Podcasts
The Gear Dive: Fred Couples explains why he used to play with ladies irons covered in lead tape
Fred Couples plays with a 5 hybrid, has played ladies irons, has no clue what shaft is in his 3 wood… and is still the coolest human ever.
In this episode of “The Gear Dive” Johnny Wunder chats with World Golf Hall of Fame member and arguably the most beloved player since Arnie, Freddie “Boom Boom” Couples. They go into a deep dive into Freddie’s equipment choices over the years, why he rarely changes gear and we discover that the famous 3 wood he borrowed from Tom Watson’s wife wasn’t his first experience with ladies clubs.
(Yes, the interview was recorded on a phone. Transcriptions coming soon)
Check out the full podcast on SoundCloud below, or click here to listen on iTunes!
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
In Episode 13, Ryan and Parker chat with Don Rea, President of the PGA of America. Don has been a tremendous voice for PGA Professionals and was a pleasure to have on the show. We hope you enjoy it! P.S. We might have helped ignite an idea for a new PGA of America event…we shall see!
In Episode 11, Parker chats with Adam Messix, our golf course architecture expert in residence, for a deep dive on this week’s U.S. Open venue, Oakmont Country Club. We hope you enjoy this history and hole-by-hole of one of the best courses in the world.
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Fred Clark
Jul 18, 2018 at 10:36 am
I’ve always loved Freddie myself.. having his 1st name probably influenced this when I was a kid. I have seen him upclose , one time at the Honda when he won using those Lynx irons.We saw him from 1 to 18 hit every shot and he pured it at the pin all day long. It was amazing. Interesting to hear about him playing Lady irons and a Suggs driver, it really doesn’t surprise me. I got a great selfie with Fred last year at the US Senior Open. He is an interesting dude.. This interview is epic by the way, great job…. I watched Freddie play with Watson (9 holes) June of 2017 at the Sr. Open, he was hitting it great.
Josh
Jun 7, 2018 at 2:44 pm
So the one question we all wanted to know – when he is going to play again – you don’t even ask. Wow
Raj
Jun 7, 2018 at 12:58 pm
What are popup greens? Fred mentions greens in the northwest having them.
Nigel Kent
Jun 12, 2018 at 3:28 pm
Hi Raj, I think he means greens with a fall-off all the way round them .
HoustonSig
Jun 6, 2018 at 7:16 pm
Go Coogs. Greatest golf legacy in all of college golf.
Stan
Jun 6, 2018 at 4:21 pm
Twenty minutes of Fred talking about equipment and twenty minutes of the interviewing fawning about how cool Fred is. Got a little tiresome.
Andrew
Jun 6, 2018 at 4:26 pm
On what website can I find your podcasts?
Husky Hack
Jun 6, 2018 at 5:43 pm
GolfWRX.com
The dude
Jun 6, 2018 at 6:53 pm
That was a joke bub….read it again
mlecuni
Jun 7, 2018 at 5:19 am
Previous podcast was in the same way + the sound is not great
Brandon
Jun 6, 2018 at 4:00 pm
As a Mizuno fanboy I’d love to hear Chris Voshall on the pod. I think it would be very insightful.
Please & thanks in advance ????
Deep Diver
Jun 18, 2018 at 9:51 pm
You’re welcome
Thomas Murphy
Jun 6, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Once again, it is the Indian, not the Arrow….but the part you have to love is find what works and be confident. 5h and not a 2i? what kind of man are you? A confident one, a winning one.
Tom
Jun 6, 2018 at 11:25 am
I believe that it was “Tom Wishon’s wife” .
Shallowface
Jun 6, 2018 at 11:42 am
No, it was Watson. A Ram Laser FX bore through.
Dan
Jun 6, 2018 at 9:21 pm
My friend had that club. It was impossible to hit
Andrew
Jun 6, 2018 at 10:56 am
Did Freddie mention when he might be back on the Champions Tour? Senior British at St Andrews and he loves that place.
Lawton Harrison
Jun 6, 2018 at 9:35 am
Cincinnati Golf was started by Howard Delaney and Bob Rickey, who started Cincinnati Golf when MacGregor moved to Georgia. All of my club repair, during my years as a professional from 1973 to 1977 in Cincinnati, was done by them.
It was an awesome experience to watch Mr. Delaney put on my leather grips while I was there. He would hand each club to me to make sure they were right before he put the collar on them.
He showed me the stockpiles of the blue grips Hogan used and the grips that Nicklaus, Weiskopt, Venturi and others had stored at the plant. I was 22 years old and amazed that the guy who installed the grips for Hogan, when he was with MacGregor, was doing mine with the same care.
Howard showed me the rack where Tom Weiskopt’s shafts were stored. Being before frequency matching, these shafts had been put on a shaft defection board and weighed.
He told me that Weiskopt, second only to Nicklaus with a 1-iron, used regular shafts in his long irons and that Ken Venturi’s grips were smaller in the longer irons and larger in the shorter irons.
He changed lie/loft by hitting the iron, laying on a big block of lead, with a big wooden mallet.
Golf was much more a game of feel in the past. Increasingly, golf at the highest levels, is a game of precise yardages and awesome distance. While I do not begrudge the young players that hit the ball 50 or more yards further off the tee, I believe that the emphasis on distance in the air and ability to spin even shots from the rough is overrated.
That way of playing certainly has its advantages, especially in the soft conditions that are usually present in most Majors.
Sometimes, when the courses approach the firmness that used to be standard playing conditions, the weakness of the air game becomes apparent, especially if it is windy.
Distance sells, period. The 15 handicapper has bought the idea that if he/she could just hit it a bit further, all would be well.
While the ability to hit the ball further has its advantages at times, it has its costs as well.
Graphite, titanium, aggressive grooves, rebound effect, MOI and
balls that are way longer and more easily controlled, are a few of the changes that have transformed the game to its present state.
Has it made the game better ? I do not think so. It has made the game more expensive in terms of keeping up with the latest equipment. It has increased the amount of grass to be cared for, as courses become longer and longer in defense against increased distances the ball can be hit.
It would take courage for the USGA and the RNA to roll back the distances by softening the ball, using V-grooves, and taking away the trampoline effect, but in my opinion, it is warranted.
We do not need any more courses that are 7400+ yards, like Shinnecock Hills, which is playing to a par of 70 at this year’s
U.S. Open. Players would have struggled to break 300 if they played this year’s course with yesteryear’s equipment and balls.
The old courses, where most of our championships are played, were not designed for hitting a drive 350+ yards. Most of the current players have no idea what it is like to hit long irons and woods into a par four or play almost all par fives as three shot holes.
Bring feel and the ground back into the game.
The dude
Jun 6, 2018 at 5:05 pm
…ain’t gonna happen hoss…
PhilDSnuts
Jun 6, 2018 at 6:32 pm
Not gonna happen because people are too lazy to put the time in to learn how to actually play the game. Instead its buy these rocket blaster irons, 5 wedges because they cant hit a green, a driver the size of a football, triple x shafts because they have a strong transition at 86 mph, super soft womens balls because prov’s are expensive. All of this to shoot 46 on 9 and claim theyre a 10 handicap because they 3 putt here and there.
Boyo
Jun 7, 2018 at 6:31 am
and never putt anything inside of 3 feet.
frank cichon
Jun 7, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Very good…I enjoyed your comments…speed of play as well…I asked online how how long it took to play the final round of say the US Open in 1978, but did not get an answer. Most likely under 24 hours (if they played twosomes,maybe it could have been threesomes) Next month I will be 73 …started playing in 1956….the game has change lots, but how much for the better? Again, I enjoyed your read…nice to read something that is written by someone that knows what they are talking about.
Ron Langfus
Jun 6, 2018 at 8:40 am
Johnny, i met you at the Studio city driving range , we were next to each other hitting balls. Just listed to Freddie Couples podcast….it was great, now I’m going to find Charles Howell and listen. You’re really good at what you do and me being a equipment geek myself, this is nirvana. Thanks a lot, Ron
Pingmatt
Jun 6, 2018 at 8:29 am
These podcasts are great, but the audio is terrible.