U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 13, 2001

Tommy Bolt

TOMMY BOLT: I looked at it yesterday, Peter, I come in yesterday and we drove out here. The rough is not quite as high as it was when we played here in '58, I noticed that.

TOMMY BOLT: Well, Hogan said that. It was the toughest Open that he ever played in. It was tougher, even, than Oakland Hills or maybe the one in San Francisco at --.

TOMMY BOLT: Olympic Club, yeah. That rough was really high. If you missed a fairway in 1958, you had to sacrifice a stroke and pitch back to the fairway. I can remember doing that two or three times. These guys, young and strong as they are, they're going to play it right out of the rough, right on to the green, unless they do something -- maybe tricking up the greens to equalize the thing, they're going to shoot this course up. I hope they don't shoot it any better than I did (laughter.) But the rough is a lot higher. They had a terrible winter here, I've heard, and the growing season wasn't quite as good as they wanted it. And they didn't get the rough up as high as the USGA actually wanted it.

TOMMY BOLT: That means you have to play a lot of different shots. You have to draw the ball and be able to fade the ball, Peter. You've got to control the cue ball is what it totals up to, just like playing billiards, you've got to control the cue ball. You can't get it on the green unless you do. You've got to hit different types of shots.

TOMMY BOLT: As hot as it's going to be, Peter, you're going to have to be in great shape, believe me. In 1958 I think every day was about 95, but we had about a 15 or 20 mile an hour wind blowing. I don't know how hard the wind is blowing out there now, but it was blowing something similar to this. It may be blowing a little harder now. That wind is going to make a difference, if it gets up. But the heat is going to get most of these guys, because they're not acclimated to it. I was born in Oklahoma, so I was born acclimated to it.

TOMMY BOLT: They were pretty slick, in some of the tournaments. I don't think they were super slick here in 1958. But they were fast enough. They have them super slick nowadays. I think Oakmont -- the tournament at Oakmont, they had the slickest greens at the Open that I've ever played in. I don't think they were quite that slick in 1958. I don't think, if I can remember correctly, that they weren't -- I didn't see any balls rolling off the greens, you know, spinning back off the greens, I don't think it was that slick.

TOMMY BOLT: I didn't throw my putter that year, I was in control of myself.

TOMMY BOLT: It's unbelievable. Of course we had a lot in those days, too, but it's unbelievable how many people are starting to play golf now because of the television coverage that you're getting, and Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods winning all these tournaments, it's just created the big boom in golf. People are -- these golfers are making more money than -- the caddies are all millionaires. Back in our days, the leading money didn't win but 50 or 60 thousand dollars. Nowadays the caddies won't even caddy for you unless you give them 60 thousand dollars.

TOMMY BOLT: I had all 14 of them. I don't know if it was 14 or 16. How many clubs could you carry in those days?

TOMMY BOLT: 14 I think it was. I had all 14 of them.

TOMMY BOLT: I was thinking just this good, believe me. I turned around and looked over at the clubhouse and I said, "I wonder who is going to finish second" (laughter.) Sounds funny, but I really felt that way. I mean I felt that positive about my -- I was that confident in myself. I just won the tournament in Fort Worth about two weeks before that, and we played in Dallas, if I can remember correctly, the week before we came up here. And I missed about a 4-footer on the last hole or I would have tied with Snead and player and been in the playoff with them. But it didn't bother me. Snead, I think, won the playoff. And I was fortunate enough to play a couple of practice rounds with Sam when he was here at Southern Hills and you gather a little tempo, he had beautiful tempo, he did have in those days. He was a great golf player. And he had beautiful tempo, and when you played with him, some of it rubs off on you, and I think some of it might have rubbed off on me, and I just was in control of myself and my tempo was good and everything fell into place. I birdied the 12th hole three executive times. The first three times I played it. And that's the hardest hole out here, or they said it was, anyway.

TOMMY BOLT: It's all illegal (laughter.) Don't you tell the USGA that, though.

TOMMY BOLT: They might be here. They might be in this room. I tell you one thing, they have some equipment, comparatively speaking, there's really no comparison. The graphite shafts and the balls, mainly the golf balls are so much better than they were when we were playing. You can create a lot of head speed with those light, metal woods. That's how you -- it's unbelievable how much technology has changed.

TOMMY BOLT: Impossible. They're playing for so much money, now. I think we had actually more fun than they had, they're having, because when you get a lot of money involved like that you cease to have fun, it's serious business. And we had -- it wasn't -- I won 8 thousand dollars when I won the Open. Now, the caddies get more than 8 thousand dollars, about if you win the Open.

TOMMY BOLT: I gave him $500, and he was happy, boy. He took off. He was a little Indian kid. I don't know where he is. But I told him on the first tee, I said "don't you say a word, son, to me, just clean my ball and keep the clubs clean. I don't want any advice, I don't want you reading my greens for me or doing anything." We did it all ourselves back in those days. These kids with caddies now, they're all Harvard graduates, and read the greens for them and select the clubs and tell them how to swing and they've got all kind of gurus out there now. Well, I guess they can afford it. And it's entirely different. We didn't have all that stuff in our day. You had to do it on your own.

TOMMY BOLT: Nobody's temper could have been that bad (laughter.) No way. I couldn't have possibly broken as many clubs as I was supposed to have broken. They haven't made that many.

TOMMY BOLT: Yeah. I flipped that club, Peter, and they accused me of throwing it, the media. I was good copy in 19 -- in the '50s. The media, they were always standing around the back of the green when I was finishing and they wanted to see what I had to say regardless of what I shot. And I usually had something to say. So I was pretty good copy in the '50s. I didn't mind it. All you guys know who I am, I'm proud of that, believe me. Some of those guys -- some of those guys never were recognized out there. Everybody knew who -- I had to face it, -- I had the face nobody could miss. I'm happy for that. All you guys, most of you guys, and the older guys remember me.

TOMMY BOLT: Not really, not nearly as colorful, son. We had some colorful characters out there years ago. Jimmy Demaret for his dress. And these kids don't dress like professionals anymore, why?

TOMMY BOLT: How about the pants that they wear? They don't look like professional golf players. Believe me, they don't.

TOMMY BOLT: I didn't look too hot out here, Peter. I saw all these young kids out here and they were all dressed down, so I didn't want to out do anybody.

TOMMY BOLT: Arnold didn't know which way to throw that thing when he first started playing. He'd throw it back this way, and then he would be back there picking it up. I told him, say, "Arnold, throw it down the fairway, we'll pick it up on our way" (laughter.) I'm not the only guy that's ever thrown a club.

TOMMY BOLT: Been a long time.

TOMMY BOLT: Did I throw one playing with you?

TOMMY BOLT: I haven't really thrown one in a long time, years, really. But I've tossed a couple of them, you know, let them go out of your hand, get it out of your hand like that. That's throwing it to some of these guys.

TOMMY BOLT: I think that the -- actually you have more -- better golf players. You have a deeper field than we had back in those days. There was only about ten guys that were capable of winning the Open in our day, and you've got 25, maybe 30 guys out there that's capable of winning.

TOMMY BOLT: It's down to one. I know none of you guys are going to bet against Tiger Woods. Anybody in here want to bet against Tiger Woods?

TOMMY BOLT: If you take the field you've got almost an even bet.

TOMMY BOLT: I can't help it. He's a remarkable kid. He's unbelievable the way he plays golf. He out drives them, he out putts them, he out thinks them. He's got a better short game than they have. He gets it up-and-down from anywhere. You can't put him out there anywhere that he can't get it up-and-down. We've already seen that. It's unbelievable how good he is, unless something serious happened or unless somebody gets hot and shoots some good rounds, he's going to be unbeatable.

TOMMY BOLT: They're spoiled, they don't appreciate how good they have it. All the money that they have, flying in these jets all over the place. Every player out there owns a jet. They don't go to the airport and get on the airplane, they go to the hanger and get in their jet. I have to go to the airport and get on the airplane. We didn't make the money they make nowadays. They're rotten, believe me they are. The majority of them are.

TOMMY BOLT: Do that again?

TOMMY BOLT: Boy, it's hard to say, really it is. I think that Tiger Woods -- yeah, I think he's better than they were, yeah. Actually Tiger's dominating golf right now just like Hogan did in the early '50s. Hogan dominated golf from 1950 until 1955, pretty close to that. And Tiger Woods is doing the -- exactly the same thing in his era now.

TOMMY BOLT: He revived his game, Peter, he became a better player, because he eliminated the hook from his game. He changed his grip entirely in the hospital, and he came out with a neutral left-hand and without the fear -- you have to work at it, you can't walk out on the tee and start playing like that, he worked hard at it, with the neutral left-hand to eliminate the hook. He fought the hook, just like I did, for 25 years, and I don't know anything tougher than fighting a hook. He eliminated the hook from his game, that's how he became such a great player.

TOMMY BOLT: From a lady's tee, Pete. No, I play the golf course about 6,200 yards. I don't play all the way back. I played with Jim and Barney Adams and Bob Cannon, they're all --.

TOMMY BOLT: Jim still knocks that thing out of sight, I can't handle him. I have to put him in the clubhouse before I handle him.

TOMMY BOLT: The driver comes into play, then, Peter. You have to be able to drive the ball. You have to play the wind and be able to drive the ball and keep it in play, still. With the wind blowing you've got to keep the ball lower than you would ordinarily, into the wind. Of course, Tiger hits it so far it doesn't make any difference which way the wind is blowing.

TOMMY BOLT: Yeah, the trees have grown, I noticed that. 43 years ago, those trees are a little higher than they were. But it's going to be -- it's going to be a tough test, anyway, out there because you have to drive it so good on this golf course. I think -- I really don't know. It's hard to say. I think there will be some low scores, according to how slick they make the greens.

TOMMY BOLT: I'm on the ballot.

TOMMY BOLT: I hope so. I hope I get in. I'd like to get in before it's all over with. And it's great to be nominated, even, for the Hall of Fame. I just hope to get there.

TOMMY BOLT: I think Jug McSpadden. Jug was a good golfer, too. I think he finished second to Nelson about 15 times or something like that.

TOMMY BOLT: Absolutely, yeah. These kids out here now, they're all strong, believe me. They're in shape and they have trainers. I went to -- PGA has a trailer that goes around, a workout trailer that they go in there and train after they finish -- I mean they work out after they finish playing golf. They didn't have that stuff to take care of yourself back in our day.

TOMMY BOLT: What did we do? We went to the bar and had a couple of drinks (laughter.)

TOMMY BOLT: Oh, yeah, the golf courses are much better, much better maintained, and in better condition than what we played. We played some -- we didn't play on the good country clubs like the kids do nowadays. We played on -- mostly on the public golf courses. The golf courses, yeah, they're in better condition now than what we had.

TOMMY BOLT: I don't know, Peter, it's really hard to say. I tell you, I think you've got four or five guys out there that are capable of giving Tiger a shot, but, boy, he's the favorite, believe me he is. I don't really know, Peter.

TOMMY BOLT: No, no, no, I couldn't have walked around, Peter, probably. I would have liked to have given it a shot. Snead and Boros and myself played in 1977 here, and none of us qualified for the last two rounds, but they did give us an exemption, and we all played to see if we could do any good. And we just -- we're past that stage.

TOMMY BOLT: What he has to do?

TOMMY BOLT: I think it would be great. It would be -- if he won five major tournaments in succession, it would be greater than a Grand Slam or whatever you call that. Five majors in succession, that's unheard of. And he's subject to doing that.

TOMMY BOLT: Well, it's great, Peter, it's a great feeling, believe me it is. A lot of these guys I remember, but some of them are youngsters, I don't know some of them. But a lot of them I've talked to before, and it's great to see all you guys here and I hope you have a long and happy journey.

TOMMY BOLT: You bet your life, baby.