN DALY: Well, I know the policy board is trying to make some changes to make it right. It just threw everybody off guard. A lot of the guys didn't know the rule. I know I talked to the other 17 guys that missed the cut in Hawai'i, and there's only one guy that knew about it. Hopefully the policy board will come up with a solution. I think if they're going to do something, they need to go top 65 and ties and that'll take care of it. Instead of going to 70 and ties, go to 65. If it goes to 68, just let it go. There's nothing else you can do. If it gets worse, go to 60 and ties. I know it's tougher for guys to make cuts, but if they want to end on time on TV -- I know last week at Riviera they didn't end on time a couple times. I saw Finchem's interview. I understand the rule, but I think they need to take -- if they're going to stay with the 78 and not play up to 78 guys, then just say the cut is going to be -- don't go 70 and ties, and oh, by the way, 79 guys, the 79th guy, you're out. Drop it down. I think the policy board will come up with a solution. I think we maybe need to change it to 60 and ties or 65 and ties and that way we won't have a problem. Q. What prompted you to choose Butch and what prompted you to take the step to go to a teacher? JOHN DALY: I think just, you know, with the way the rib is right now and the way my game has been, the consistency of it hasn't been real good. I know Mickelson worked with him, and I saw a lot of film when he worked with Tiger. When I saw him there, he said me and Tiger are similar at impact. There's a lot of similarities between me and his swing, not our backswings but our follow-throughs and stuff. And during the Winn commercials, we do a lot of the Winn commercials right there at his facility. Last year he says, "Man, we need to work. We need to do something. I can fix you." I said, "Well, let's do it." So I think Butch is one of the best. You see how good Phil is playing right now. I hit balls by Phil on Sunday. I've never seen him hit it as good as he's hitting it. And basically I think with the putting, he's done the same thing with Phil. We've tried to shorten our backstrokes with the shorter putters because him and I, we both used to be very, very long and we always missed a lot of short putts. And now I feel like I can make short putts and stuff. I just like where he's taken Adam Scott, where he's taken Natalie Gulbis. These players, they're winning golf tournaments. Whenever you see a coach doing that for somebody, you know he's doing it right. Q. Would you consider anybody else, or was it just because of Butch with your Winn relationship? JOHN DALY: I really didn't consider anybody else. I know Hank is really good, I know Leadbetter is great. But me and Butch, we have a lot of similarities not just in golf but in life, too. We've had a lot of ups and downs and we talk about that stuff, too. It's just a good fit for me. Q. What is your status on the TOUR this year? Are you just playing on sponsor exemptions right now? JOHN DALY: Yeah, I've gotten probably around 26 more to go that I've almost committed to. I'm committed all the way up until Memphis, I think. So it's great. This is a big year for me. I've got to turn it around this year. I'm afraid those may fall off. Q. Realistically with your injury, what are you hoping for? When you make a cut, I suppose that's a good thing. But obviously you're trying to shoot much higher considering where you've been. JOHN DALY: Yeah, I mean, I don't know if the swing is going to allow me to win right now, but I'm not going to give up. I think in another month, three or four more tournaments under my belt, getting used to it, getting some warm weather in Florida, I just have to see how it goes. You know, this next week in Mexico I'm going to find me a chipping and putting green and just work my butt off when I get there for the Pro-Am tomorrow and just concentrate on the short game a little more, and hopefully something will happen. I just want consistency, get a couple of Top 10s, get some confidence back, and you never know, maybe I'll get a win. BARRY CRONIN: How do your fans react to you now? When you go to a tournament how do people react, and how do you expect people to react in Chicago? JOHN DALY: The fans are great. They've seen these last two years there's been a lot of hell off the course and on the course, and they're still behind me. LA was great. I still had a bunch of people following me when I wasn't playing good, and they stuck through with me through thick and thin, and I just can't wait to play better. BARRY CRONIN: Thanks very much, John. We're looking forward to seeing you at the Golf Show on the 29th through the 1st, and thank you very much for joining us. JOHN DALY: You got it. Thanks for having me. End of FastScripts |
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