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Tom Shaw, Vanderbilt’s Head Men’s Golf Coach, is caddying for Michael Thompson at the 2008 Masters. Thompson played for Shaw at Tulane before transferring to the University of Alabama prior to last season. He earned a spot in this week’s event by finishing second at the 2007 U.S. Amateur. Shaw will be contributing exclusive content from Augusta to vucommodores.com all week.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9
Today was a light day for me at The Masters. Wednesday is the annual Par-3 tournament, which was televised for the first time ever on ESPN. I had to give up the bag so Michael’s father could carry it during the event. This is often the case, as participants usually have their children, parents, or wives carry the lighter bags for the nine hole tournament. Brandt Snedeker had his mom carry the bag and she looked very nervous about doing so. I told Brandt that he had just made a significant upgrade at the caddie position!
It was quite a sight in the caddie shack, normally reserved for the grim-faced professional bag-carriers of the PGA Tour. Today it was open to all of the folks toting the bag in the par-3 tournament. I enjoyed watching them try to fit a jumpsuit on K.J. Choi’s little 5-year old daughter and son. Scott Verplank and Justin Leonard also had both of their daughters in there, trying to safety pin and roll up pants and sleeves to accommodate an elementary school age child’s frame. It is a very special day for the players and their families. Tiger does not participate, claiming that it takes away from his focus. More than one player called that sentiment nonsense.
Prior to this we got in a good practice on the range. Michael seemed a little tight today, maybe starting to feel that the relaxed practice round environment is coming to an end. I got excited when Tom Watson began hitting balls next to us. Watson has always been my favorite golfer and though Tiger is nice to see, Tom Watson is still the biggest ticket for me. He introduced himself to Michael, which is a common occurrence for the older champions. They really seem to make an effort to reach out to the younger players and make them feel comfortable. The same thing happened on Monday when we passed Gary Player (playing in his 51st Masters!) who came off the No. 1 tee and made a special effort to introduce himself to Michael and wish him luck. Mr. Player is 72 and is more fit than most 27 year-olds. He looks great!
We also hit balls next to Ian Poulter, who is well-known for his choice of clothes. Today was fairly muted for him – cream shirt with faded pink pants – but yesterday was more typical of Ian. He was wearing a khaki green shirt with plaid pants that reminded me of the drapes in my grandmother’s house. Michael says he has seen Ian’s shoes for the week in the locker room and they are “really out there.” I can’t imagine what will go with the shoes he described, so be on the lookout for something bizarre from Mr. Poulter this week.
The chipping area is a great place to watch what makes these players great. Unfortunately, you often have up to 10 or 15 guys hitting chips, bunker shots and wedge shots to the same green. It is no surprise then that the young volunteers that are clearing the green of balls wear hard hats. I saw one take a lob shot on the head, but it bounced off his hat harmlessly. Who knew golf could be so dangerous?
Speaking of the practice area, the players on the range get their choice of about eight different kinds of range balls to hit. They can then practice with their own preferred brand. I am trying to sneak as many into my pocket as I can without being noticed (just kidding Mr. Masters official).
Off to bed now after a weather check to see what the wind will do tomorrow. The greens will only get faster and firmer as the week goes, and strong winds can cause an acceleration of that process. I know Michael is nervous and I am a little myself because tomorrow is the real thing. We begin at 9:17 a.m. with two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and Nick O’Hern. I am looking forward to describing the sensation of approaching the first tee and hitting the opening tee shots of the 2008 Masters.
Tom Shaw
(Editor’s Note: Joe Biddle wrote a feature story on Coach Shaw and Michael Thompson in today’s edition of the Tennessean. Click to read)
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