The year was 1994, and I was a graduate assistant for the U of A golf team under head coach Bill Woodley. Turkey Day was in the rearview mirror, and I was headed to Memphis on Black Friday to spend a good, wholesome holiday weekend at John Daly’s crib with a few Razorback golfers – JC Halsell, my younger brother, and Bud Still, a spirited four-time All-American phenom from Diboll, Texas.
At the time, Daly was getting more and more involved with the Razorbacks golf program and eventually bought a house in Rogers at Pinnacle CC, home of the Hogs’ practice facility, in order to have even more access to the players. His mind is a vault of golf tips, tricks, practice methods and stories, and he has helped every single golfer who ever approached him for guidance/advice. If it was a swing issue, one of his favorite remedies to prescribe was, “Go hit 100 green-side bunker shots, and that should clear everything up.” More than likely, it did.
And there was his mantra – Grip It and Rip It!
In regard to his philanthropy, Daly’s charity knew no bounds, no sir, and still does not. JD is one of the more serial givers, ever. He came out of the blocks and donated $30K out of the $230K check he received after winning the 1991 PGA Championship (one of golf’s four major tournaments and JD’s first major dub) to the daughters of a man killed by lightning earlier that week at the event. That money gained interest, was able to pay both girls’ college tuition and culminated with a tear-filled reunion years later. And the big man’s benevolence continues to this day.
Daly is obviously a supremely gifted athlete who could throw a football 70 yards and once kicked a 35-yard field goal at halftime of an NFL game. Obviously, he is blessed with elite-level eye-hand coordination that requires little practice to maintain. Had he applied himself to his trade like Eldrick did, there’s no telling how many more major championships he coulda competed for; or maybe, just maybe, he was fated to only win two of ‘em, no matter which way he went about it. JD chose his own path – a more reckless and much edgier route than most other golfers, but you can’t argue with his success. He is still a media darling and one of the more recognizable and popular golfers in the history of the sport.
Back to the trip to Memphis.
We planned to watch the defending-champion and top-ranked Razorbacks kick off their basketball season against #3 UMass and its young hotshot of a coach, John Calipari, in that year’s Peach Basket Game held in Springfield, Mass., on Friday, and play golf Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather stayed cold and rainy the rest of the weekend, and we only managed to sneak in nine of the coldest holes I’d ever played.
So, it was more than 40 years ago when I first took notice of coach Cal. He dressed sharp, spoke with a quick and sharp tongue and was willing to take on the first defending championship team in 29 years that returned all five starters to their lineup – our Arkansas Razorbacks. He definitely had guts. The fact that these two powerhouses were playing so early in the season was vaguely foreign to college ball back then. But then again, Calipari was returning all 12 letter earners from the previous year’s UMass team that advanced to the second round of March Madness. Back in those daze, coaches were more concerned with getting through December undefeated than measuring themselves against worthier opponents.
Marcus Camby of UMass slapped the game’s opening tip to his teammate, Lou Roe, Jr., who flashed to the basket for a thunder dunk, and the Hogs never led, eventually losing in a 104-80 rout, despite the victors making only two 3-balls.
But today is 2024, and now he coaches the Hogs? Wow!
Until next week.
Wooooo…