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The Virginia Golfer
Conversation
back and read some of the early years they
wouldn’t believe it.
VG: One hundred years from now when
you and I are long gone, do you think
you’ll be remembered more as a Masters
champion and golfer or for the golf
courses you’ve left behind as an architect?
BC: That’s an interesting question. When
you build a golf course or are in concert
in building one, it’s a very lasting thing—
hopefully. One thing that’s so great is that
certainly people in the South and all over
will remember the Masters champions. We
will always go down together as Masters
champions. People don’t forget those things.
It’s very hard to balance what we do and what
people will remember. I’d be content in saying
I was a lover of the game.
VG: Do you think the work you and Bill
Coore have created will be as revered
as the courses of Alister MacKenzie,
Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast and other
classic designers?
BC: If we ever came anywhere close to those
gentlemen, we’d be happy. We’re not there yet.
We treat each one very special. We don’t do
that many. We try to put the best foot forward.
At this point, we’re just happy that people have
enjoyed playing them. Those guys were special
for a reason—all of that echelon. [Bob] Jones,
MacKenzie, Ross, Tillinghast, Harry Cole,
Charles Macdonald. There isn’t one of their
courses that isn’t a museum piece.
VG: You and Coore restored Pinehurst
No. 2 to considerable acclaim. Would you
be interested in being the architectural
consultant at Augusta National?
BC: I haven’t been asked, which is fine. I’d be
happy to. I think they’ve got it in pretty darn
good shape, though. They’ve done such a good
job over the years in trying to accommodate
younger, powerful players. They’ve had to do
that. All of the players constantly think about
the course and how it plays. We all enjoy it.
It’s a great test and a great thrill. What I think
is fascinating is that the course of yesteryear
and the players who played it then and the
players who play it now still go through the
same emotional toll that the course extracts.
You cannot win the tournament without
taking chances. You can take crazy chances
sometimes and that gets you in trouble. The
nature of the course is that it’s so spectacular
to see a really bold shot come off and to see,
as yours truly has been on several times, the
end of spectacular crashes. That’s the nature
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32_VSGA_VGConvo.indd 39
of it. Somebody can come from way behind or
somebody can start to fumble if they’re at the
front. Not too many other courses yield that.
I still think Jackie Burke said it really well, that
Augusta is the most tempting course in the
world. You have lots of room to create shots
and imagine shots. It’s very inviting and really
does tempt you. How good are you today? It’s
thrilling that way.
VG: As one of the golf’s greatest putters,
what is your advice to any player who has
the yips?
BC: Yips are a fear of something that inhibits
you. It’s a fear of missing the putt or not
reading a putt properly or not getting any sort
of pace right. Bob Jones said it really well. I
don’t care if it’s a one- or two-foot putt, the
club has to swing. It’s not a jab or a hit. It’s
a stroke. It’s a miniature golf stroke. To keep
the club swinging is what anyone wants. That
club has to go through that ball somehow.
Yips are mainly a fear of missing. Everybody is
going to miss. The idea is to hit a good putt so
it has a chance. I know that probably sounds
too simple, but the club must be swung and
it must be a stroke of some sort.
VG: Why were you one of the last
players to transition from persimmon to
metalwoods?
BC: There was a handful of us who were the
last holdouts. It was just what you think you
could play with consistently. Once you got a
good metal club in your hands, you could see
that it was much easier to swing and to play
with. The mis-hits were better. I held off at
least until 1993 or 1994.
VG: Another Texan, Jordan Spieth,
came very close to joining you in that
Champions locker room last year. What
are your thoughts about his future?
BC: I am so much in his corner, and like him
so much as a person. He’s got a knack for
playing golf. He’s played very solidly as young
as he is. He had a wonderful run last year. He
was right there and seemed to embrace the
place. He knows what he wants to do as far
as how to play it. He’s knocking at the door a
lot. He’s a special young man. I didn’t know
him that well because he only stayed one
year at the University of Texas. I got to play
with him once and was sort of spellbound as
to how he just played his own game and had
a great imagination. He played our course,
Austin Golf Club, and he just reacted to it
and played a very nice round.
Interviewer Scott Michaux