Golf Outing With Bob Fiscella

by John Kim

It's early Monday morning - really, really early. It's cold and it's raining outside. I am pacing in the clubhouse of Metropolitan Golf Club and staring at the clock. There was supposed to be a big golf match today, but it doesn't look likely. Heck, golf of any kind is in question. I check out the parking lot, nothing. I pace a little more. I wonder why I showed up. Several friends from a certain all sports-news cable station (hint, 5 letters in the name, the first three letters are CNN) had planned this big outing, and now I am alone in the clubhouse talking to the head pro about the Falcons' latest win (by the way, they rule!).
Then, through the fog and mist, a solitary figure can be made out on the putting green. Oblivious to the rain and cold, he is working on his short game. I don't even wonder who it is, I go and grab my clubs. Bob Fiscella will golf.

Bob Fiscella joined CNN Sports in 1986. Starting out at Headline News, he has since anchored at CNN, CNN International, and now CNN/SI. Additionally, he has hosted "Countdown to Signing Day" ( a college football recruiting show on SportSouth), the Atlanta Braves pre-game program, "The Braves Report", and now often hosts Pro Golf Weekly on CNN and CNN/SI. Knowing sports is Bob Fiscella's job, but playing golf is his passion.
I don't know of anyone who is more knowledgeable and more in love with the game of golf than Bob. I'm not talking about simply being a good player (which he is), or knowing history of the game (which he does), or playing in adverse conditions (duh!), I'm talking about the type person who accomplishes a great deal personally and professionally, and still when you hear their name, you think G-O-L-F. In fact, it took a while for me to muster up the courage to ask Bob to play a round. I've always known he was a nice guy, but his reputation as a golf fanatic intimidated the heck out of me. Stories of his weekly golf outings with other low handicappers were legendary at work, grandiose tales of intense pressure and competition. I had visions of his grimace after I cold topped one off the tee or an impatient stare as I fished in my bag for another ball after dumping yet one more in the water.
Well, I'm glad to say that those stories were a bit exaggerated. The stories of tough golf among really good players - they are true - but those rounds are played in the most relaxed, most fun atmosphere among any I know. Today would have lots of laughs and fun no doubt, and we would have two good golfers. Gary, a local t.v. producer, would also be joining us. "Two good golfers and me", I should have titled this article.
"Let me hit a few out of the bunker", Bob calls out to us, "then I'm ready to go." Apparently he watched his Dave Pelz video on sand play last night. Bob Fiscella, always learning golf.
There are 6 people on the entire course, and all 6 are now standing on the first tee. Bob and I are thinking the same thing. We need to jump ahead of these other three. One member of the group must recognize talented golfers when he sees them, he asks us to go ahead and play ahead of them. That was nice. We all hit our tee shots. After I hit, the other three guys ask if they can play through us. Kidding.
Bob is not a big guy, and he doesn't have what I would call a textbook swing, but he hits it fairly long and almost always pretty straight. He currently carries a 7 handicap, but has been as low as 4 in the last few months. Keep in mind, he not only posts every score, but his scores are totally legit. No rolling the ball over, no winter rules. Every once in awhile, you get the "gimme" putt....but don't hold your breath. (Bob, if you read this, I'm kidding. I really really appreciate your generosity on the greens!)
All three of us make par on the first hole, I should have had a birdie. All 3 of us miss the green on the 2nd hole, and then we all flub our next shot. I tell them that my chip looks fairly easy...and it rolls right to the hole...and rims out. Bob uncharacteristically misses a short putt. He double bogeys, Gary and I make bogey. I should have had par. It's still raining, and it's so cold, I can't feel my hands. Whose idea was it to golf today?
On hole #3, I crank a long drive into the middle of the fairway....of hole #7. Oh well, score is overrated anyways. This is a harbinger of my next few holes. Bob starts to churn out the pars now. I'm checking my wallet to see how much I can afford to lose.
I can still make the day profitable by garnering as much golf info as I can from Bob. This guy is an encyclopedia of golf knowledge. I assume he's not wearing a glove because of the rain - "No," he answers. "Ben Hogan never wore a glove, and if it's not good enough for Ben, it's not good enough for me." He says Peachtree is his favorite course in Atlanta though he has a long list of courses he enjoys. He explains how different course designers trademark their style. "Robert Trent Jones and Allistar Mackenzie were similar in that their fairways were fairly wide open, with most of the trouble around the greens." He can critique a golf swing without sounding condescending. He even gives me tips on driving the cart. This man knows golf.
On hole # 6, I miss the green on the par 3....with my second shot. I state that no matter what else is going wrong, I can always count on my chipping. I knock the chip in. Gary misses a tough 6 footer, and I win 6 skins. I have the worst score..and the most money. I love golf.
On hole #9 - a par 5, I hit a drive that hugs the right near a creek. My ball somehow stays up, but it is in a hole, with a downhill lie, amongst thick weeds. I pull out my 3 wood to try and go for the green in two. I hit my ball about ten feet. "That was a tough shot," I try to explain to Mr. Fiscella. "That was stupid" he answers with a laugh. This man knows golf. At the turn, we run into the shop to warm up a bit and grab a drink. Bob discusses course conditions with one of the greenskeepers. Geez. He really does know this stuff.
Bob's focus on his golf game does not detract from his wit (or attempts at wit) on the course. He and Gary constantly razz each other about anything and everything; they go a little lighter on me since I'm well on my way to shooting three digits. Bob hits one in the bunker, and then is not happy with his sand shot. After the we finish the hole, Bob drops another in the bunker to try that Dave Pelz technique he studied last night. His ball runs 20 feet past the hole. "You have to hit it higher", Gary insists. "Open the face more." Bob listens and tries it. His ball runs 19 feet past the hole. "Oh, much better". Gary jumps in the bunker to show him. His shot does not go past the hole. His ball doesn't make it to the hole. Actually, it doesn't make it out of the bunker. "Oh, okay. Now I see."
Bob's devotion to golf is evident in every area of his life. To wit, his wife and he recently celebrated the birth of a son. He is a proud father, as he should be. The son will no doubt have a club in his hand before he is old enough to swing it. His son's name? Well, he is named after arguably the two best golfers of all time. Hint, his middle name is Palmer. Oh, and for those of you who say "Tiger", a seven iron punch shot to the shins.
On hole #18, Bob puts his approach in the bunker again. We giggle as he goes through the Dave Pelz technique again. We stop giggling when he knocks the ball right at the stick, and it bites and spins back a little. We start giggling again when he leaves his birdie putt woefully short of the hole. He still sinks the putt for par.
At the end of the round, we hit the snack bar again and count up the damage. I took one more big hole worth 5 skins, so I played two good holes..and won the most money. Bob shoots 81, Gary 79. Great scores on a cold, wet day. My score wasn't great, but the time I had was. (I ended up at 86 for those wondering!) I look forward to playing more golf with Bob, learning, joking, and getting more money. Kidding again. On a day when it was too tough to even show up for most, Bob helped make the day quite enjoyable. To think, I was once scared to play golf with him, how silly that seems now. Golfing with Bob Fiscella, you will see good shots, you will laugh a lot, and you might just learn something too. Just don't ask about that bunker shot.