I Like The Pebble Beach Pro Am—For Perverse Reasons

I have to admit that I like the Crosby Clambake (the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am).

But I like it for perverse reasons. It’s good to see guys out there on television hacking up the course. It’s good to know that I could beat many—if not most—of them. And since I know that many of you could, in turn,  beat me, I think that they wouldn’t have a chance against the average Joe (or Jill. I had a girl golfer on one of my teams who could beat quite a few guys).

They just flashed a stat showing the longest celebrity drives of the day. Tom Brady led the list at 257 yards. Then I watched Brady hit a putt from just off the green that missed on the low side by twenty feet. If that’s the best he can do, I can take Tom Brady. I don’t care if he has a bunch of Superbowl rings. They aren’t going to help him on the course.

I’m sure he occasionally comes back to Ann Arbor. I hereby challenge Tom Brady to a match at the UM Blue Course (one of my favorite haunts—just across the street from Michigan stadium.)

At any rate, Thomas Gibson was second with celebrity drives at 237 and then Craig T. Nelson at 203.

Thomas Gibson has a series going, so I can see that he wouldn’t get a lot of time at the course. But Nelson hasn’t worked (as far as I can tell) in years. What’s he got to do other than play golf? With the money, time and access these guys have, you’d think they could develop a better game.

Here’s what the Crosby needs to do—in the name of democratization: hold a contest to invite a few “regular Joes (or Jills)” to the fun. Think of what how America would cheer when the pro-am pairing is won by an auto worker from Cleveland who plays in a league on a public course.

It would also be a lot better television than the 100th shot of Ray Romano or Andy Garcia embarassing themselves. And it would have more public appeal than the slow motion analysis of Bill Murray’s swing.

Think about it AT&T. Reach out a hand to the masses.